Scientists found that eating uncooked 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. Whereas melted cheese reduced the the diversit, harming gut health. This is bad news for lovers of melted cheese on toast!

Cheddar Cheese

The findings in Frontiers In Microbiology, 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.”