5 Healthy Cheeses and How to Choose the Best for You

If you've made your way here, chances are you love cheese just as much as we do. But have you ever wondered if the cheese you're eating is the best choice for your health?

Today we'll dive into the nutritional characteristics of different types of cheese to help you make an informed decision wich one suits you best. Plus, we'll leave you with a list of the healthiets options that are also easy to find.

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Cheese and its different varieties

"Cheese" refers to any product made by coagulating milk (or a derivative of it, such as skim milk, for example) and separating the whey(1).

Given that this definition is quite broad, it covers a wide array of products. Therefore, minor variations in processing can result in numerous types of cheese. Based on their characteristics, these can be classified as follows (2):

Soft, semi-hard, hard or extra hard.
Ripe or not (fresh, soft, semi-cured, cured, old and aged).
With or without rind
Brine-salted or directly salted

For instance, cheddar cheese is a hard, ripe cheese that can be found with or without rind; whereas cottage cheese is soft, unripe and without rind(2).

Moreover, the type of bacteria used incheese production also impact characteristics such as flavor, aroma and the presence or absence of holes.

Different cheese, different nutrient composition

The variations in cheeses mean that their nutritional makeup will also differ.

Generally speaking, all cheeses are sources of fats and proteins, though these nutrients can vary in proportions. Additionally, cheeses can differ in the content of certain key nutrients like sodium and lactose.

Typically, fresh and soft cheeses tend to be lower in calories and fats, while ripe and hard cheeses often have a higher concentration of nutrients (including fats, proteins and micronutrients).

How to choose the best cheese?

1. Go for cheeses lower in fats

We're aware that a diet high in saturated fats is linked to a greater risk of cardiovascular events, so it's advisable to cut down on this type of fat (3,4).

Most of the fats in cheese are saturated fats. Therefore, it's best to choose cheeses with lower fat content.

Cheeses with less fat (amounts per 100g of product):

Cottage cheese: 4 grams of fat
Ricotta cheese: 10 grams of fat
Queso Fresco Light: 6 grams of fat
Feta Cheese: 10 -21 gramms of fat
Low-fat moz zarella Cheese: between 10 - 20 grams of fat

Avoid cheeses that are high in fats (amounts per 100g of product):

Mascarpone: 47 grams of fat
Cream cheese: 34 grams of fat
Cheddar: 34 grams of fat
Manchego: 34 grams of fat
Gruyere: 32 grams of fat
American cheese: 31.1 g fat
Swiss cheese: 31 g fat

2. Make sure it has a good protein content.

Choosing cheeses high in protein can help you reach your daily requirements.

Cheeses with high total protein content (amounts in 100g of product):

Romano: 32 grams of protein
Gruyere: 30 grams of protein
Parmesan: 28 grams of protein
Swiss: 27 g protein
Manchego: 26 g protein
Provolone: 26 g protein
Mantecoso: 25.2 g protein

However, you should keep in mind that cheeses with the highest net amount (total grams) of protein will also tend to be higher in fats and calories (you'll notice some repeats from the list of high-fat cheeses). You might consider consuming these types of cheese as an extra protein source, but in moderate quantities.

To avoid an excess fats, we recommend choosing cheeses that offer the highest protein content relative to their total calorie count (that is, those with a higher percentage of calories coming from protein). Here, you'll find repeats from the list of low-fat cheeses.

Cheeses with a high relative protein content:

Cottage: (45% of its calories come from protein).
Pear (34%)
Reggianito ( 33%)
Romano (33%)
Mozzarella (30%)
Pategras (30%)

3. Limit your sodium (salt) intake.

Sodium (the primary component of table salt) is an essential mineral for our body's function. However, consuming more than necessary can lead to serious health issues, such as the development of high blood pressure (5,6).

Globally, there is a tendency to consume excessive amounts of sodium (ultra-processed products contain quite high levels), so it is advised to measure its intake.

Cheese contributes to daily sodium consumption, so we recommend choosing those with lower sodium content per serving.

Cheeses with less sodium per serving (amounts per 30 g serving of cheese):

Ricotta cheese: 33 mg of sodium (1.6% RDV*).
Swiss: 56 mg of sodium (2.8% VDR*)
Cottage: 95 of mg sodium (4.7% VDR*)

Cheeses with higher sodium content (amounts per 30 g serving of cheese):

Roquefort: 543 mg of sodium (27.1% VDR*)
Parmesan: 541 mg of sodium (27.1% VDR*)
Romano: 430 mg of sodium (21.5% VDR*)
American: 383.7 mg of sodium (25.1% VDR*)
Processed cheese: 384 mg of sodium (19.2% RDA*)

*Daily Value (DV) based on the recommended limit by the World Health Organization: 2000 mg (7).

4. If you're aiming to manage your calorie intake, go for fresh cheeses.

The lower the fat content in cheese, the lower its calorie content will be. In this sense, if you're looking to control your calorie intake, we suggest opting for the low-fat fresh cheeses we mentioned earlier (such as cottage cheese, ricotta, low-fat mozzarella, low-fat fresh cheese).

Moreover, these cheeses also tend to have a higher water content, which means they'll provide fewer calories in a larger serving. This can lead to a greater feeling of fullness and help manage how much you eat.

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5. If you are lactose intolerant, choose lactose-free cheeses.

If you have difficulty digesting lactose, you've likely steered clear of dairy products (or only consume lactose-free versions). Luckily, there are types of cheese that have low or no lactose content.

Generally, aged cheeses contain lower amounts of lactose than fresh cheeses, as the lactose is consumed by the cheese's bacteria during the aging process. Additionally, some types of cheese undergo an extra washing step in their processing that further reduces the total lactose content (8,9).

However, remember that ripened cheeses tend to have more fat, so we recommend moderating their consumption.