Soft chesses such as cottage cheese and quark are low-fat products that have been manufactured for decades.
Reduced –fat cheeses are consumed mainly because of their power fat content, resulting in lower energy content. Other motivators to choose reduced-fat dairy product are healthiness and taste.
Best picks cheese
Higher in protein and calcium: Gruyere, Parmesan, Gouda, cottage cheese
Lower in fat and calories: part-skim ricotta, mozzarella, feta, goat, cottage cheese
Lower in sodium: Camembert, Swiss
The harder and drier the cheese, the more calories per ounce it will contain. Many people surprise to learn than an ounce of aged cheddar has more calories than on ounce of ripe Camembert.
On average, a serving of cheese will provide calories 10 percent human proteins needs.
Cheese is also an outstanding source of calcium. Studies regularly claim that many children and adults in the United States are not getting their needed calcium.
One way to boost calcium intake is by adding cheese to the diet. Just one ounce of almost any cheese provides up between 10 to 20 percent of daily calcium requirements.
In randomized study, experts found that cheese intake did not significantly increase LDL cholesterol levels. The researchers speculate that cheese may not raise blood cholesterol level due to its calcium content or because fermentation may have a cholesterol lowering affect (J. Am Coll. Nutr.,23, 169, 2004).
Nutrients in cheese
