More evidence that butterfat is good for you

Some people thought I was nuts when I first wrote about this in 2023, but now there’s even more evidence that butterfat is good for you.

Publishing in the scientific journal Neurology in December, 2025, a group of Swedish researchers followed more than 27,000 people over a period of 25 years beginning when their average age was 58. Those who regularly ate servings of high-fat cheese or heavy cream had a lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who did not. Those who consumed low-fat versions of these dairy foods weren’t protected.

The scientists were careful to point out that the findings only demonstrated a correlation between high fat dairy consumption and lower dementia risk, not a causal link. And they didn’t offer a hypothesis as to why butterfat might be protective.

But we know that there are specific types of fatty acids found primarily in dairy foods — those with an odd number of carbons in their chain, mostly 15  or 17 carbon atoms long. And that these odd-numbered fatty acids chains are found in a significant proportion in the membranes of nerve cells.

Enjoy!