Build muscle with Ricotta and four other brilliant health benefits of eating cheese.

Nothing compares with layers of melted cheese infused into your favourite dish, so it’s understandable why people would question whether cheese is good or bad for you. Cheese comes in an array of colours and delectable flavours ensuring that every foodie finds their own unique little brand of cheesy heaven. Luckily, the health benefits of cheese are numerous, so you don’t have to feel too guilty if you dive head-first into a cheese eating frenzy.  Just try not to overindulge every day, since cheese, like everything else is best enjoyed in moderation.

Cheese supports bone health

Since cheese is packed with calcium and small amounts of vitamin D your bones will definitely thank you for nibbling religiously on your favourite cheeses.  The cheeses with the highest calcium index are normally hard cheeses such as mascarpone, parmesan and cheddar.  Adults require 1000 – 1200 milligrams of calcium per day in order to fend off diseases such as osteoporosis, which affects 1 in 3 women aged over 50 worldwide. So gobbling down a small cube of cheddar every day is just what the doctor ordered and as it turns out, is one of the healthiest cheeses around.

Is cheese good or bad for your waistline?

Thanks to an anti-inflammatory fatty acid called butyrate, cheese can actually help quicken your metabolism. Butyrate is found in all cheeses and helps to prevent the onset of obesity by locking in your body fat percentage and by reducing inflammation. Another health benefit of cheese is that it also helps to produce good bacteria through butyrate in your gut so the more you eat, the healthier your digestive tract will be.  New research also suggests that butyrate-dense cheese may be able to ward off type 2 diabetes by helping your body use insulin more efficiently.

A healthy cheese that helps builds muscle

If you want to bulk up in the muscle department then bulking up on ricotta cheese is your best option. Ricotta, which is Italian for “recooked”, is a prime source of protein for bodybuilders because it has a very high index of whey protein. This provides you with a natural, healthy alternative to protein shakes and also adds a lot of extra nutritional value to your diet.

Cheese is good for your heart

Eating a small portion of cheese every day can reduce your chances of developing cardiovascular diseases by 10% and can also significantly decrease your risk of stroke. Researchers believe that minerals in cheese like calcium, magnesium and riboflavin play a big part in keeping your heart and arteries healthy. However, if you eat more than 80 grams per day, these benefits fall away since too much saturated fat usually does more harm than good when it comes to your cardiovascular health.

Finest Kind knows that cheese is a must-have when enriching any dish and also works very well when you are in serious need of comfort food. The trick in delighting in all of the health benefits of cheese without impacting your waistline is to enjoy it in moderation and to snack on a large variety of cheese. With all of the health benefits that come with eating cheese, it would simply not make sense to deprive yourself of that next mouth-watering morsel of cheesy goodness.