Put down your cheese toastie for a minute and listen up. This is news of the highest possible importance.

New research from Nature Medicine suggests that eating cheese could be the key to living longer.

That’s right. Cheese is what you need to live forever. The stuff you find on pizza, in toasties, and mixed into mac ‘n’ cheese. The light of your life. That stuff.

The study suggests that consuming spermidine, a compound found in aged cheese, could make you live longer.


Researchers initially tested the effects of spermidine on mice and rats, and found that it increased their average lifespan.

There’s a red wine grilled cheese and it looks like heaven

They then surveyed 800 Italians about their diets, and those who reported a higher intake of spermidine were found to have lower blood pressure, a 40% lower risk of heart failure, and a reduced risk for other cardiovascular diseases.



So essentially, the study suggests that eating cheese reduces the risk of high blood pressure or heart failure (which are both leading causes of death, if you didn’t know).

But before you go ahead and down an entire cheeseboard, let’s just all take a minute to remember that cheese does also tend to be high in fat, which could cancel out the effects of spermidine.

Spermidine is also found in peas, corn, soy beans, and whole grains, which are probably healthier options.

But hey, this is good news. We finally have a health reason to eat cheese.

It’s probably still wise not to go cheese crazy. It’s still best to try to stick to one to three portions per week.

But next time you’re choosing between a salad and a toastie, you now have a proper reason to go for the toastie. Other than the fact that it’s delicious.

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