Menu Close
Cheese contains saturated fats, but we don’t actually know if that’s what clogs our arteries. from www.shutterstock.com

Is cheese bad for you? We asked five experts

Almost everyone loves a good vegemite and cheddar sandwich or some brie with a glass of wine. But the evidence seems to shift about whether or not cheese should be part of a healthy diet.

Most types of cheese contain salt and saturated fat, but it’s also high in protein and calcium, so what’s the verdict?

We asked five experts if cheese is bad for our health.

Five out of five experts said no

Here are their detailed responses:


If you have a “yes or no” health question you’d like posed to Five Experts, email your suggestion to: alexandra.hansen@theconversation.edu.au


Disclosures: Rebecca Reynolds owns The Real Bok Choy, a nutrition and lifestyle consultancy.

Clare Collins is affiliated with the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, the University of Newcastle, NSW. She is an NHMRC Senior Research and Gladys M Brawn Research Fellow. She has received research grants from NHMRC, ARC, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Meat and Livestock Australia, Diabetes Australia, Heart Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, nib foundation. She has consulted to SHINE Australia, Novo Nordisk, Quality Bakers and the Sax Institute. She was a team member conducting systematic reviews to inform the Australian Dietary Guidelines update and 2017 evidence review on dietary patterns for the Heart Foundation.

Want to write?

Write an article and join a growing community of more than 182,000 academics and researchers from 4,940 institutions.

Register now