Is Cheese an Inflammatory Food? What Studies Show When People Eat More of It

Why cheese gets blamed

Cheese is rich. Regular-fat cheese contains a lot of saturated fat, which is why guidelines in many countries tell people to pick reduced-fat cheese instead.12 From "rich and fatty" to "inflaming" is a short jump, and plenty of wellness posts make it.

Part of the worry has a real root. A 2017 review of 52 clinical trials found dairy had an anti-inflammatory effect overall, but a pro-inflammatory effect in people allergic to cow's milk.3 For them, the worry is true. But an allergy is the immune system reacting to milk itself. It tells us very little about what a slice of cheddar does to everyone else.

Is cheese an inflammatory food? What the trials found

The fairest test is a randomized trial. Researchers assign people by chance to eat more dairy or less, then check their blood. The marker most trials track is CRP (C-reactive protein), a protein your liver makes more of when inflammation is up.

After cheese, inflammation-related genes in blood cells were turned down. After butter, they were turned up.From a 2020 randomized trial in Mol Nutr Food Res

A 2021 review gathered 27 randomized trials of milk, cheese and yogurt in adults without severe inflammatory disease.1 Of the 19 trials that tested dairy foods, 10 found no effect and 8 found at least one marker went down.1 All 8 trials of dairy protein found no effect.1 The authors' summary: neutral to helpful.1

A 2020 meta-analysis, which pools the results of many studies, combined 11 trials with 663 people.4 More dairy lowered CRP by 0.24 mg/L compared with little or no dairy.4 That is a small change. And in crossover trials, where each person tries both diets in turn, the benefit disappeared.4

Other reviews land in the same spot. Across 16 trials, milk and dairy foods showed no pro-inflammatory effect, in healthy people or in people with obesity, metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes.5 A 2021 review said dairy foods, cheese among them, do not raise markers of chronic inflammation.2 It also said there is not enough evidence to call dairy "anti-inflammatory."2 That review grew out of a session sponsored by a dairy industry group, so weigh it with that in mind.

These reviews mostly pooled milk, cheese and yogurt together. So the next question is fair: what about cheese alone?

What happens when people eat cheese itself?

The most direct test is small but striking. In a 2020 crossover trial, 47 healthy adults ate four high-fat meals on different days, built on butter, cheese, whipped cream or sour cream.6 The fat content was similar.6 Then researchers looked at genes in white blood cells that handle immune signaling.6

After cheese and sour cream, those genes were turned down. After butter and whipped cream, they were turned up.6 The authors concluded that fermented dairy, "especially cheese," caused a less inflammatory response.6 This was measured in the hours after one meal, so it is a clue, not proof of a long-term effect.

A 2022 study came at the question from another angle. It used Mendelian randomization, which treats the genes that nudge how much cheese people eat as a natural experiment.7 It found no effect of cheese on inflammation markers.7

A 12-week trial tested the fat worry head on. It assigned 164 people with at least two metabolic syndrome risk factors to regular-fat cheese, reduced-fat cheese, or bread and jam instead.12 Of the 139 who finished, LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, insulin, blood pressure and waist size did not differ between the groups.12 That trial did not report inflammation markers, but it found no harm from the full-fat version.12

Why cheese may not act like its fat

Scientists use the word "matrix" for the way a food is built: its fat, protein, minerals and structure, all packed together. Cheese seems to behave differently from the same fat eaten another way.

A 2023 meta-analysis pooled 7 trials where people ate about 135 g of cheese a day for at least 14 days, compared with about 52 g of butter carrying the same fat.9 Cheese lowered total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.9 The authors said dairy fat in the form of cheese has a different effect, though the studies were few and varied.9

Over the long run, cheese lovers do not seem to pay for it. A 2023 umbrella review covered 47 health outcomes.8 People who ate the most cheese had an 8% lower risk of heart disease and stroke combined, and a 5% lower risk of death from any cause, than those who ate the least.8 The quality of that evidence was rated moderate.8 These studies watched people over time, so cheese is linked to lower risk, not proven to cause it.

The bottom line

The case against cheese looks strong at first. It is rich, it is full of saturated fat, and it can bring real trouble to people with a milk allergy. But when researchers fed people dairy and checked their blood, inflammation did not climb. When they fed people cheese next to butter, cheese came out calmer. And people who eat the most cheese are, if anything, a little less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Cheese is not an inflammatory food for most people. If it sits well with you, the research gives you no reason to give it up.