Like all dairy foods, cheese provides calcium and protein, as well as some vitamin A, B12, riboflavin, zinc and phosphorus. And it’s a source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fat that may have anti-cancer, weight-reducing, and heart-protective effects. But you’d have to eat a lot of cheese to get meaningful amounts of CLA, which means you’d also get a lot of unhealthy saturated fat and calories. Low-fat cheese contains less CLA; nonfat cheese contains none.