Researchers in China didn't comb through the genes of millions of Europeans only to show that gouda is good-a for you, but that is one of the more attention-grabbing results. After all, who doesn't want to be told that eating more cheese will help them live longer and healthier lives? Still, there's a lot more to the findings than just eating foods that make you feel happy. Past observational studies have found that happiness can have an impact on how a person ages, even more so than smoking. But these are just associations that could be confounded by other, overlooked factors, such as socioeconomic status.