Eat cheese, if you please

Cheese consumption in this country has been climbing, reaching an all-time high of 42 pounds per person last year. Yet most cheese varieties contain a fair bit of saturated fat and sodium — two things people with heart disease are often urged to limit. Still, there’s no need to banish cheese from your diet. In fact, a daily serving of this popular dairy product may be good for your heart.

No cheese stands alone

It’s hard to say whether certain types of cheese are more healthful than others, mainly because there’s no research pitting different varieties against each other. And differences in typical serving sizes make comparisons tricky. For example, a serving of cottage cheese is one-half cup (about 4 ounces), while a serving of a snacking variety such as cheddar or Swiss is 1 ounce, Gelsomin points out. A single serving of a hard cheese such as Parmesan or Romano is also 1 ounce. But volume-wise. That can be anywhere from one-quarter to one-half cup, depending on how finely it’s grated.

Saturated fat and salt

Granted, some cheeses contain slightly less saturated fat than others. Mozzarella and goat cheese each have about 4 grams of saturated fat per ounce. While an ounce of Swiss, provolone, or cheddar has around 5 grams. But so do soft cheeses like Brie and blue cheese. Which you might assume have even more.

Blue cheese, feta cheese, and Parmesan are สมัคร UFABET วันนี้ รับเครดิตฟรีสำหรับสมาชิกใหม่ higher in sodium than other cheeses, but their strong flavor means they’re often used more sparingly and can be used to replace some of the salt you might normally include in a dish.

Processed “cheese”

The one exception is American cheese. Which is labeled as “pasteurized process cheese” because it contains added ingredients, such as preservatives and colorings. It’s not necessarily unhealthy but likely doesn’t offer the potential health benefits of 100% cheese. That’s true as well for dairy-free or plant-based “cheeses,” many of which contain coconut oil. Which is high in saturated fat. These products also may lack the protein and other nutrients found in dairy-based cheese.