Guilt-Free Cheese

A clever switcheroo by English researchers is giving cheese-lovers something to moo about. A new kind of cheddar, developed at Cambridge University, has been shown to actually lower cholesterol. Instead of animal fat, it contains vegetable oil naturally high in sterols, plant compounds that reduce the absorption of cholesterol. In early testing, people with high cholesterol saw their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol drop by 12 percent after eating one serving per day for three weeks. The cheese is currently available only in British supermarkets, but the developers are hoping to bring it to the United States later this year. Maybe then we can find out if it tastes good, too.