Cheese on toast is bad for your gut health - but unmelted cheddar has a positive effect
It may be one of our favourite snacks, but cheese on toast could be bad for your gut health, research shows.Scientists found that eating unmelted cheddar had a positive effect on the gut microbiome – the intestinal mixture of bacteria and other organisms thought to control everything from mood to our immune systems.Solid cheddar increased the diversity of these bugs – keeping the microbiome in good order. But when the cheese was melted, the diversity was reduced, harming gut health.Researchers from University College Dublin wanted to measure what effect cheddar cheese had on this delicate balance.They tracked 69 volunteers over six weeks. Some ate 120g of unmelted cheese a day, while others consumed the same amount, but in melted form.At the end of the experiment, the researchers measured changes in participants' gut bacteria.They found cheddar was good for the microbiome, but when it was melted for cheese on toast the benefits were largely undone.Heating hard cheese damages its structure, making it harder for the body to absorb beneficial nutrients, according to the scientists. Cheese on toast is bad for your gut health, a study has foundIn a report, published in Frontiers In Microbiology, the researchers said: 'When cheddar cheese is melted, the dense semi-solid matrix is disrupted and becomes a looser structure.'This may partly explain why we don't see an increase in bacterial diversity with melted cheese.'Polls show cheese on toast is the nation's favourite snack, with nearly one in four naming it as their go-to treat when peckish.
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Cheese on toast is bad for your gut health - but unmelted cheddar has a positive effect
