News From The Cheese Caves

A post on Vegetarian Blues has me in fits. An old article from the Orlando Sentinel is quoted:

Of all the potentially addicting foods, cheese may be the most complex. In research studies using vegan and vegetarian diets to control cholesterol or reduce body weight, most participants soon forget the lure of ice cream, sour cream, and even burgers and chicken. But for many people, the taste for cheese lingers on and on. Yes, 70 percent of its calories may come from waist-augmenting fat, and, ounce for ounce, it may harbor more cholesterol than a steak. But that cheese habit is tough to break.

Give me a break! Yes, cheese has addictive properties but I am fully certain that the consumption of cheese is a good addiction to have, and for many reasons. It is interesting to note that the first two foods cited as easy to “forget the lure of…” are also dairy products: ice cream and sour cream. The lure of dairy is always present, the primordial food that milk is in its many forms.

One of the biggest reasons why it is so difficult to give up on cheese is that our bodies know a good food when it eats it. Those addictive opioid peptides found in cheese actually help control our food intake. They also play a role in motivation, emotion, and the response to stress and pain. If a food delivers a lot of nutrition while helping to control our appetite then a little additional motivation and alleviation of pain should be permitted.

The article goes on to say that the cheese industry is looking for those Americans who will eat it straight out of the package, whatever the cost to their waistlines or cholesterol levels. It fails to mention a number of cheese components that can help you to slim down. Along with those appetite-controlling opioid peptides there is the satiety factor to be considered. Cheese (being a near-complete food) tends to satisfy us so that we do not crave excess amounts of food, cheese included. A little bit of cheese goes a long way.

A misconception I often hear is that it is the fat itself which makes us put on weight. More accurately it is instead the excess calories we consume but do not expend. Of course you can derive calories from fat, but you can also derive calories from protein and carbohydrates. The fat that is found in cheese not only makes the cheese taste good, it also helps to satisfy our cravings. That fat also breaks down into some mighty important fatty acids such as conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. Multiple studies of the type of CLA found in dairy products have shown that it helps to reduce our weight; some studies indicate that a diet that contains this fatty acid can reduce abdominal fat! Another benefit of CLA is that it decreases whole-body glucose uptake. This is what we want.

There are several other good qualities of this addictive food. Cheese is an excellent source of the amino acid which suppresses our appetites and helps to reduce body fat – tyrosine. Other amino acids, vitamins and minerals that are derived from cheese help to lower our cholesterol levels and control our appetites, and to metabolize the fats and proteins that we do consume.

The cheese industry does not claim that cheese is perfect but given a choice of foods there is no other that matches the complete nutrition that cheese provides, and there is no other food with a better track record for food safety. Cheese is derived from our first food – milk – our first and only food for the first several weeks or months our lives. Unfortunately, what in many cases passes for cheese is so far removed from our first food that it is no wonder that cheese has been repeatedly and viciously maligned. Yet even those processed cheeses are still better foods for us than most any other, and a safer food too.

By the way, my cholesterol levels are amazing and I am quite slim. My HDL is 163 and my LDL is 64, not bad for someone my age. Good genes don’t hurt but the 100 pounds of cheese that I eat each year does not seem to be hurting either.

Max McCalman

The Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano recently came out with an issue of their Pin Dot Press promoting the nutritional values that can be derived from Parm, particularly the Calcium. The article goes on to point out that sufficient vitamin D is required to pump that Calcium into our systems. The recommended minimums are listed for different age groups, from newborns to those over 70, as well as for pregnant or lactating women. The highest requirements for this mineral are for those last two cohorts, though the 9-18 y.o.’s and those over 70 are not far behind. One ounce of Parmigiano Reggiano supplies 300mg of Calcium. This makes this type of cheese one of the best sources of Calcium around. All cheeses supply the mineral and generally speaking, the harder the cheese (such as a Parm) the higher the Calcium content.

We associate Calcium with bones and teeth, yet it apparently offers several other benefits. Not only good for your teeth, it is also good for the gums that surround them. It is reported that it is important in the maintenance of a regular heartbeat and the transmissions on nerve impulses. Some reports claim that Calcium lowers cholesterol levels and that it can help prevent cardiovascular disease. It is required for muscular growth and contraction, and it helps prevent muscle cramps. There are several other benefits that have been associated with Calcium, including cancer prevention.

