--- title: Cheese and Microbiota: Is Cheese Good for You and Your Microbiome? description: Is cheese healthy? A new microbiome study on cheese finds that cheese may alter our microbiota, decreasing TMAO and increasing good bacteria canonical: https://time.com/3819348/cheese-good-for-you/ author: Mandy Oaklander article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-13T17:02:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:07:47.254Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's Your New Science-Backed Reason to Eat More Cheese og:description: Is cheese healthy? A new microbiome study on cheese finds that cheese may alter our microbiota, decreasing TMAO and increasing good bacteria og:url: https://time.com/3819348/cheese-good-for-you/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab36afea40503f13/6987ead3428a9ef95fccadf9/france-cheese.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: france-cheese og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Your New Science-Backed Reason to Eat More Cheese twitter:description: Is cheese healthy? A new microbiome study on cheese finds that cheese may alter our microbiota, decreasing TMAO and increasing good bacteria twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab36afea40503f13/6987ead3428a9ef95fccadf9/france-cheese.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Your New Science-Backed Reason to Eat More Cheese > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1088f039-a97a-461b-a918-91987eda93c0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Should I Drink Red Wine? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Drink Red Wine?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JLVLyuEq.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2015-03-12. Cheers to your health! All five of our experts give red wine a purple-stained smile._  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Apr 13, 2015 5:02 PM UTC A new study says cheese may not be as bad for us as we think.  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Apr 13, 2015 5:02 PM UTC Americans have long been bewildered by the French paradox: that despite consuming a dream diet full of cheese, baguettes and red wine, people in France have generally low rates of coronary heart disease. By some estimates, the average French person eats [57 pounds of cheese](http://www.dairyinfo.gc.ca/index%5Fe.php?s1=dff-fcil&s2=cons&s3=consglo&s4=tc-ft) each year—more than in any other country—while the average American eats a measly 34. Scientists have yet to solve the puzzle. Some point to the resveratrol in red wine as one possibility; a more likely reason, say a growing number of experts, is that we were wrong—or at least partially wrong—to condemn saturated fat as a primary cause of heart disease. A small new [study](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf505878a) published in the _Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry_ suggests yet another delicious possibility: cheese. More research is needed, but in this paper—funded in part by Arla Foods (a Danish food company that produces dairy products) and the Danish Dairy Research Foundation—Danish scientists analyzed data from 15 healthy young men who ate three diets for two weeks. All of the diets had the same amount of calories and fat, but one was rich in 1.5% fat milk, another required eating 1.7 grams of cow cheese per day, and there was a third control diet. The researchers analyzed the men’s urine and feces to figure out how dairy is metabolized and what effect it had on markers of blood cholesterol levels. When people gorged on dairy products—but especially cheese—their microflora seemed to change. In their feces, researchers saw some metabolites that they know are related to the metabolism of the microflora: short-chain fatty acids like butyrate and propionate both appeared at increased concentrations compared to the control diet. They also had lower levels than the control group of TMAO, a metabolite produced when the body metabolizes choline, which is found in many animal-derived foods, especially red meat. (Lower levels seem to be a good thing; other research has shown that [TMAO may help transport cholesterol to the arteries and predicts mortality rates](http://time.com/3541418/heart-health-diet-meat/).) The findings suggest that cheese and milk might help modify the gut bacteria to decrease production of TMAO, the authors write. “I was surprised,” says study co-author Morten Rahr Clausen, a postdoc in the department of food science at Aarhus University in Denmark. “I didn’t expect to find anything in the cheese that would change the microflora.” **MORE** [Should I Eat Cheese?](http://time.com/3532516/cheese-health-benefits/?iid=time%5Fspeed) The researchers can’t be sure whether the increase in gut-friendly compounds came directly from the cheese or if they were formed by the microbiota, Clausen adds—but they could still have a beneficial effect either way. “I’m not completely sure why, but it seems like the cheese and also milk, but mainly cheese, affects the microbiota after eating cheese and that might affect the composition of the lipids in the blood,” he says. The study adds a new dimension to our understanding how fermented milk products interact with the body. “The previous mechanism was that calcium binds the fatty acids and they’re just flushed through the gut,” he says. “Our study suggests another mechanism that the cheese might work through.**”** More research and studies on bigger, more diverse populations are needed before we definitively solve the French paradox, but these results are promising. “We didn’t know beforehand what to look for,” Clausen says. “Sometimes you find something that you didn’t expect.” _Read next:_ [_People Who Love Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Have Way More Sex Than Those Who Don’t_](http://time.com/3814871/sex-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Should you drink red wine? It's your lucky day. All five of our experts give red wine a purple stained smile. A standard pour has 125 calories, so it's lighter than beer and mixed drinks, says Julia Zunpano. And of course it's packed with antioxidants. Alcohol is actually good for you if you drink it moderately. Drinking alcohol is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality compared to drinking too much or drinking not at all says Luigi Ferrucci. Ferrucci. Red wine might be particularly beneficial, but some recent studies suggest that we shouldn't give the famous compound resveratrol all the credit. There's likely not enough of it to make a difference, says resveratrol researcher Juan Carlos Espin. But we do know is that David Katz. Is that drinking habitually but moderately is part of the Mediterranean diet and linked to a long life. Just ask cardiologist James O'Keefe who loves red wine for its ability to lower the risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, congestive heart failure and stroke. His grandmother Dorothy lived to be be 103, and she enjoyed the happy hour drink every night. The key to a long healthy life, Dorothy O'Keefe used to say, is to not drink too much. 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