by Eva Perry

Created on: July 01, 2007   Last Updated: April 03, 2010

Suprisingly, according to one nutritional study, a select group of people who ate one ounce of cheese every day, gained less weight over a period of time, than those individuals who completely avoided this dairy product.

This, of course, is good news for those people who enjoy eating cheese, but still want to maintain a low fat diet!

What are some of the ways a person can include cheese in a low fat diet, today?

     • First of all, today,  there is a better variety of cheese selections, available at your local grocery store, which is important in deciding which cheese to incorporate into a low fat diet.

     • It's also important to remember that cheese, is a nutritional food source, that when consumed in moderation, can add the necessary and essential protein, calcium, potassium, and A and B vitamins, your body needs.

     • Try the low fat varieties of cheese in your diet.There are several reduced fat cheeses to choose from, such as American, Swiss, Colby, and Mozzarella to name a few.

     • You may wish to consider fat free cheeses, that are available, today, as well. These cheeses, when added together with other ingredients, can be a welcome alternative, to the additional calories from regular cheese.

     • Try to use cheese in moderation. A regular ounce of cheese has about 9 grams of fat per ounce, with 6 grams of saturated fat content, compared to 5 grams of fat in reduced fat cheeses and 4 grams of saturated fat. Therefore with these statistics it's best to use regular cheeses sparingly in your diet, but include the reduced and fat free cheeses more often. If however, you prefer the full fat cheeses, it's best to not consume more than an ounce of cheese a day, to keep in a low fat diet.

      • Experiment with other cheeses you may not normally include in your diet. One cheese, that naturally is lower in fat, is Goat cheese, compared to cheese made with cow's milk. Another quality to look at is cheese made with part-skim milk, such as mozzarella, which would lower the fat content and calories.

      • Another cheese to look at is low fat, cottage cheese. This cheese is a good source of protein and calcium on a low fat diet, yet it keeps the caloric intake lower.

      • Skim ricotta, is another alternative for a low fat diet, which is great to include as an added ingredient in several recipes. for example, a vegetarian lasagna dish, or one made with ground turkey, is delicious and still low fat to incorporate into your diet.

Finally, it's great to know that cheese, along with other nutritious, dairy products, can be included in a healthy, low fat diet!

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