Cheese: fatty snack or source of calcium?

1. The Netherlands prefers to eat a cheese sandwich for breakfast and lunch. It seems like a healthy choice, but cheese contains a fair amount of fat and salt. What are the pros and cons of cheese?

1. Cheese contains a lot of calcium. You need this mineral for the construction and maintenance of your bones and teeth. It helps against osteoporosis (bone loss) and is necessary for the proper functioning of the nerves and muscles, blood clotting and the transport of other minerals in the body.

Vitamins and protein

1. Cheese also contains a lot of vitamins A and D. Vitamin A is good for the skin, eyes, growth and resistance. You need vitamin D to absorb calcium in the body. The body can produce vitamin D in the skin itself under the influence of sunlight, but it is also found in full-fat cheese. In addition, cheese contains protein, which provides amino acids. Amino acids are building blocks for the protein in body cells. In addition, protein saturates well. If you eat a lot of protein, you will be less hungry afterwards.

Fat and salt

1. Cheese contains a lot of saturated fat. This type of fat increases the 'bad' cholesterol LDL. This cholesterol sticks to your arterial walls and thus increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Cheese also contains a lot of salt. Salt is not unhealthy, but you can easily consume too much. People who are sensitive to it get higher blood pressure when eating salt. Salt is filtered into your body by your kidneys. If you eat salt very often, the kidneys are overloaded and that is not good for your heart. Cheese is sometimes used as a meat substitute, because both products contain protein. The disadvantage is that cheese contains hardly any iron, making it not a full-fledged meat substitute.

Fat content

1. You can see how fat a type of cheese is from indications such as 20+, 30+ and 48+. These numbers say something about the percentage of fat in the so-called dry matter, ie the cheese from which all the moisture has been removed. The moisture percentage of cheese can fluctuate because the cheese loses moisture during storage. The dry matter remains constant. A 30+ cheese therefore does not consist of 30 percent fat. Suppose this cheese consists of 40 percent moisture and 60 percent dry matter, then 100 grams of cheese contains 40 grams of moisture and 60 grams of dry matter. There is 30 percent fat in the dry matter, so 30 percent of 60 grams = 18 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese. The Nutrition Center advises adults to eat 40 grams of cheese per day. This concerns 10+, 20+ or ​​30+ cheese with not too much salt (less than 2 grams of salt per 100 grams of salt). These cheese molds, together with other milk products, are in the Wheel of Five because of their positive effects on health. Hüttenkäse, mozzarella and fresh goat cheese are also included in the Wheel of Five.

2. You can see how fat a type of cheese is from indications such as 20+, 30+ and 48+. These numbers say something about the percentage of fat in the so-called dry matter, ie the cheese from which all the moisture has been extracted. The moisture percentage of cheese can fluctuate, because the cheese loses moisture during storage. The dry matter remains constant. A 30+ cheese therefore does not consist of 30 percent fat. Suppose that this cheese consists of 40 percent moisture and 60 percent dry matter, then 100 grams of cheese contains 40 grams of moisture and 60 grams of dry matter. There is 30 percent fat in the dry matter, so 30 percent of 60 grams = 18 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese. The Nutrition Center advises adults to eat 40 grams of cheese per day. This concerns 10+, 20+ or ​​30+ cheese with not too much salt (less than 2 grams of salt per 100 grams of salt). These cheese molds, together with other milk products, are in the Wheel of Five because of their positive effects on health. Hüttenkäse, mozzarella and fresh goat cheese are also included in the Wheel of Five.