One of the great mysteries of health is known as the French Paradox, coined to explain why the French have low cardiovascular disease rates despite a diet high in saturated fats. Explanations over time have ranged from wine to mindful eating, but now we have another candidate: Roquefort cheese. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry split a group of healthy men into those whose diets contained cheese or milk, and others who ate butter but no other dairy products. Those who ate cheese (particularly of the moldy variety, such as Roquefort) were found to have higher levels of butyrate, a chemical which is produced by gut bacteria and is considered to be one of the most important components of a healthy gut because of its protective action on the colon.