Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet and Q & A Thursday

Next in Q & A Thursday Lindsey from Oh Sunday School asks:

I love cheese but I’m aware of the high fat content in most types. Do you have any info on the nutritional benefits of cheese (if there are any) and which types might be better to eat than others? Or are they simply one of those foods that should only be eaten in moderation?

Cheese seems to be one of those foods that most people LOVE. There’s something about the feel and taste of cheese in your mouth, that makes it a favourite food. However, “cheese” is not just one, homogenous foodstuff. If you think about your bog-standard tasty cheese, and then compare it with camembert, goat’s cheese, ricotta and blue-vein – there’s a lot of different taste sensations and styles in the cheese category.

What’s the nutritional content of cheese?

All cheeses contain protein and fat. Some also contain carbohydrate (for example, lactose is a carbohydrate). Cheese is generally high in calcium, and contains potassium, zinc and some of the B vitamins.

On the negative side, many cheeses also contain a lot of sodium and a lot of saturated fat. Plus, there’s no fibre in cheese and very little iron.

How do different cheeses compare?

While cheeses vary a lot in taste and texture, it’s also true they have widely varying nutritional content.

Hard, yellow cheeses like cheddar, tasty and swiss are the extreme group. They have the highest kilojoule content, the most protein, the most calcium and the most fat. Yellow cheeses have about 1,700kJ per 100g, with parmesan the highest of the lot at 1,850kJ. Parmesan also has the most sodium at 1,400 mg per 100g.

Brie and camembert tend to be slightly lower in kilojoules, with slightly less fat. Your average brie has 1,400kJ per 100g, although it’s still about 30% fat.

Feta and haloumi are lower in kilojules and significantly lower in fat. They’re both hovering around the 1,000kJ per 100g mark and are 23% (feta) and 17% (haloumi) fat.

Ricotta and cottage cheese are both much lower in energy, fat and sodium. They contain just over 600kJ of energy per 100g. Cottage cheese is 9% fat and 15% protein, while ricotta is 11% fat and 11% protein. Cottage cheese is the lowest in calcium.

What about the fat?

The main problem with the fat in cheese is it’s primarily saturated fat. While we all need small amounts of saturates in our diet, most people eat too much. The cheeses vary in total fat content enormously, from 9% in cottage cheese, up to 34% for parmesan. Obviously, if you’re eating a lot of parmesan and the other yellow cheeses, you’re also eating a lot more fat, including saturated fat, and more kilojoules.

High saturated fat diets are linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration, complications from diabetes and obesity. These are the ones you need to reduce in your diet. Cheese and red meat are two of the main sources in Western diets.

How much cheese should you eat?

How much cheese is healthy depends on the type you’re eating. It is better to limit your intake of the hard, yellow cheeses like tasty, cheddar, swiss and parmesan, as well as brie, camembert and the rich blues. These contain the most fat, the highest number of kilojoules and the most saturated fat.

For day-to-day use, you’re better sticking with ricotta or cottage cheese. These are the lowest in fat, kilojoules and also the lowest in sodium. Feta and haloumi are also low in fat and kilojoules, however they’ve got a fair whack of sodium in them, so it’s better to limit.

What do I do?

I use ricotta a lot at home. I have it with pasta and risotto, instead of parmesan . I sometimes spread ricotta on toast (it’s lovely on raisin toast with some honey). Plus, when I make cakes or desserts I often use a mixture of ricotta and yoghurt, instead of cream. My next most common cheese is feta. I do eat the other cheeses occasionally, but they tend to be treats rather than part of my everyday diet.

What’s Q & A Thursday?

This post is part of Q & A Thursday – a weekly burst of blogging, where you get to dictate the subject matter. Q & A Thursday is all about simple, practical and sensible answers to food, diet and health dilemmas sent in by readers. If you have a question you’d like answered, then either leave a comment or send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.

09 August, 2007