Cheese as a health food!! That's this week's #winewellnesswednesday topic!
Seriously? Cheese? As a health food? With all the fat and calories and stuff that is in some kinds of cheese? And knowing that it seems to trigger the same feeling of euphoria as hard drugs?
Clearly, I’m out of my mind. Right? Or maybe I’ve had too much cheese.
(Yes, there is such a thing as too much cheese.)
I realized recently that I’ve been eating a lot of cheese. One reason for that is clear, to me anyway. I like cheese on my eggs for breakfast. Another one of my theories on my cheese consumption is that in the winter, the body wants to build fat reserves to stay warm. Human biology doesn’t seem to have caught up with furnaces, sweaters, and heavy quilts and afghans. I tend more toward heavier, fattier foods with cheese in the winter than I do in the summer.
I also really like cheese.
Cheese has calcium, protein, and certain vitamins and minerals that are useful to the body.
Cheese also has calories and fat; lots and lots of calories and fat. Sadly, cheese is also a reliable source of saturated fat, which contributes to the increase of LDL cholesterol. That’s the bad one, in case you haven’t been keeping track. (Here’s a contradiction; it may be better for you than butter when it comes to bad cholesterol.) Softer cheeses such as cottage cheese have less fat, while harder cheeses such as cheddar or parmesan have more. Hard cheeses, however, help generate saliva, which makes your mouth slightly more acidic and apparently helps prevent cavities. (The human body is seriously weird. Wonderful. But weird.) And sodium. Many cheeses are very high in sodium, which contributes to all sorts of health issues.
What’s your favorite cheese? I hate to pick so I’m going to pick two: Swiss and Parmesan. And oh, my, do I miss bleu cheese, but I’m allergic. Sadness!
Moderation is the key, as with so many things. Eat soft cheese. Eat hard cheese. Sprinkle cheese on your salad or soup. Maybe eat less of it, and eat it as an accompaniment instead of as the main component of your meal. If you’re lactose-intolerant or vegan, eat nutritional yeast or cashew cheeze or soy cheese instead. But find ways to include some small quantity of this delicious item in your menus. It’s good for you!
Cheers! Here’s to your health!