If You Don’t Like Yogurt, Now There’s Probiotic Cheese

Probiotics are all the rage – and the usual ‘carrier’ are yogurt or milk.  But Finnish researchers have examined the usefulness of a commercial probiotic cheese.  They report their findings in FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology.  Age-related decline in effectiveness of the immune system was the target of study.

The cheese in question was Gouda, which contained Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus.  The dose of cheese was one slice at breakfast, daily.  The study design was 4 weeks’ probiotic-free cheese, 4 weeks’ probiotic Gouda, and 4 weeks’ wash-out with the same probiotic-free cheese.  Tests of the relative number of ‘nature killer cells’ in the blood, the ability of white blood cells to kill tumor cells, and the phagocytic property of the white cells were done as evidence of the body’s ability to mount an immune response. 

Healthy volunteers over 70 were selected for the study; they all lived in the same care home.  There were 21 women and 10 men, with an average age of 86.  Eating the probiotic cheese led to increased killing power of the nature killer cells in the test tube, while increased phagocytic activity of blood cells was seen after both types of cheese – probiotic and non-probiotic. 

The authors of the study take these results as positive; they state “daily consumption of the probiotic enhanced parameters of innate immunity in elderly volunteers”.  I don’t have such a rosy viewpoint.  There’s certainly no evidence that there was a beneficial effect on the health of the subjects.  Still, if you believe in the health benefits of probiotic yogurt but don’t like the taste, you can now try the effects of a switch to probiotic cheese – it can’t hurt (probably).