Cheese and Gout – Beneficial For Your Body

Cheese is a popular food that is used as a topping in most meals. You will see cheese included as a key ingredient in meals that relate to sandwiches, pizzas, soups, and various lasagna and spaghetti dishes.

One question that is frequently asked by those who suffer from gout would be whether or not it is safe to consume cheese.

You will be quick to discover that while not all cheeses are good for your health, cheese and gout actually have good connections.

Photo Of Cheese On Wooden Tray

Cheese and Gout – Is It A Healthy Food?

According to the International Dairy Foods Association 10.6 billion pounds of cheese were produced in the United States in 2011.

Combating gout and managing your condition depends on what types of cheeses you are consuming and how you are consuming them.

Cheese is a good source for calcium and protein, and also contains Vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, zinc and phosphorus.

Cheese also contains an abundance of Vitamin D, which would be 0.632 milligrams and 4% daily value.

There are legitimate links between Vitamin D and gout, and by consuming this vitamin you give your body the chance to develop strong bones and muscles.

Vitamin D consumption also gives your joints a necessary cushion to prevent more gout attacks from happening.

In cheese you can find 1.72 milligrams of Vitamin B5, which is a water-soluble nutrient that helps support adrenal function and a healthy nervous system.

Consuming foods that have Vitamin B5 are beneficial for your body because this vitamin helps the body excrete excess uric acid, effectively fighting off stress and gout attacks.

Cheese is a food that will help you prevent gout development. According to a combined study 

from the University of Auckland, a clear inverse relationship between low-fat dairy intake and gout risk has been shown.

Studies of healthy volunteers have shown that low-fat dairy intake has at least a moderate urate-lowering effect.

The American College of Rheumatology held a study that lasted over a 12-year period which examined the relationship between dietary risk factors and new cases of gout among 47,150 men who had no previous history of gout.

Results showed that there were 730 new cases of gout, but the higher level of consumption of dairy products, including cheese, was associated with a decreased risk.

The types of cheeses used in this study were cottage, ricotta and cream cheese.

Cheeses to Consume, Including Blue Cheese

Blue cheese in particular has its own health benefits.

A study was published in the journal Medical Hypothesis in December 2012, and it found that blue cheeses are beneficial in reducing the chance of getting cardiovascular disease because of a couple factors.

One factor would be the distinct veins of mold that run through the cheese.

The other factor would be secondary metabolites found in Penicillum Roqueforti.

The cheese that is considered to be the most beneficial for heart health would be Roquefort blue cheese.

A process occurs as the cheese ripens is helps promote a healthy gut, helps slow arthritis, and can slow the signs of aging.

According to the journal study the properties of blue cheese worked best in acidic environments, including the lining of the stomach.

If you are looking to make a healthy meal that includes cheese, combine it with a pinch of Yucca powder as this herb provides relief for the stomach.

There are many foods that are harmful in your attempt to recover from gout attacks because of how high in purine content those foods are.

You will be glad to know that there are plenty of cheeses that are safe to consume because of their low levels of purine content.

The type of cheese that has the highest amount of purine content would be limburger cheese, which has 32 milligrams of purines.

Most other cheeses are low in purine content as cottage cheese has only 9.4 milligrams, brie,  and edam with 40% and 45% fat content in dry matter contain 7.1 milligrams, and cheddar cheese contains 6 milligrams.

Cheese is also a great source of calcium, which plays a vital role in having healthy bones.

Calcium keeps your bones from becoming soft and breakable, and allows your muscles to function properly.

You need calcium in your diet since your joints are made of bone. Cheddar cheese has 307 milligrams of calcium per 1.5-ounce serving, while mozzarella cheese has 333 milligrams of calcium per 1.5-ounce serving.

If you are in the age range of 19 to 50, you will need 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day.

If you are over 71 years of age you will need 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day.

Scientists at the University of Korea found that cheese has the right combination of calcium, proteins and vitamins.

