Cottage Cheese

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cottage-cheese

Cottage Cheese Overview:

Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product. It is essentially unprocessed or raw cheese. Since it is drained rather than pressed, some whey remain and the individual curds remain loose. It is not aged or colored. Different types of cottage cheese are made from milks with different fat levels.

Benefits:

One cup of cottage cheese contains about 25 to 28 grams of protein (just as much as a 2 oz. chicken breast). It can be a great source of protein for ovolacto vegetarians. Protein is necessary for the body because it helps maintain, build, and repair lean muscle mass.

Also, eating five servings of low-fat dairy foods, for a low-calorie diet, has been shown to accelerate weight loss. One cup of low-fat cottage cheese contains 1 percent milk fat, 163 calories, and 2 grams of fat. Also, the protein in the cottage cheese increases satiety, the feeling of being full, more than carbohydrates or fats.

In one serving of cottage cheese, one can obtain 138 mg of calcium (14% of the daily value) and 303 mg of phosphorus. These two minerals help to maintain healthy bones. Phosphorus is responsible for energy creating and maintenance of a normal acid-base environment within the body. Lack of calcium in the body will lead to osteoporosis.

B-complex vitamins are also found in cottage cheese. In just one cup, one can receive 1.3 mg of vitamin B-12 (a vitamin important to nerve cell function), 0.4 mg of riboflavin (helps the body metabolize carbohydrates into energy), as well as smaller amounts of B-6, pantothenic acid, thiamin, niacin and folate.

Side Effects:

One cup of low-fat cheese contains 918 mg of sodium which is about 50% of the daily value. Having too much sodium will increase blood pressure and the risk for heart disease. Low-sodium varieties of cottage cheese are available if sodium is an issue for one’s diet.

Although protein is imperative for bodily functions, having too much protein in the diet will put stress on your kidneys which will decrease the efficiency of its waste removal function.

The saturated fat present in full-fat cottage cheese can increase blood cholesterol. Eating fat-free cottage cheese will help you gain the benefits of the food as well as avoid the unhealthy fats.

For those who are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy should not eat cottage cheese.

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