Blog for all health-conscious: Fooducate Blog - Will Sodium & Fat Reduction Efforts Lead to a Healthier Cheese?

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

Fooducate Blog - Will Sodium & Fat Reduction Efforts Lead to a Healthier Cheese?

Will Sodium & Fat Reduction Efforts Lead to a Healthier Cheese?

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT

New here? Get our iPhone or Android App to scan & choose healthy groceries!

Or try Fooducate's Online Nutrition App!

A very interesting article published in the New York Times earlier this week goes into a detailed description of the efforts undertaken by the dairy industry to improve the nutrition profile of cheese. As sworn turophiles, our ears perked and our tongues salivated with joy. Cheese, with thousands of flavors, textures, and names, is notorious for high levels of saturated fats, and in many formats is also high in sodium. Unfortunately, there have been few success stories:

"We've made some progress in that arena," said Gregory D. Miller, president of the Dairy Research Institute. "But we have not been able to crack the code."

Dr. Miller, whose group is financed by the dairy industry, was referring to efforts to reduce salt, but he had a similar appraisal of the challenges of low-fat cheese. "When you take a lot of the fat out, essentially cheese will turn into an eraser," he said. Read more from the NY Times…

Apparently, cheese is not cheese without salt and fats. Removing them means adding other stuff instead. And those additives affect the flavor profile, mouthfeel, or shelf life of the product. While scientists continue to explore, we’d like to make a revolutionary suggestion that can cut sodium and saturated fat consumption in half:

EAT LESS CHEESE!

That way you can still have your favorite brie or cheddar, enjoy the luxurious flavor, and not fuss over the nutrients. An easy way to do this is to stop coating foods with cheese (mac n’ cheese, cheese sauces over veggies, etc…). But of course that’s not a solution that the dairy industry would like us to embrace.

Get Fooducated: iPhone App Android App Web App RSS or Email