It also contains an amazing probiotic called Propionibacterium Freudenreichii, which is used to ferment some cheeses, including Swiss.

This probiotic has anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting benefits. You would be treating yourself to a good salad meal if you were combine cheese with turmeric as toppings.

While this discovery may be stunning, large amounts of cheese intake can actually lower LDL cholesterol levels.

A study conducted by the University of Copenhagen compared hard cheese to butter and the effects of each in a diet routine.

49 men and women participated in this study by replacing part of their habitual dietary fat intake with 13% of energy from cheese or butter.

Results showed that after 6 weeks the cheese intake proved to lower LDL cholesterol compared to the butter intake.

Although it is fairly easy to consume too much cheese, many studies that look at high cheese intake don’t indicate any links with obesity.

Cheese can genuinely be beneficial if its is consumed in moderation. Due to its high fat and salt contents, which is especially the case in cheeses like blue Roquefort, it is important to consume cheese in moderation.

Cheese can range from below 10 grams to 35 grams per 100 grams in fat content.

Salt also has key functions in cheese, contributing to flavor, texture, and most importantly safety.

Salt controls the growth of any bacteria that are used in nearly all cheese production.

Also known as sodium chloride, salt is guaranteed to be an ingredient in the making of cheese.

Roquefort, Feta and Danish Blue cheese contain 1,670, 1,440 and 1,220 milligrams of sodium respectively, while cottage cheese contains only 300 milligrams of sodium. All cheeses vary greatly in sodium content.

Fat – Link Between Cheese and Gout

During the ripening of Italian hard cooked types of cheese, such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, a partial lipolysis of fats occurs.

Fat is present in these types of cheeses, from a maximum of 25.5% to a maximum of 31.4%.

Cholesterol content is fairly low, having an average of 83 to 91 milligrams per 100 grams of cheese.

Various studies indicate that dairy fat consumption is associated with markers of better metabolic health and that dairy fat can protect you from metabolic dysfunction.

Those who suffer from gout have their recovery hindered by eating foods that have saturated fats.

Unfortunately one possible setback with cheese is that it contains 27.8 grams of saturated fat, which amounts to 139% daily value.

If you were to make a meal such as pizza, make sure to use cheese as an ingredient in moderation.

Conclusion

While not every kind of cheese is beneficial for your body, depending on your health, overall cheese is a generally healthy food to consume even if you suffer from gout.

Cheese and gout have considerable links, but most of those links are positive.

It is not recommended to center your gout diet around only cheese, but you should be safe to incorporate cheese as an ingredient in most meals.

According to most scientific studies, cheese has been revealed to be a possible superfood of sorts, so unless you happen to be lactose intolerant your body should receive more helpful benefits than setbacks.

References:

1.Dalbeth, N. and Palmano, K. April 13, 2011. Effects of dairy intake on hyperuricemia and gout. Auckland, New Zealand. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21188562

2.H.K. Choi,  Atkinson, K., Karlson, E.W., Willett, W., and Curhan G. 2004. Purine-Rich Foods, Dairy and Protein Intake, and the Risk of Gout in Men. Boston, MA, USA. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa035700

3.Petyaev, I.M. and Y.K. Bashmakov, Y.K. December 2012. Could cheese be the missing piece in the French paradox puzzle? Cambridge, UK. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22981595

4.Kwon, G., Lee, J., and Lim, Y.H. August 17, 2016. Dairy Propionibacterium extends the mean lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans via activation of the innate immune system. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep31713#results

5.Hjerpsted, J., Leedo, E. and Tholstrup, T. December 2011. Cheese intake in large amounts lowers LDL-cholesterol concentrations compared with butter intake of equal fat content. Frederiksberg, Denmark. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22030228

6.Summer, A., Formaggioni, P., Piero Franceschi, Di Frangia, F., Righi, F., and Malacarne, M. September 2017. Cheese as Functional Food: The Example of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Parma, Italy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5654426/

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