The British Heart Foundation (BHF) indicates that «you don’t have to eliminate cheese from your diet«but it’s better to eat it»with moderation«.
In addition, certain cheeses contain varying amounts of Saturated fats.
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Would you know which are the best and worst cheeses to eat if you have high cholesterol?
Cheeses that contain the least amount of saturated fat (per 100g) include:
- Quarks (0.1g)
- Reduced fat cottage cheese (1 g)
- Cottage cheese (2g)
- Ricotta (5g)
Some of the most offending cheeses when it comes to saturated fat include:
- Mascarpone (29g)
- Stilton (23g)
- Cheddar, Red Leicester, Double Gloucester and other hard cheeses (22g)
- Parmesan (19g)
The Brie cheesethe paneer and the soft goat cheese contain 18 g of saturated fat per 100 g.
Then this edamwhich contains 16 g of saturated fat, while the string cheese, camembert, feta and mozzarella contain 14 g of saturated fat per 100 g.
cheese too can be high in saltwhich increases blood pressure and further increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
«There may be more salt in a serving of cheddar than in a packet of chips,» the BHF warned.
One tip from the charity is to «keep cheese portions small» no matter what kind of cheese you eat, though preferably «reduced-fat» cheeses.
The BHF added:
«‘Reduced fat’ is not necessarily ‘low fat,’ just means 25 percent less fat than original. Check the label to see if the fat content is high (greater than 17.5 g / 100 g), medium (3.1–17.5 g / 100 g), or low (3 g or less / 100 g).»
How does consuming saturated fat lead to high cholesterol?
Specialists point out that research has shown that saturated fats interfere with receptors on liver cells.
Liver cells have low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that pick up excess cholesterol as it floats through the bloodstream.
The receptor takes cholesterol out of the bloodstream and transfers it to the liver, where it is broken down and then excreted from the body.
If there’s too much saturated fat floating around, the LDL receptors stop working as well.
damaged LDL receptors they can no longer pick up cholesterol, hence cholesterol levels rise.