Evidence suggests the association between intake of saturated fat and risk of heart disease is dependent on the food sources of the dietary fat, with much work focused on the impact of saturated fat from dairy and in particular cheese on markers of metabolic health and risk of CVD. Several published randomized controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated a beneficial effect of cheese consumption on markers of metabolic health and CVD risk. Research conducted within UCD has both supported and added to the existing evidence. A 6-wk randomized parallel intervention involving 164 volunteers who received ∼40 g of dairy fat/d, in 1 of 4 treatments: (A) 120 g full-fat Irish cheddar cheese (n = 46); (B) 120 g reduced-fat Irish cheddar cheese + butter (21 g) (n = 45); (C) butter (49 g), calcium caseinate powder (30 g), and Ca supplement (CaCO3) (500 mg) (n = 42); or (D) 120 g full-fat Irish cheddar cheese, for 6 weeks following completion of a 6-wk “run-in” period, where this excluded all dietary cheese before commencing the intervention, was undertaken–delayed intervention group. This study found a stepwise-matrix effect was observed between the groups for total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.033) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.026), with significantly lower post intervention TC (mean ± SD) (5.23 ± 0.88 mmol/L) and LDL-C (2.97 ± 0.67 mmol/L) when all of the fat was contained within the cheese matrix (Group A), compared with Group C, when it was not (TC: 5.57 ± 0.86 mmol/L; LDL-C: 3.43 ± 0.78 mmol/L). These findings suggest that dairy fat, when eaten in the form of cheese, appears to differently affect blood lipids compared with the same constituents eaten in different matrices, with significantly lower total cholesterol observed when all nutrients are consumed within a cheese matrix. There is a need to further understand this research in the context of both public health and industry needs, and to elucidate the components of the cheese matrix causing these effects.