Why cottage cheese is useful: a complete overview of its composition, types and possible harm

Nutritional value and chemical composition

Cottage cheese has several types, each of which has its own calorie content and is therefore useful in its own way:

• high in fat – about 18% (200 kcal per 100 grams);
• bold – about 9% (170 kcal per 100 grams);
• low fat content - from 5% and below (120 kcal per 100 grams);
• low fat (80 kcal per 100 grams).

Don't be afraid of fatty varieties. Of course, they are high in calories, but at the same time they supply us with energy and provide nutrients more than others. You should exclude them from your diet only in case of certain diseases, as well as if you are trying to lose excess weight and plan to combine cottage cheese dishes with fatty and sweet additives - for example, sour cream and dried fruits.

This fermented milk product contains:

• phosphorus;
• calcium;
• iron;
• magnesium;
• vitamins A, E;
• amino acids;
• carbohydrates.

Due to its high protein content, it has a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract and is even recommended for those who usually experience digestive problems.

The peculiarity of cottage cheese is that it is digested much faster and easier than other dairy products, and also has a positive effect on the liver. All this means that it has fewer contraindications and can be eaten even at night.

Micronutrient content table

It was already mentioned above that cottage cheese contains many nutrients that can undoubtedly be beneficial. However, the quantity usually varies depending on the quality and source of the curd you will be consuming. Below are the average data.

Benefit for adults

Cottage cheese is useful for both women and men.

Thanks to it, metabolism is accelerated, which means that it is easier for the fair sex to maintain good shape and their natural beauty. It gives the skin radiance, strengthens hair and nails, and also maintains iron levels at the level necessary for women's health. Some scientific studies have shown that regular consumption of cottage cheese helps prevent breast cancer.

For men, the product is useful because it contains zinc and selenium, which help the production of testosterone. This has a positive effect on male potency and reproductive function.

The curd mass is made from milk and retains most of the beneficial ingredients of the base product:

• removes harmful toxins and waste from the body;
• reduces the risk of blood clots;
• reduces the amount of bad cholesterol;
• has a beneficial effect on blood pressure;
• improves heart function;
• strengthens the body's resistance to viruses and colds;
• normalizes intestinal health;
• promotes good joint function.

Beneficial properties of fermented milk product

What exactly are the beneficial properties of one of the most popular fermented milk products? This question worries many people.

The vitamins contained in cottage cheese help strengthen the body after serious operations and injuries.

The product, due to the presence of many useful components, can become an element of a special diet during the treatment of atherosclerosis. In addition, cottage cheese is an excellent means of preventing diseases of the visual analyzer and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Regular consumption of fermented milk products in moderate quantities can prevent premature aging of the human body.

Cottage cheese is actively used in cosmetology. It is used to prepare various beauty products. Due to the rich content of calcium, vitamins and minerals, cottage cheese has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, hair, and nails.

Benefits during pregnancy

The calcium in the product has a good effect on the development of the fetus, and also gives strength and helps the expectant mother to be more resilient. In addition, the curd mass significantly reduces the risk of symphysitis. This disease begins due to a lack of calcium in the body and can lead to bone separation and even become a threat to the health of the fetus.

However, at such an important period in the life of every woman, we must not forget that the product must be made from high-quality raw materials and be fresh. If a woman suffers from lactose intolerance, then it is better to avoid cottage cheese.

We answer questions from readers

How to choose good cottage cheese, and which is healthier - store-bought or homemade?

Good cottage cheese has a white-cream color, without green or blue, with a soft consistency. There should be no sour or bitter taste, as well as an unpleasant odor.

• When choosing cottage cheese in a store, first of all pay attention to its composition and shelf life. It is best to take the product in a sealed, dry container - avoid soggy paper wrappers.
• The shelf life of natural cottage cheese cannot exceed one week ; in all other cases, the product contains artificial additives.

If you compare store-bought and homemade cottage cheese, the latter is much healthier, but is fraught with a great danger - bacteria.
After all, when buying cottage cheese on the market, you cannot find out under what conditions and when it was made. If you run into an unscrupulous seller, you can catch some kind of E. coli and get quite seriously ill.

Choose your homemade product with care!

You can check whether vegetable fats have been added to the cottage cheese by conducting a simple experiment at home. Just leave some cottage cheese to sit at room temperature, uncovered. If after a day the product turns yellow and becomes crusty, it is real. But if no changes in appearance have occurred, the composition contains vegetable fats and preservatives.

How to properly store cottage cheese?

