Study finds there can be greater benefits from consuming certain dairy foods according to what sex you are.

A new Irish study has found a cholesterol-lowering effect of eating cheese when compared to butter, and that benefits for heart health may be greater for women than men.

Scientists believe the breakthrough research brings them one step closer to unlocking the benefits of personalised nutrition to help manage health conditions such as heart disease.

Researchers at UCD tested the impact of eating both cheddar cheese and butter on cholesterol levels in men and women.

• In men, there was no significant difference in how they responded to consuming cheese or butter – there was a similar lowering of cholesterol concentrations with both foods.
• However, there was a dramatic difference in women, with significantly lower cholesterol after consumption of cheese compared to butter.

Researchers believe this indicates that women are more sensitive to the ‘dairy matrix effect’ (a term used to describe the complex structure of protein, fat and other nutritional elements in dairy foods and how they interact in the human body) in cheese – the effect of the matrix varies by sex.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death among women in Ireland, even though men are at greater risk of developing the condition. Dairy products – such as milk, yogurt and cheese – are known to play an important part in health due to the nutrients they contain. However, many people limit their intake of these important foods because they contain saturated fat, which is linked to high cholesterol.

Dr Martina Rooney, co-author of the research article ‘The impact of sex and the cheese matrix on cholesterol metabolism in middle-aged adults’ [1] believes that the study’s findings may play a role in personalised nutrition, such as female-specific guidance for heart health and the treatment of heart disease.

Dr Rooney said:

“Simply put, females appear to respond more favourably to cheese compared to fat in other dairy foods – and this is important.

“Increased understanding of sex differences in response to diet will help provide more tailored, personalised nutrition to those at risk of heart disease, and therefore improve management of heart health through lifestyle modifications.”

For further information, or to arrange an interview with Dr Martina Rooney, lead author, Food for Health Ireland, UCD.

Contact:

Craig McKechnie | craig@4TC.ie | 00 353 (0) 87 621 8839

Jeremy Probert | jeremy@4TC.ie | 00 353 (0) 89 700 0792

About The National Dairy Council

The National Dairy Council is a farmer-funded representative body that works to promote and protect Ireland’s internationally-renowned dairy reputation for excellent products, produced in an increasingly sustainable way.

1: https://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(25)00009-7/fulltext#au1