| In the US and around the world, cheese is an | | | | it hits your mouth! Even if you are lactose |
| incredibly popular food eaten every day on | | | | intolerant and don't have the enzyme to break |
| burgers, pizzas, subs, salads, and macaroni. Today | | | | down lactose, you still might be able to eat |
| you can even buy cheese in pre-packaged single | | | | cheese, especially types which have been aged |
| serving sizes for snacking. | | | | thirty days or more. Often, the process of |
| Cheese is nutritious but it's often one of the first | | | | making cheese reduces the lactose. |
| foods cut from diets when the goal is to cut | | | | When adding cheese to your nutrition plan, the |
| calories or lose weight. Many diabetics routinely | | | | biggest concern for diabetics is the fat content. |
| don't include it in their nutrition plans simply | | | | The American Diabetes Association puts cheese in |
| because they believe cheese has too many | | | | a category on the Diabetic Food Pyramid named |
| calories. Others consider cheese as a no-no | | | | "meat and meat substitutes." Cheese has |
| because it is seen as a food high in cholesterol. | | | | comparable amounts of protein and fat to other |
| But, if you are selective about what type of | | | | meats. But just as you can choose lean cuts of |
| cheeses you eat, and minimize the amount you | | | | meat and cut off the extra fat, so you can buy |
| eat at a sitting, cheese can be an integral part of | | | | low-fat and non-fat cheeses. |
| a diabetic diet. | | | | Today many cheeses are made from skim or |
| Cheese has a high amount of quality protein. It | | | | nonfat milk. You can even get skim-milk |
| also has a good amount of: | | | | mozzarella cheese, the type which is used to top |
| - calcium | | | | pizzas. In fact, some of the labels the USDA |
| - vitamin B6 | | | | allows on cheeses are fat free, nonfat, low fat, |
| - vitamin A | | | | less fat, light and reduced fat. Because people |
| - beta-carotene | | | | with diabetes need to be concerned about |
| - thiamine | | | | cholesterol levels and heart disease, it is best to |
| - niacin | | | | stick with these new categories of cheese. |
| - folate and | | | | If you already are having heart problems, try |
| - phosphorus | | | | nonfat, reduced sodium cheeses. While none of |
| The protein is especially good because it is from | | | | these are going to taste just like the fattiest |
| whey and casein... exactly the kind of protein that | | | | cheeses, you can still enjoy cheese flavors and |
| bodybuilders take in to build muscle fast and help | | | | get all of the benefits which come from milk |
| strengthen the immune system. Cheese also has | | | | products. Another one of these bonuses is |
| CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid and spohingolipids, | | | | increased bone density from calcium. |
| which come from milk fat. Studies have shown | | | | Even if you have type 2 diabetes, you can still |
| these to reduce the risk of heart disease and | | | | eat cheese. You just need to change the types |
| certain cancers. | | | | of cheeses which you eat and have smaller and |
| One of the advantages for diabetics is that | | | | fewer servings. Perhaps most importantly of all, |
| cheese is low-carb, even if the label says | | | | be aware of how much saturated fat is in the |
| otherwise. That's because the bacteria has eaten | | | | cheese you choose and keep it as low as possible. |
| a good amount of the carbs in the cheese before | | | | |