• It is better to store store-bought cottage cheese not in its original packaging, but in an enamel or plastic container.
• At a temperature of about +8 degrees, cottage cheese can be stored for 3-4 days.
• If you want to extend the life of the product, you need a colder temperature - from 0 to +1 degrees. In such conditions, the cottage cheese will remain fresh for a week.
• By placing the cottage cheese in the freezer, where the temperature is -30 degrees, you can store it for two weeks. But it is better to use such a product only as an ingredient for baking.
• Homemade cottage cheese is best stored in parchment paper or foil. The shelf life of homemade cottage cheese is much shorter than that of store-bought cottage cheese - it is better to consume it within 2 days.
• Helpful advice: fatty cottage cheese spoils faster, but you can extend its shelf life by putting a small piece of sugar in the container.

Can pregnant and breastfeeding women eat cottage cheese?

Despite all the benefits of cottage cheese, there are some nuances in the use of this dairy product by pregnant women and nursing mothers.

1. First of all, you need to be careful about the fat content of the cottage cheese. Doctors recommend buying cottage cheese with a fat content of no more than 8%, or even switching to low-fat cottage cheese.
2. The composition of the product is also very important. Cottage cheese should not contain any other ingredients other than milk. You should also be careful with curd products - chemical curds and various desserts. They often contain thickeners, dyes, palm oil and other fats that are harmful to the fetus and newborns.
3. It is also worth paying attention to the daily intake of cottage cheese. It is enough for pregnant women to consume no more than 200 g 2-3 times a week. Nursing mothers should consume no more than 500 g per day. In addition, it is necessary to monitor the child’s reaction: it happens that babies do not tolerate excess lactose well, and this can lead to an allergic reaction.

Cottage cheese on the children's menu

Cottage cheese is an important component of baby food. It has a positive effect on the development of bone tissue and has an effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems. In addition, cottage cheese brings many useful minerals, hormones and vitamins to the child’s body.

Note to moms!

1. The recommended age to start consuming cottage cheese is 9-12 months. If you are underweight, cottage cheese is introduced into the diet from 9 months, if you are overweight - not earlier than 12 months.
2. The daily amount of cottage cheese in the diet of children under 3 years of age is about 50 g. Cottage cheese should not be given more often than three times a week. In the first month of complementary feeding, while the product is not yet familiar to the child, it is better to reduce portions to 1-2 teaspoons.
3. If the child is breastfed, cottage cheese is prescribed only if there is a protein deficiency.
4. For better absorption of curd products, it is important to give your child plenty of drinking water and vegetables.
5. Children under 3 years old should only consume special children's cottage cheese. This product is ideal for a developing body - the milk is specially processed and balanced.

Important!

• An unsuccessful combination is considered to be the use of cottage cheese with other protein products, as well as carbohydrates.
• It is prohibited to give adult cottage cheese to children without heat treatment. This product can only be given to a child as a component of baked goods.

Cottage cheese in the diet of allergy sufferers and diabetics

Cottage cheese, being rich in minerals and vitamins, is part of the diet of people with many diseases. For example, it is included in the menu of allergy sufferers of various types - this product is known for its low level of allergens.

Cottage cheese is a mandatory ingredient for the following types of allergies:

• Allergy to pollen of cereals and meadow grasses.
• Allergy to weed pollen.
• Allergy to fish.

But people suffering from lactose intolerance should exclude cottage cheese from their diet. It is also important to know that the human body is individual, and when choosing a diet for allergies, it is better to follow the advice of a doctor.

In diabetes mellitus, the main goal of the diet is to limit fats and carbohydrates.

In this case, cottage cheese is one of the main components of the diet - the daily norm is 100-200 g. It can be consumed both in its natural form and in the form of puddings or cheesecakes. Cottage cheese normalizes fat metabolism and prevents fat deposits in the liver.

Benefits for the elderly

Regular consumption of cottage cheese is important for older people. For example, in women from 45-50 years of age, menopause begins, which negatively affects hormonal levels and the amount of calcium in the body. This in turn can lead to such a serious disease as osteoporosis.

The danger of age-related leaching of calcium from bones is that this process does not have clearly defined symptoms. The disease becomes noticeable only when even small impacts or falls lead to serious fractures.

With age, the danger of increasing cholesterol in the body increases, so we need cottage cheese in order to reduce its amount and reduce the risk of heart disease.

The benefits of cottage cheese for the female body

This fermented milk product is endowed with lipotropic properties, which means that its regular consumption is recommended for people suffering from hypertension and obesity. It must be included in the diet of patients with pathologies of the liver, heart and blood vessels.

Also, its judicious use is recommended for older people who often suffer from osteoporosis, teenagers and athletes, and especially for people who have been victims of fractures and joint diseases. But cottage cheese brings particular benefits to the female body, which periodically undergoes serious hormonal “shocks”.

