The Nutrients of Cheese!

NUTRIENTS IN CHEESE

The nutrients present in cheese can be broadly classified in to proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals and salts. The proportion of these nutrients in cheese may vary depending upon the type of milk used for cheese preparation and the variety of cheese produced. Generally very hard, hard and semi hard varieties of cheese possess high levels of protein mainly casein, which is a major repository of essential amino acids present in right proportion required for human beings. The fat and carbohydrate fractions supply the much needed energy.

The milk carbohydrate, lactose, is present in solution and hence goes in to the whey portion during the cheese manufacture. Hence, the lactose content of the cheese is minimal and if at all present, it is mostly present in young cheese varieties and this is the substrate, which is usually acted upon by the starter bacteria during the fermentation process. This is the reason for no lactose intolerance symptoms in people suffering from this disease when they consume cheese.

Physicians generally warn their patients against consuming cheese because cheese is one of the fat rich diets. But this is generally considered as a myth because the recommended daily intake of cholesterol is 500 mg and the contribution of cheese towards the cholesterol content is only 26 mg and hence cheeses no longer pose any problem to the consumers by way of increased cholesterol content. Moreover, some cheese varieties have extremely low cholesterol level.

Apart from protein, fat and carbohydrate, cheese serves as a good source of vitamins but it is deficient in Vitamin C, which is lost during manufacture through whey. In order to avoid being deficient in Vitamin C, one has to supplement the cheese diet with some citrus fruits and vegetables. Though most of the water soluble vitamins get lost in the whey component during cheese making, sill the concentrated form of cheese serves as a good source of these vitamins. Cheese is again rich in bone forming minerals especially calcium.