Could meat and cheese be good for your heart?

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Anyone who enjoys a good steak and a hunk of cheese is going to like this.

A new study claims the saturated fat in meat and dairy appears to "protect" the heart.

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Scientists at McMaster University in Canada studied some 220,000 adults.

The early death rates of people who ate 3 portions of dairy and 1.5 portions of meat a day were 25 percent lower than those who consumed less, the researchers found.

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They also had 22 percent fewer heart attacks.

Scientists say the findings contradict decades of advice to cut down on full-fat dairy and red meat.