Cheese anyone? Here's a compelling reason to have just a little.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

You're at one of the endless parties on at this time of year. A waiter appears with a tray of some truly delicious looking food - hot pastries, dips, and look - cheese and crackers too. Surely the cheese is the healthiest option here? Perhaps - but I'd like to explain why its good to restrain yourself and have just a tiny sliver.

Cheese has been around for centuries - some people speculate that it was created to enable milk to be preserved so that there was food during winter. Whatever the reason, it is a very concentrated food.

If the piece of cheese you picked up is about 30g (1oz), it took a whole glass of milk to make it. That one delicious mouthful will give you around 8g of fat, which is around 20% of your entire day's recommended fat intake - and most of it is saturated fat - not the best! Imagine how much fat you're eating if you pick up four or five cubes.......

But isn't cheese good for calcium and protein intake? Well yes, but because its so concentrated, and has zero fibre content, its easy to eat lots before you feel full.

Enjoy that bite of cheese; yes, it certainly is delicious. But to keep your waistline trim and your arteries free of cholesterol watch your intake.

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