He is accused of being too high in saturated fat, in salt, to make you fat … but the cheese is not as bad! In fact, cheese might even be beneficial to your health in many ways. Explanations.
5 good reasons to eat cheese
Cheese has many nutritional benefits.
- Cheese for strong bones
The biggest advantage of cheese? Its high calcium content. In children, calcium promotes bone growth; in adults, calcium contributes to the remineralization of bones, essential to keep bones strong and fight once morest osteoporosis! And calcium is also good for the teeth and once morest hypertension. In a portion of cheese (30 g), there is an average of 190 mg of calcium, or 1/4 of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) (for an adult). And that’s just one way, some cheeses are much higher in calcium that others ! Cheese is also a good source of phosphorus… which also plays an essential role in the formation and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth.
- Cheese helps boost the immune system
Admittedly, the zinc content is not very high, but it should still be noted that the cheese contains it (on average 0.86 mg per 30 g, or nearly 10% of the RDA). And when we know that zinc contributes to the good health of the immune system, we seize the opportunity to consume it! Especially since zinc has other attributions: it contributes to the production of genetic material, to the development of the fetus, to the healing of wounds, to the perception of taste…
- Cheese is good for the microbiota
Another benefit of cheese? Its fermentation! Cheese resulting from the fermentation of milk by lactic acid bacteria, like all fermented foods, it improves the health of the intestinal microbiota2, an organ whose importance has been increasingly studied in recent years. So eating cheese would help improve the quality of the intestinal flora and that’s all good!
- Cheese is good for the heart
The link between cheese and heart health is a vast subject, moreover, the impact of cheese consumption on cardiovascular risks is still unclear. However, studies have shown that cheese consumption, high cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction are linked. But other studies suggest that cheese consumption does not increase death rates from cardiovascular disease or the risk of heart attack.1 … Better still, other research suggests that calcium and lactic acid bacteria have a protective effect! It is therefore difficult to determine the impact (negative or positive) of cheese consumption on heart health.
- Cheese contains vitamins A, B2, B12 and D
A cocktail of vitamins, each more beneficial than the other to stay healthy since they work to protect eyesight, strengthen the immune system, fight once morest cellular aging, prevent certain diseases…
And the next time someone scolds you for eating (too much) cheese, you’ll know what to say…
When eating cheese is bad for your health
Although cheese can have many health benefits, it does not prevent that – in certain cases – eat cheese may be more harmful than beneficial.
- for people suffering fromLactose intolerance
It’s hard to eat cheese when you have severe lactose intolerance. However, if it is only a question of a lesser intolerance or if one simply monitors one’s lactose consumption, it is not impossible to eat cheese! In most cheeses, the lactose content is almost reduced to nothing during the various manufacturing processes!
- for people with cholesterol
Because of the saturated fats it contains – and which promote ‘bad’ cholesterol – cheese and hypercholesterolemia don’t go well together…
- for pregnant women
Some cheeses present a risk for pregnant women, and more specifically for their fetus. For her, there is no question of consuming cheeses that would endanger the health of the fetus!
1. Several scientific studies indicate that when cheese consumption increases, the risk of cardiovascular disease is lower.
Read also:
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Which cheeses are the least fattening?
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Which cheese is the least calorie and the best for health?
