Maintaining a healthy lifestyle often comes down to eating right. Cheddar cheese can be your food option because it tastes great and has a nutritional profile that positively impacts your health. This article explores five important benefits of cheddar cheese backed by science.
Is Cheddar Cheese Good for You?
Only a small number of foods rank well in terms of taste and health benefits, and cheddar cheese is at the top of the list. So, yes, cheddar cheese is good for you. To sum it up, cheddar packs a lot of vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. And while it doesn’t provide all the nutrients your body needs — and that’s why we need variety — it can boost your overall intake.
Cheddar Cheese Nutrition Facts
Here’s cheddar cheese nutrition in a 1-ounce or 28-gram serving [*]:
- Calories: 113
- Protein: 6 grams
- Carbohydrates: 1 gram
- Fat: 9 grams
Carbs in Cheddar Cheese
With only 1 gram of carbs, cheddar cheese fits perfectly in any low-carb diet. This includes the keto diet, Atkins diet, and carnivore diet.
Fats in Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar cheese is an excellent source of fat, which allows for nutrient absorption and hormone production. For those on the keto diet, daily calories mostly come from fat — about 70-80% of your total calories.
Protein in Cheddar Cheese
There are 6 grams of protein in one serving of cheddar cheese. Having 20-30 grams of protein each meal helps you get enough of it. Consider adding up to three servings of cheddar cheese as a side dish during mealtimes.
Calories in Cheddar Cheese
As a high-calorie food, it’s possible to gain weight on cheddar cheese if you mindlessly snack on it. Yes, cheddar cheese supports weight loss due to its high-protein and low-carb content, but keep in mind that your overall calorie intake still matters.
Vitamins and Minerals in Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar cheese is a superior source of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and phosphorus. These vitamins and minerals carry out functions, such as building healthy bones, supporting immune function, and creating DNA.
Health Benefits of Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar cheese doesn’t just add an extra kick to your homemade meals and snacks. It’s also good for your health! From being an essential source of nutrients to helping you build muscle, here are cheddar cheese health benefits you should know about.
1. Helps reduce your appetite
Like other low-carb cheeses, cheddar cheese is rich in protein. Dietary protein is made up of amino acids that act on our satiety. Several studies have found that high-protein diets lead to higher satiety throughout the day [*].
Getting sufficient amounts of protein by including cheddar cheese in your meal plan promotes weight loss by reducing your hunger levels. Combining cheddar cheese with another protein source, such as nuts, further boosts your protein intake.
2. Meet your vitamin and mineral needs
Vitamins and minerals are essential for optimal health. They play very specific roles that ultimately affect your energy levels, brain function, sleep, immune function, weight loss, carbohydrate metabolism, and more [*].
Foods differ in their micronutrients, which is why eating a variety of foods is important. Cheddar cheese contains high amounts of vitamin A, calcium, vitamin B12, and phosphorus.
3. Builds muscle and promotes exercise recovery
Did you know that muscle mass correlates with health and longevity? Some people think that growing muscle is all about looking good on the outside, but it also improves strength and wards off cognitive decline [*]. Additionally, having more muscle helps with controlling your blood glucose levels, making glucose management easier.
Muscle growth takes time and can be accomplished through strength training (lifting weights) and fueling with protein and enough calories, which cheddar cheese provides.
4. Can be part of a ketogenic diet
For those wondering if cheddar cheese is keto, the answer is yes. Cheddar cheese benefits people trying to reduce their carb intake for health and weight management reasons.
With its high-fat content and nearly zero carbs, cheddar cheese fits well in any keto dish. Cheddar cheese lovers can add it to their scrambled eggs, frittatas, meatballs, salads, and desserts. You might want to try these keto cheese recipes!
5. Prevents osteoporosis
Low calcium intake leads to osteoporosis, a condition in which bones easily break, especially in women over the age of 50 [*]. The good news is that eating cheese can help prevent bones from weakening by providing sufficient amounts of calcium [*].
4 ounces or 100 grams of cheddar cheese contains 711 milligrams of calcium. A Harvard Health Publishing article notes that getting at least 700 milligrams of this mineral from food should be enough [*][*].
Aside from cheddar cheese, make sure to obtain vitamin D from other nutritious foods like salmon, tuna, and egg yolks. This is because vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium.
FAQs
Here are common questions and answers to help you learn more about the benefits of cheddar cheese.
Can I eat cheddar cheese every day?
As long as you are not sensitive to dairy products, cheddar cheese can definitely be part of your daily nutrition plan. You can snack on cheese, stuff it inside your dishes, and add it to your dips and sauces. There are plenty of options with cheddar cheese.
Are there different types of cheddar cheese?
Not all cheddar cheese is the same. Cheddar cheese varies depending on its age — mild cheddars are aged for 2-6 months while sharp cheddars are aged for up to 12 months or more. Some say that sharp cheddar cheeses have higher nutritional value in that they contain more protein and fat.
Is cheddar cheese good for the brain?
Yes. Cheddar cheese benefits the brain by providing it with fat, which is vital for proper brain function. The human brain is 60% fat and in fact, it’s the fattiest organ in your body [*]. Moreover, cheddar cheese has vitamin B12, which may improve your memory.
Does cheddar cheese help you sleep?
Tryptophan, an amino acid that gets converted into molecules that help with sleep, is found in cheddar cheese. So, yes, if you’re having difficulty falling asleep, consider cheddar cheese as one of your keto-friendly bedtime snacks.
Why is cheddar the best cheese?
Cheddar cheese is considered the best for two reasons: it’s versatile, meaning that it can be enjoyed in many different ways, and it’s full of nutrients. Both flavorsome and healthy, there’s no doubt that cheddar cheese is loved by many.
The Bottom Line
According to science, cheddar cheese has important benefits, ranging from weight loss to preventing osteoporosis. Getting sufficient amounts of nutrients isn’t only possible by eating slices of cheddar cheese. At Käze, we use our secret technology to turn 100% real cheddar cheese into shelf-stable and convenient cheddar snack bites. Our snacks are also gluten-free, keto-friendly, and kosher!
