If you love cheese, then you are not alone. According to statisticsOn average, each American consumes up to 40 pounds of cheese a year. However, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Stuffed in sandwiches, melted on pizza, stacked high charcuterie boards“Whatever happens, cheese seems to be everywhere. And while cheese it’s undeniably delicious, it can have downsides and undesirable health side effects.
For starters, many varieties are packed with calories, fat, and sodium, which can negatively affect your physical health. Others are high in tyramine, which is a known trigger for migraines and headaches. And while the research connecting cheese consumption to chronic disease has been inconsistent, it’s still important to be careful about exactly how much of this dairy product you consume on a regular basis if you’re experiencing bothersome problems with no unidentifiable source.
Due to its sodium and fat content, Dr Akua Woolbrightthe director of the national nutrition program for the nonprofit Whole Foods Whole Cities Foundationrecommends limiting cheese consumption by sticking to 1-ounce servings of hard cheese or ½ cup servings of soft cheeses at a time. “One way to do this is to buy stronger flavored varieties so you can add more flavor to your food with smaller amounts,” she says. Some great hard cheese options include Parmesan, feta and swiss cheese. “You can go one step further by replacing whole-milk cheeses with low-fat and reduced-fat options. And if you’re interested in lowering your sodium intake, avoid feta and hard cheeses.”
If you are someone who is looking to reduce your cheese intake, or want to cut it out altogether, read below for some of the benefits you can experience by doing so. Of improved skin tone to less headaches, giving up cheese can have some amazing effects on both the body and the mind.
Reducing your intake of cheese and dairy products can have a positive effect on both the tone and texture of your skin. This is because dairy products have been linked to excessive oil production. “Reducing cheese consumption can help improve skin tone, as cheese can contribute to excessive sebum production that can cause breakouts or clog pores,” says internal medicine specialist Dr. Mya Bellinger.
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If you’re someone who gets frequent migraines, a diet high in cheese and dairy may be to blame. “Reducing cheese consumption can reduce headaches and migraines caused by the effects of the tyramine found in cheese,” explains Bellinger. Tyramine is a naturally occurring compound in plants and animal products. According to studies, high amounts of tyramine in the body can trigger headaches and migraines in people.
Eating too much cheese can also negatively affect any weight loss goals you may have. “Reducing your cheese intake can help you lose weight,” says Bellinger. This is due to the sugar, fat, and calories often found in cheese. For example, a 100-gram serving of cheddar cheese can have up to 33 grams of fat in that. It may help to cut back on cheese or opt for low-fat or fat-free options.
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Reduce the consumption of cheese and dairy in general, may help reduce the risk of cancer. This is because eating less cheese means less casein, a protein found in milk that can be linked to disease.
“Casein has been shown to increase tumor growth rates for certain types of tumors, such as prostate cancer and potentially breast cancer,” Share dana ellis hunnes PhD, MPH, RD, senior dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and Cambridge University Press author of the new book. Recipe for survival (2022). “When we eat a lot of cheese, which is made primarily from the casein fraction, we potentially increase that risk.”
Eating less cheese can not only be good for your health, but it can also help Mother Earth. “It takes a lot of water to make milk in general,” Hunnes says. She shares that it takes three times as much water to produce cow’s milk compared to the average plant-based milk.
“From an environmental perspective, cheese is very resource intensive,” says Hunnes. “It takes a lot of land to produce enough milk to make a pound of cheese, it takes thousands of gallons of water to produce a pound of cheese, and it emits a lot of methane from the cows themselves.”
Bess Berger, RDN, CDN and owner of Nutrition by Bess points out that cheese and dairy products contain a lot of additives, preservatives and hormones, which can cause inflammation in the body. “As a PCOS dietitian, I see women cutting out dairy and reporting that headaches and other inflammatory responses subside,” says Berger. “Unfortunately, the quality of dairy products today is considerably lower and more modified than it was twenty years ago. This affects a lot of us and I see it with women all the time.”
If you still want to eat cheese, Hunnes recommends choosing those with fewer additives. “Less processed cheeses are somewhat healthier than others,” Hunnes suggests. “If you’re going to eat cheese, I recommend one with as few ingredients as possible and, as much as possible, from a humanely raised farm.”
If you are someone who struggles with digestive issues and experiences frequent bloating, then eliminating or limiting cheese and dairy can help reverse this. “For many, dairy products can cause an upset stomach and bloating due to a lack of proper enzymes to break down the milk sugar or an actual allergy,” he says. sad bettera registered dietitian Balance One Supplementsenvironmental health specialist and adjunct professor of nutrition.
“Those who lack adequate amounts of lactase, the enzyme that digests milk sugar, are known to be lactose intolerant and experience excessive gastrointestinal discomfort and bloating when consuming dairy products,” adds Best. Try opting for dairy-free cheese if you think this might be you.
