Although cheese is a delicious food both by itself and with
other items, you do need to be careful to eat it in moderation. Most people
associate cheese with fat and worry that it will affect their cholesterol in a
negative way. This makes sense as cheese has both dietary cholesterol and
saturated fat. Luckily, however, cheese will either not affect your cholesterol
levels at all or even be helpful in most cases. It only rarely negatively
affects cholesterol.
What It Does To Low-Density Lipoprotein
Most people know low-density lipoprotein as their “bad
cholesterol.” This is the type of cholesterol linked to a higher risk of
clogged arteries and heart disease. The good news for those who love eating
cheese is that research has shown that cheese may not affect your low-density
lipoprotein at all, even if you get as many as 13 percent of your daily
calories from cheese over the course of six weeks.
How It Affects High-Density Lipoprotein
High-density lipoprotein is your “good cholesterol” since it
removes cholesterol from the blood, decreasing your risk of heart disease.
Studies done on cheese and high-density lipoprotein levels found that those who
eat cheese frequently will have higher levels compared to those who don’t eat
it as much. To make that discovery even better, the study also showed that
eating a lot of cheese may lower triglyceride levels, which will lower the risk
of heart disease even more.
Why Cheese Helps Or Is Neutral For Cholesterol
Scientists are still trying to figure out why cheese lowers your
cholesterol or doesn’t affect it at all despite containing saturated fat. They
have a few theories, but aren’t positive which is the actual reason. Some
hypothesize that the calcium within the cheese reduces the amount of fat that
is absorbed during digestion. Emerging research has also shown that eating
full-fat dairy products (such as cheese, yogurt, or milk) may not be linked to
any risk of heart disease. In fact, these items may be linked to a reduced
risk. The results imply that despite being filled with saturated fat, dairy fat
may not actually be an issue for heart disease. It is also possible that
something in the way that nutrients and fat are combined in cheese, referred to
as the cheese matrix, leads to these minimal or beneficial cholesterol affects.
Something To Remember
While cheese isn’t
likely to negatively affect your cholesterol, that doesn’t mean you should
regularly binge on it. Cheese is still fairly dense in terms of calories and
fat. Eating too much of it can quickly put you over your daily recommended
amount. Because of this, cheese is best enjoyed in smaller quantities that let
you savor the flavors with the occasionally larger portion mixed in.
No comments:
Post a Comment