Biocottage cheese contains essential amino acids – methionine and tryptophan, which help normalize hormonal levels. Every woman’s body undergoes hormonal changes regularly:

• during puberty;
• during menstruation, which is almost always preceded by premenstrual syndrome;
• during pregnancy;
• in the postpartum period;
• during menopause.

According to doctors, cottage cheese must be included in the diet of a pregnant woman, because during this period her body needs calcium, which is necessary for the formation of the skeleton of the unborn child.

An increased need for calcium also occurs during lactation, because breast milk contains this macroelement in large quantities, and it is necessary to ensure its “uninterrupted supply.”

Important! Cottage cheese prevents thrush and is recommended to be eaten by everyone who is forced to eliminate various diseases with the help of antibiotics.

Help with weight loss

Without cottage cheese, it is difficult to imagine a balanced diet aimed at losing weight. It is able to increase muscle mass when playing sports, and also saturate our body faster.

In addition, this dairy product speeds up metabolism and promotes faster weight loss. It goes well with fruit, honey and is simply irreplaceable as a breakfast or snack for those who watch their figure and choose natural products for their menu.

On our website you will find interesting recipes for cottage cheese dishes.

Advice: the maximum benefit to the human body will come from homemade cottage cheese with a high content of natural substances and medium fat content, which does not contain preservatives. It is not difficult to determine the naturalness of a product - the shorter its shelf life (no more than 2 weeks), the better.

Combination with other products

Cottage cheese is healthy in itself. But if you learn how to properly combine the curd mass with other products, the healing properties of such a dish will only increase.

It goes well with products such as:

• honey;
• bananas;
• raisin;
• nuts.

When I want to give myself a fasting day, I mix cottage cheese with kefir. This combination allows you to quickly get rid of toxins, feel light, and at the same time enrich the body with calcium and protein. True, it’s worth doing such a detox once every couple of weeks, but not every day.

Attention: if you combine cottage cheese with sour cream, then, on the one hand, you can increase the content of nutrients in the dish, and on the other, its fat content will also increase significantly.

Cottage cheese

In stores you can often find a type of dairy product such as grained or granular cottage cheese. These are white grains with a delicate taste. It has less fat content than regular one, so this option is perfect for those who are watching their weight.

Granular cottage cheese has the same useful characteristics as classic:

• it contains a lot of phosphorus and calcium, B vitamins;
• it is recommended for high cholesterol levels and gastrointestinal diseases.

I like to mix it with honey or jam, and it can also be used to make salads with fresh vegetables and fruits.

Fun fact: Lesser-known goat's curd contains more bone-healthy calcium than cow's milk.

Final thoughts on cottage cheese

• Cottage cheese is rich in many nutrients, including proteins, B vitamins and minerals such as calcium, selenium and phosphorus.
• If you want to lose weight or build muscle, then cottage cheese is one of the healthiest foods you can eat.
• Eating curd promotes bone health and treats osteoporosis, helps in detoxifying the body and provides energy, can help lose weight and build muscle, prevents insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
• People with lactose intolerance should prefer special lactose-free cottage cheese, and people with allergies to cottage cheese should avoid consuming it.

The article was prepared by experts for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a guide for treating medical conditions and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. In case of illness or any symptoms, you should always consult a doctor and not self-medicate.

Tags: Cheese, Cottage cheese

About the author: Alexander Fedorov

Candidate of Biological Sciences, biologist, nutrition expert. Graduated from Stavropol State University with a degree in Biology at the Faculty of Biology and Chemistry.

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Homemade cottage cheese

Homemade cottage cheese, like most homemade products, is healthier than store-bought cottage cheese. The main reason for this is the minimum of preservatives and maximum freshness of the dish.

Cooking process

Cottage cheese is made in several stages. First, the milk is allowed to sour and curdled milk is obtained from it. Then add fermented milk starter to it, heat it a little and separate the liquid from the final product.

Homemade curd mass will turn out tasty and healthy only if you used whole milk and the preparation process was strictly followed.

You can learn more about how to properly prepare homemade cottage cheese from a separate article on our website.

Harm and contraindications

Cottage cheese is not recommended for those who are lactose intolerant. Such an allergic reaction can be expressed in problems with digesting the product, nausea, and abdominal pain.

The main contraindications for cottage cheese relate to exceeding the daily recommended amount. Experts believe that every day an adult can eat no more than 200 grams of the product.

Otherwise, an excess of casein protein can lead to edema, and an excessive amount of animal fats will negatively affect the functioning of the liver and kidneys.

In addition, overeating can cause increased cholesterol and, as a result, the formation of blood clots in blood vessels.

You can learn more about the benefits and harms of this product from the following video.