Cholesterol and Cheese

In a single ounce of cheese you can expect to find approximately 25 mg of cholesterol. The more butterfat in the cheese the higher the cholesterol, so avoid double and triple-crèmes and very dense cheeses like Parmesan if you have cholesterol problems. The lowest cholesterol option is cottage cheese (only 10 mg cholesterol per cup).

But even if you have high cholesterol I would still advocate eating smaller amounts of real cheese than large amounts of imitation cheese. Imitation “health” cheeses contain substantial amounts of vegetable fats, which are famously low in cholesterol but are potentially harmful to your body (linked to hardening of the arteries and cancer). Without getting too controversial in an area where I am not an authority, I would like to share with you two brief extracts from a fiery and controversial book:

“Animal fat consumption has not increased in the past sixty years. The increase in heart attacks has paralleled the increased consumption of margarine, homogenized milk, and other processed foods.”

“How does one explain the Masai tribe of East Africa? The Masai are cattle herders. Their diet is nothing but meat, milk and blood. That’s as high a fat and cholesterol diet as you can get. Yet atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in arteries) is practically unknown among Masai tribesmen.”

- William Campbell Douglass II, MD, from The Milk Book. Dr. Douglass is also author of Eat Your Cholesterol! from Rhino Publishing.

Comments

[Stein Meisterbrew]

I too am a cheesaholic...and a cheese head, in fact even my father worked in a cheese factory. After checking the cholesterol in cheese I find that its not as bad as I thought, and will probably just cut back a little. Yum