Again, the nutritive value that is most frequently associated with Calcium is that which it does for our skeletal system. A little extra calcium is required during the formative years so pack a little in your child’s lunch, then offer a little more for an after-school snack. And for anyone that is pregnant or is lactating, make sure that you get that extra bit of cheese. And to help prevent osteoporosis later in life, start loading up on your cheese today.

Sounds like a mismatch perhaps? One of the unexpected bonuses of incorporating a little cheese into your diet is what it can do for your hair.

Cheese (especially those that are crafted from sheep milk) is an excellent source of vitamin B2, also known as Riboflavin. This vitamin facilitates the use of oxygen by our hair while it also helps eliminate dandruff. Young men may want to consider this one: a deficiency of Riboflavin can lead to hair loss.

Another B vitamin that is found in elevated levels in cheese is Biotin. A sufficient quantity of this vitamin is essential for healthy hair. A deficiency of Biotin can also lead to hair loss.

The amino acid that is named after cheese – Tyrosine – is a precursor to melanin, which is responsible for the color of our hair, among many other wonderful things.

A significant component of hair is a protein called keratin. This protein is formed by polypeptides constructed from amino acids that are found in high concentration in cheese.

Bottom line: eat cheese and provide the nutrients required for healthy, colorful hair, without dandruff. Start today.

You can eat as much cheese as you want to and not worry. This is my opinion.

It could be said that eating too much cheese would not be good for you. Some people go so far as to say that no cheese is good for you. Too much of anything may not be a good thing. “Everything in moderation” is the preferred phrase.

I recall a phase early in my cheese career where I decided to have a little competition with a colleague to see how much weight we might put on by eating as much cheese as we possibly could. We went through this for about a month and discovered that we were both losing weight, especially around the abdomen. This was years before we knew about the weight-reducing properties of CLA – conjugated linoleic acid.

As I recall, we were eating quite a lot of cheese during that time, yet we were not eating as much other foods. No surprise there; we were sated. Fortunately cheese is a near-complete food.

If you only eat one pound of cheese each week you still will not be eating as much as the Greeks. I eat a little more than that but I don’t seem to be suffering for it. And as a matter of fact, my appetite for other foods has not suffered either. This brings to mind all of the other attributes of cheese – it has components that help to metabolize the foods that we eat, including the cheese itself.

Yet with cheese, a little bit can go a long way. Most everyone will reach a point where they will say (regarding eating cheese) “I’m good.”

I know several people who have said that they could be paid for their work in cheese, and indeed cheese was used as a form of currency in the not-too-distant past. I just happen to be someone lucky enough to eat cheese for a living.

At this time of year when the stresses of cold weather, holiday planning and travel place extra demands on us, it is good to know that cheese can help us deal with all of it by giving us a broad array of nutritional benefits.

Cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Cheese is a protein-rich food. Those proteins break down into amino acids. Some of these amino acids found in high concentration in cheese help us respond to stress, anxiety and pain in a number of ways. They help to stabilize moods. A deficiency of one of those amino acids can lead to depression, while another helps give us a good night’s rest. Some of those amino acids can be useful for people with atherosclerosis, heart disorders, and hypertension. They have been shown to play a role in sparing the loss of potassium from the heart muscle. A lack of one of them may contribute to coronary artery spasms.

Cheese is also a good source of beneficial fats. The fats break down into fatty acids. A fatty acid derived from cheese has demonstrated several benefits including a reversal of arteriosclerosis.

Cheese is also a great source of many important vitamins and minerals. It is important to note that cheese is the best source of Calcium, which is important in the maintenance of a regular heartbeat, among other things.

Don’t forget the weight-reducing properties of cheese! The more weight that we carry, the more work is demanded of our heart.

These and many other valuable tidbits are presented in our Cheese & Wine 201 class. I also take the relative nutritional quantities into consideration when I choose the cheeses for Max’s Healthy Plate.