Cheese, the Healthy Saturated Fat...Huh?!

Here’s the thing. We’ve been conditioned to fear food with saturated (bad) fats because these mess with our cardiovascular systems.  Yet, the French seem to eat anything and everything (with epicurean style of course) and still manage to be ranked as a nation with relatively low obesity rates.

Figures from 2008 in the World Factbook of the CIA point to the fact that only 18.20% of the French population is obese.  It’s a far cry from Japan’s 5%; but, it is significantly lower than that of Australia’s.   26.80% of the Australian population is obese.  New Zealand trails slightly behind with a 26.30% prevalence. In the United States, 33% of the population is having obesity problems and clearly on the road (if not already there) to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, and whatever curses obesity brings.

Now how do the food-obsessed French manage to keep their waistlines trim?  Indeed, it’s a French paradox.  The French diet is loaded with rich pastries, butter, fatty meats, red wine, and baguettes made from refined flour.  And loads of cheese.  France is a nation with the highest consumption of saturated fatty cheese.  So what’s their secret?  People believe it’s their whole eating lifestyle of portion control, leisurely pacing, and even the red wine habit (it’s the resveratrol in the wine).  Yes, these all may be right;  but, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says the answer to the puzzle could also be in the…..cheese!

What’s with Cheese?

The Danish study was conducted on 15 healthy men to determine how dairy food was metabolized and how much it contributed to cholesterol level.  These men were given three diets for two weeks.  All three diets involved the same amount of calories and fats, but one diet had more milk, the other, more cheese, and the third, was the control diet.

Faecal analyses and urinalysis revealed positive changes in gut flora when the subjects ate the prescribed diets with more cheese and milk in them; but, what stood out more was the cheese-heavy one.  Gut-friendly microbiota produced more butyrate, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid which lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels and also acts as a metabolic catalyst.  In addition, lowered TMAO levels were discovered.  TMAO is a gut-flora dependent metabolite that helps transport cholesterol to the arteries, leaving these to form plaque.  TMAO contributes to heart disease; so, lowered TMAO is a good thing, especially if it comes about from a cheese-rich diet, right?

A 12-week Perth research at the Curtin University of Technology corroborates that cheese and other dairy products are cardiovascularly beneficial.  Forty volunteers were asked to go on a weight loss diet but were made to increase their servings of cheese, yogurt, and low-fat milk from three to five.  At the end of the trial, subjects had significantly lowered their blood pressure and decreased their abdominal fat, thereby reducing their risks for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Other Benefits of Eating Cheese

If you love cheese, you should be practically beaming with this news.  Yes indeedy, we should eat cheese.  Aside from its cardiovascular and microbiotic benefits, cheese can do us a world of good by:

• Helping with weight control -- Food rich in proteins can help us keep us full longer as these takes longer to digest than carb-laden foods.  The protein in cheese can also help speed up metabolism.

• Keeping up our muscle tone and mass -- As we age, we tend to lose muscle mass and tone.  Coupled with weight-bearing exercises, the protein in cheese and other foods helps keep our muscles from degenerating.

• Helping maintain our bone density-- Calcium is important for maintaining our skeletal system.  Calcium is abundant in cheese.  To maintain strong bones through life, we need cheese and other calcium-rich food in our diet.

• Providing vitamins and minerals -- Cheese is nutrient dense and therefore makes perfect sense to include in our diets.  Aside from protein and calcium, it offers phosphorus, zinc, Vitamins A and B12.  Zinc and Vitamin A are great for keeping our immune system healthy while Vitamin B12 helps maintain nerve functions and red blood cell production.

• Being just plain wonderful! -- Having a bowl of macaroni doesn’t put a smile on your face; but, top it with lovely, melted cheese and macaroni transforms into a slice of heavenly comfort.  If cheese can make us happy, why not have some?

 Of course, the caveat still remains...enjoy, but in moderation.  The French don’t eat cheese like there is no tomorrow.  After all, cheese is a saturated fat and quite high in sodium.   Portion control is still very much a part of the French eating habit but cheese may be the secret to those French women’s trim figures.

Healthy Cheeses to Make Your Day

Cheese is one saturated fat to love.  It is healthiest if the milk used for its production is from grass fed cows, goats, and sheep.  Here are five of the healthiest you can try:

Feta cheese

Feta cheese is a brined, white curd type made in Greece from sheep or goat’s milk.  In the cheese world, feta has one of the lowest fat and calorie content.  A serving of 30 grams gives only 79 calories and 6.03 grams of fat, of which 4.23 grams are of the saturated kind.  It also provides 14% of the RDI (recommended daily intake) of calcium per 28 grams. Feta is fantastic on salads and sandwiches, too, if paired with roasted peppers and eggplant on pita. Yum!

Cottage Cheese

A staple in many bodybuilding diets, cottage cheese is a favourite because of its inherently low fat and low calorie content. One cup of the full fat variety contains 220 calories and 9.7 grams of fat while the low-fat version offers less at 194 calories and 5.5 grams fat.  You get about 25-27 grams of protein from this and a boost in your calcium and selenium intake.  Top fresh fruits with cottage cheese for a delicious, wholesome snack. What’s not to love?

Parmigiano Reggiano

Parmesan cheese packs a punch when grated over salads, pasta, and chicken dishes. Because it is made from naturally skim milk, it joins the low fat cheese category.

Among cheese purists, genuine Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard, grainy, aged cheese that is produced only from the Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantova.  If a wheel of this cheese is not from any of these regions, it isn’t a true Parmigiano but a generic parmesan.
For those who can settle for less, the generic parmesan copies are still a great addition to your diet. One 28-gram serving offers 110 calories and 8 grams of fat. It is a good source of calcium and Vitamin B12 as well.

You can have your cheese and eat it too! Just eat as the French do (in slivers) and you don’t have to worry about the high sodium content. On this note, bon appétit!