Good news for cheese lovers

Hey Cassie,

Here in the States we celebrate a

special day for all moms, Mother's

Day. I am so fortunate to have a

wonderful family and last Mother's

Day I enjoyed the day with my parents

and my sister (now a new mom) and her

family.

We had a wonderful, healthy dinner

together (well almost healthy with

the exception of just a few items),

but one thing I did notice was that

cheese was an integral part of almost

every component of this dinner: cheese

and crackers to munch on upon arrival,

mozzarella and tomato as an appetizer,

cauliflower casserole with cheddar cheese,

and grilled burgers with the option of

melted cheese on top. We actually did not

have cheese cake for dessert, but that really

would have made for quite the

"cheesy" evening.

(wow, a cheesy joke too!)

So Cassie, do you know which "cheesy" parts

of this meal were healthy or not? Let's take

a look at the anatomy of cheese and figure

out exactly where cheese can fit into our

healthy eating plan.

What kind of fat is in cheese?

The kind of fat in a particular cheese will

be completely dependent on the source of

that cheese. Just as the quality of our

milk is only as good as the cow it came

from, the same rule goes for cheese.

As many of you have read in the "Dairy"

chapter of the Diet Solution Program, cows

were really meant to be fed grass and be

raised in free roaming pastures (so they can

dance and sing and be merry). Unfortunately,

that is not the case with many milk manufacturers

and cow farmers. It is much cheaper and much

easier for them to feed their cows grains

(a very unnatural source of food for cows)

and raise them in extremely tight quarters

(again, not how they would really live in

nature and no dancing possible) than give them

the nourishment and enough land to grow the

way nature intended. As a result many cows

become extremely ill and require antibiotics in

order to stay alive. These antibiotics that

are now in the blood stream of the cows end up

in our milk, cheese and yogurt (not to mention

our beef) and are extremely detrimental to our

health.

To make matters even worse, many cows are given

growth hormones to speed up their growth and

development (farmers are thinking they gotta make

the most money from each cow right?). Not only

do the growth hormones also make for some pretty

sick cows but the actual hormones also get

into our foods and cause a lot of health problems

in our own bodies (and the bodies of our

little children).

Oh boy Isabel. You are so depressing

sometimes!

Don't worry. There's good news. Fortunately

for us Organic Milk and Cheese has now become

more readily available than ever before. This

means we are able to purchase our favorite foods

without the added antibiotics and hormones that

are in conventional dairy products by choosing

organic products.

Hold on, before another organic rant, let me get

back to the question at hand: What kind of fat

is in cheese?

Conventional cheese from poorly raised cows is

very high in Omega 6 Fats. Again, remembering

back to the "Fats" chapter in The Diet Solution,

we want to reduce the amount of Omega 6's in our

diets and consistently keep increasing the amount

of Omega 3's in our diets. Cheese that is made

from the milk of grass fed, free roaming cows

(without antibiotics and growth hormones of course)

is much higher in Omega 3 fats and conjugated

linoleic acid (conjugated what?). CLA, as it is

often referred to, is an extremely healthy fat

that has been found to be a potent cancer fighter.

The most abundant source of natural CLA is the

meat and dairy products of grassfed animals.

Research conducted since 1999 shows that grazing

animals have from 3-5 times more CLA than animals

fattened on grain in a feedlot. Simply switching

from grainfed to grassfed products can greatly

increase your intake of CLA.

So... Is the fat in cheese of the good kind or

bad kind? As you can see, that greatly depends

on the source of your cheese. Conventional,

non-organic cheese can be quite high in bad

fat and laden with antibiotics and hormones

and really should NOT be included in our meal

plans where as grass fed, organic cheese can be

a wonderful and tasty addition to your healthy

meal plans.

Also remember that raw dairy is always a better

option than pasteurized dairy. Raw milk may be

extremely difficult to find in many states but

raw cheese can be found at most grocery stores

and health food stores all over the world.

I order our raw cheese online from

http://grasslandmeats.com or buy it at the

small organic health food store near our

home. If you have never had raw cheese

before, you are going to be absolutely

amazed by the delicious taste. Raw cheese

is so much more flavorful than any conventional

cheese and makes all the difference in the

world especially when used in recipes.

Certain cheeses should be avoided at all

costs. Never and I mean never eat cheese out

of a can (Does that even sound normal?) Also,

American Cheese out of plastic wrapping is

another big No-No. It's not even a "real"

type of cheese and the fact that it's wrapped

in plastic is quite scary to say the least.

Is cheese a fat or a protein?

Where as many nutrition plans count cheese

as a protein, I count it as a fat option in

The Diet Solution Program. That is because I

do not feel that the protein content in cheese

is high enough to qualify it as a full protein.

With that being said, cheese does have a

significant amount of protein, but for blood

sugar balancing purposes, it just may not be

enough for some. This is where the "listen to

your body" tactic really comes into play.

Some people can have 2 ounces of cheddar cheese

and a small apple as a snack and feel great where

as others may have this same snack and feel

lethargic and sleepy just 30 minutes later.

Let your body tell you if this would be a

healthy option for you.

Let's remember that portion control comes

into effect with just about everything and

1-2 ounces of cheese (1 oz is about the size

of a domino) can go a really long way in

any meal (No, not the whole block Cassie.

That's way too much at once.)

Here are some great ways to add cheese

into your healthy weight loss meal plans:

1. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top

of your morning vegetable omelet.
2. Combine cheese with an apple or pear

and some raw nuts as a great 3pm pick me up.
3. Melt cheese over vegetables to get your

whole family to eat their "veggies"

Remember, Cassie, it only takes a small

amount of cheese to add that extra flavor

to most meals and recipes. There is no need

to drown your salad, veggies, omelet, or

meat in gobs and gobs of cheese

(my apologies to chicken parmigiana

and cheese casserole). There is a

healthy way to have your cheese and eat it too.

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
Certified Nutritionist
Certified Exercise Specialist
Author of The Diet Solution Program
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

Please post your comments and check

out my previous newsletters at my

blog here: Isabel's Blog

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