Eating Cheese Makes You Happier and Promotes Healthy Aging

Want to Age Healthier? Study Links Better Mental Health—and Cheese—to a Longer Life

Published in "Nature Human Behaviour", the study suggests improving mental well-being is a viable path to healthy aging.

A genetic analysis by endocrinologists at Ruijin Hospital, part of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, has found that people with better mental well-being tend to live longer, healthier lives. The study also revealed that certain lifestyle choices, such as eating more cheese, play a significant role in this positive connection.

The research employed a powerful analytical method known as Mendelian randomization. This valuable tool uses genetic data to explore how certain factors (like mood or diet) may *cause* specific health outcomes, rather than just being correlated with them. It is one of the few methods capable of predicting potential cause-and-effect relationships without conducting a full clinical trial.

By analyzing eight massive European population datasets—with sample sizes ranging from 38,000 to 2.4 million people—the researchers found strong evidence for this causal link. Better mental well-being, measured by factors like life satisfaction, mood, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms, appears to contribute directly to a longer and healthier life.

The researchers then investigated why this link exists by looking at "mediating factors," including lifestyle choices like smoking, personal behaviors, medication use, and physical conditions.

The analysis showed that participants who reported eating more fruit and cheese also tended to have higher mental well-being scores. When quantifying the specific impact of these factors on healthy aging, the study found:

Cheese consumption had a 3.67% positive effect on self-rated health and longevity.

Fruit consumption had a 1.96% positive effect.

Smoking had a 4.56% negative effect.

Interestingly, the lifestyle factor with the single largest impact was television viewing time. This habit was found to have a 7.39% negative effect on healthy aging.

The findings, published in the journal *Nature Human Behaviour*, conclude that improving mental health is a powerful and viable strategy for achieving healthy aging.