In addition to the different taste and texture, each variety has its own nutritional characteristics and brings different benefits. Find out what to choose with the help of a nutritionist
The cheese has always been a main food of the Mediterranean gastronomic tradition. Fruit of ancient rural traditions, besides being a real excellence of our table, consumed in the right quantities ensures many benefits. It is an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D, important for combating bone fragility and the risk of osteoporosis. Moreover, it brings so many noble proteins, indispensable for the health of the muscles and for the correct functioning of the organism in general. He then has good doses of vitamin A, useful for eyesight and skin. There are different types and finding your way around is not easy. Besides the different taste and texture, each variety has its nutritional characteristics. For example, is it better to choose fresh or seasoned cheeses? Let's see with the help of the doctor Valentina Schirò, nutritionist biologist specialized in food science, what are the differences and how to exploit them at the table to the advantage of line and health.
Seasoned they have more protein
Both fresh and seasoned cheeses are good sources of high biological value proteins, that is rich in all nine essential amino acids useful for muscle building. «Compared to the fresh ones, however, the cheeses matured, in particular those based on cow's milk, contain them in greater quantities. Furthermore, they are more rich in vitamins and minerals, ”explains nutritionist Valentina Schirò. They then have another advantage. Grana, parmesan, pecorino and other mature cheeses can also be eaten by those who are lactose intolerant. In fact, with the maturing process, lactose, the sugar naturally contained in milk is present in fresh ones, is reduced enough to be present in small traces. Compared to the fresh ones, the seasoned ones have more fat and salt, which when consumed in excess promote high and overweight pressure. The advice is not to abuse it, eating them twice a week and limiting it to a portion of 50 grams .
Fresh they have less fat and calories
Ricotta, stracchino and other fresh cheeses compared to the seasoned ones provide a lower caloric intake and are more suitable for those on a diet provided, however, that they are consumed in the right quantities. «You can eat a maximum of twice a week limiting yourself to a portion of 100 grams for ricotta and 80 grams for all the others. One of their advantages is that they are composed of 80% water and provide less calories and sometimes less fat, as in the case of ricotta or primosale .
How to combine them at the table
To avoid the risk of getting fat, the advice "is to always read the information on the label, focusing in particular on the content of fat and sodium (salt), preferring the varieties that contain smaller quantities and eating them at most a couple of times a week and comuqnue as an alternative to eggs, meat and fish. Furthermore, to limit the intake of excess cholesterol, which is harmful to the health of the heart and arteries, whether fresh or seasoned, it is advisable to always accompany them to a nice portion of vegetables, which provides many fibers that help to lower the levels of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and to raise the "good" (HDL) and promote satiety which helps to limit consumption ".
