If you have high cholesterol and hypercholesterolemia, can you eat cheese or is it better to avoid cheese? The answer to this question is that it depends on the type of dairy product. Some cheeses, in fact, do not increase bad cholesterol if the intake is not excessive, because their content of this substance is lower than other cheeses. The fact that the cholesterol levels in the body are high is one that can lead to serious consequences. It refers to a fatty substance that is naturally produced by the liver. It is in fact useful for many bodily functions: it is the basic molecule for the synthesis of bile salts and therefore participates in the digestive process. Helps synthesize vitamin D. Helps build cell walls. It produces cortisone and sex hormones, which are essential substances for life. Even though the body produces it on its own, some of the cholesterol can enter the body through food.
Some foods can significantly increase the value of this substance in the body. For this reason, a healthy and balanced diet is very important for health, in fact, an excess of cholesterol in the body can cause serious damage to our body, and even lead to serious diseases. There are many types of cholesterol. In reality they are not different substances, because what changes is the way they are transported in the body. Cholesterol must be wrapped in a protein shell called a lipoprotein so that the blood can carry it. Depending on the type of lipoprotein, one can speak of good or bad cholesterol.
Difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol
As noted above, the way cholesterol is encapsulated determines it to be good O bad. Indeed:
- The HDL cholesterol it is called good cholesterol. It is encapsulated in HLD lipoproteins and in this way removes bad cholesterol from the arteries (i.e. blood vessels) and returns it to the liver. This way the blood can flow normally and freely.
- The LDL cholesterol it is called bad cholesterol because it has a tendency to settle in the walls of the arteries. In doing so, it forms atherosclerotic plaque, which restricts the passage of blood through the arteries and in severe cases even blocks it completely. The more plaques, the worse the health.
Cheeses that can be eaten even with high cholesterol
Some cheeses have high cholesterol values. These include lightly spread cheese, Parmesan and pecorino. These are the foods that the healthiest people do not have to completely eliminate from their diet: they can choose to eat in moderation on a varied and balanced diet. In this way it is possible to effectively eliminate cholesterol from the body, thanks to the beneficial cholesterol that the cheese itself promotes. This is a ranking of the best cheeses that can be consumed more safely (normal quantities, not exaggerated) even when the cholesterol is already high or hypercholesterolemia.
The values shown refer to 100 grams of product:
- Cottage cheese: contain 17 mg of cholesterol;
- Sheep ricotta: 42 mg;
- Light cream cheese: 42 mg;
- Cow mozzarella: 46 mg;
- Growth: 53 mg;
- Buffalo mozzarella: 56 mg;
- Cow’s milk ricotta: 57 mg.