Can eating cheese help prevent bone thinning? Consuming a little bit of Jarlsberg cheese each day may profit bone health, a recent study has found.

Jarlsberg is a buttery and nutty cheese from Norway that is made from pasteurized cow’s milk. Previously, the cheese has been found to spice up osteocalcin, which is the hormone that is linked to strong bones and teeth, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) noted in a news release.

Nevertheless, it’s unclear whether it’s a general effect of cheese or if it’s specific to Jarlsberg cheese.

For his or her study, the researchers checked out 66 healthy female volunteers. Of them, 41 ate 57 grams of Jarlsberg a day, while 25 ate 50 grams of Camembert a day for six weeks. After the six weeks were up, those within the Camembert group switched to Jarlsberg for an additional six weeks.

Vitamin K2 is “essential for bone health.” Jarlsberg cheese is a “good candidate” for studies on vitamin K2-related health advantages linked to cheese since it has high vitamin K2 content, the researchers explained of their paper, published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. The concept for the study was to see whether the previously observed effect was “not a general cheese effect.”

The researchers found that eating Jarlsberg each day indeed “had a positive effect on osteocalcin.” Specifically, osteocalcin and vitamin K2 levels increased within the Jarlsberg group after six weeks. Then again, levels remained the identical amongst those within the Camembert group, but increased “significantly” once they switched to Jarlsberg.

“The effect of each day Jarlsberg intake on increased s-osteocalcin level isn’t a general cheese effect,” the researchers wrote. “Further research may reveal the potential for recommending Jarlsberg cheese as prophylactical treatment and even an addition to antiresorptive treatment in osteoporosis.”

In fact, the outcomes of the study needs to be interpreted rigorously.

“As it is a small study in young and healthy people designed to explore novel pathways linking eating regimen and bone health, the outcomes have to be interpreted with great caution because the study participants won’t necessarily be representative of other groups,” said Professor Sumantra Ray of NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, which co-owns BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health. “And it should not be taken as a suggestion to eat a selected form of cheese.”

Some experts also raised doubts concerning the results because the study was reportedly part-funded by the manufacturer of Jarlsberg.

As an illustration, Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College, London, said that it’s “unlikely” that the consequences shall be specific to Jarlsberg cheese, reported The Guardian.

“Recommending Jarlsberg cheese as a useful food for bone health would have to be balanced against existing dietary recommendations,” Dr. Simon Steenson, a nutrition scientist on the British Nutrition Foundation, added.