How Much Cheese Can I Eat Per Day?

In tacos, in a salad, grated on pasta, just like that or as a dessert … Cheese is a food that goes very well with all types of dishes and that makes you want to eat. any time of the day.

It is usual to see people wondering how much cheese they can eat per day. This is because its reputation as a calorie-dense food high in cholesterol and saturated fat has condemned it  to disappear from many diets.

What does cheese do for us?

Cheese is a food made from milk. It has been part of the diet of humans for millions of years. The milk curdles, ferments are added to it and left to mature. Depending on the type of milk, the ferments used and the degree of maturation, we obtain different varieties of cheese.

The main nutritional benefits  of cheese are:

• Vitamins  A, D and B12.
• Minerals  like calcium, phosphorus, zinc or magnesium.
• Protein of high biological value,  with all essential amino acids.
• Saturated fat and cholesterol.

However, we must take into account that  the concentration of nutrients is variable depending on the type of cheese  we are talking about. The drier a cheese, the less water it contains and, therefore, the more concentrated it is in nutrients. It therefore consists of more vitamins and minerals, but also more cholesterol and fat.

The main fear when eating cheese: calories and fat

It is true that  cheese is a high calorie food. A large part of its varieties contain cholesterol and saturated fat. This makes it the perfect candidate to eliminate from the diet of people who want to lose weight or who have high cholesterol.

In fact, people who are looking to lose weight or need to take care of their diet, regardless of the cause, will need to talk to their doctor or nutritionist first. As with all things related to health, changes in diet should be studied with a doctor.

However, it is important to  evaluate foods in their entirety and their complexity  and stop focusing on certain nutrients in particular. Thus, in recent years, new scientific evidence has brought recent data on cheese consumption. This made us reconsider how much cheese we could eat per day.

What does science say about this?

In 2019, the journal  Advances in Nutrition  published an article where we can see new scientific evidence  on the consumption of cheese and dairy products and their link with different health parameters. Among its conclusions we can highlight:

It also specifies:

In that same post, another article reported:

So how much cheese can we eat per day?

Although we can eat cheese every day,  it is important to know that it is not a basic food in the diet.  We cannot compare it with vegetables, legumes, fruits or eggs, nor consider it a source of vitamins or calcium. It is also not a food that you can eat at will.

Removing cheese from the diet is not a problem. Moreover, u will use in the recommended amounts has no reason to cause health problems.

As almost always in the diet, the answer to how much cheese we can eat each day will be: it depends. Individualized dietary recommendations are always more tailored than general ones. Nevertheless, an indicative and acceptable quantity can be established.

In the case of soft cheeses and dry cheeses, or more mature, the recommended serving would be between 40 and 50 grams per day. This equates to two slices or quarters, approximately, as each weighs about 20 grams.

If we are talking about fresh cheese, we can eat up to about 100 grams per day. This is the case with mozzarella, cottage cheese, quark or mascarpone. This equates to approximately half a cup. Fresh cheese is usually sold in small portions of about 70 grams. This measurement will also serve as a benchmark.

Tips for better cheese consumption

• Prioritize traditional cheeses. What do we mean by traditional? In the case of cheese, we are referring to those made with basic ingredients: milk, lactic ferments, salt and rennet. It can be gouda, camembert, feta, manchego, goat cheese, brie or gorgonzola.
• There is no need to choose fat-free or light cheeses  . If we want to reduce fat, we can choose cottage cheese or cream cheese. They naturally have less fat because they are richer in water.
• Be careful with refined cheeses, for fondues, in portions or as a spread. Quite often, they consist of secondary ingredients such as milk protein, butter or starch.
• The cheeses that have the most sodium are Roquefort, Parmesan, Bleu, Edam and Camembert. It is important not to overdo it so as not to increase the daily sodium intake. This is generally a little above the values ​​recommended in modern diets.

So, when we talk about cheese, we can say that  while it is not essential or a priority in the diet, it also does not go against a healthy diet. So, take care of your diet by following a varied and balanced diet!