Is Feta Cheese Healthy? The Uneasy Question
From omelets to salads to bruschetta, feta cheese has a reputation for being able to add a tasty touch to a range of dishes. But, putting flavor aside, you may be asking yourself, “is feta cheese healthy?” Unfortunately, the answer is not a straightforward yes or no. A mouth full of feta cheese involves good news and bad news.
Fat and Calories
Feta cheese is a food that contains a lot of fat, but not just any kind of fat. Feta cheese is loaded with saturated fat. According to Nutrition Data, 1 cup of crumbled feta contains 112 percent of the daily needs of a person on a 2,000-calorie diet. That means that if you eat a cup of feta cheese, that single meal exceeds your daily requirement for saturated fat.
If you eat a cup of crumbled feta, it will also hit your calorie counter hard. One cup of this crumbled dairy product will give you almost 400 calories.
You may be thinking that so far the nutritional assessment of feta cheese is not sounding too optimistic. Don’t be too discouraged too quickly, however.
Cheeses tend to be fatty and they tend to be high in calories. Kristie Leong MD, a family practice physician and part-time writer, notes that feta cheese has a third less fat and a third fewer calories than standard cheddar cheese. Furthermore, in her article “The Tasty Benefits of Feta Cheese,” she adds that if you are willing to compromise taste and texture slightly, you can reduce these figures even more by eating one of the low fat varieties.
Sodium and Cholesterol
Nutrition Data also reveals that feta cheese gives the body generous douses of sodium and cholesterol— a bit too generous. Remember that cup of soft crumbled delight that had a lot of fat and calories? It also has 70 percent of the daily requirement of sodium and 44 percent of the needed cholesterol.
The Benefits
Despite what you have learned so far, feta cheese is not all bad. The food actually offers a list of positive nutritional benefits. To begin with, feta cheese has significant amounts of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, and Phosphorus. The benefits don’t stop there. Feta cheese is a high protein food. Additionally, one cup can provide nearly three-quarters of a person’s daily calcium requirement.
Anna McGrail, health writer and author of You and Your New Baby, says that cheese is an important source of protein and calcium for pregnant women. According to her, some cheeses should be avoided doing pregnancy but feta is one that is safe to continue eating.
The Verdict
So, is feta cheese healthy? The answer is that feta cheese is a good accessory. Eating an entire cup in a single meal is not advisable. This cheese has a creamy texture and rich flavor that allows you to eat a little while enjoying it a lot. The verdict, therefore, is that feta cheese is moderately healthy when it is eaten in moderation.
Resources
Nutrition Data: Feta Cheese https://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/18/2
Health Mad: The Tasty Benefits of Feta Cheese https://healthmad.com/nutrition/the-tasty-health-benefits-of-feta-cheese/
Baby Centre: Which Cheeses Are Safe To Eat When You’re Pregnant and Which Aren’t https://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/nutrition/foodsafety/cheeseexpert/