We consume too much salt, sometimes even without realizing it, because it hides in processed foods, bread and…cheese. The WHO recommends reducing sodium intake to less than 2 grams per day (or 5 grams of salt) to reduce blood pressure and therefore the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and stroke. coronary heart disease in adults.
people suffering fromhypertension must be particularly vigilant. However, is this a reason to completely deprive them of the food that makes our national pride? No, because if all cheeses contain salt to ensure their preservation, they do not all contain the same amount. You just need to know which ones have a lower salt content to treat yourself to a little pleasure at the end of a meal without feeling guilty.
The English medical journal BMJ has just published a study by a British group (Consensus Action on Salt and Health) whose objective is to encourage manufacturers to lower the amount of salt in prepared meals. For their latest study, the group looked at the salt content of 23 cheeses.
Results ? The 5 saltiest cheeses to consume very occasionally are:
– Halloumi: a Cypriot goat cheese that can be eaten grilled in a salad or on a skewer. It contains about 3% salt.
– Blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort or Bleu d’Auvergne which are about twice as salty as the average cheese.
– Feta: this Greek cheese that we love to eat in salads in summer contains 1500 mg of salt per 100 g of cheese.
– Processed cheese (such as Ficello or Toast for Burger) is a type of cheese not widely consumed in France but which is very widespread in the United States and the United Kingdom.
– Edam: the famous Dutch cheese recognizable by its red paraffin film which contains 2300 mg of salt in 100 g of cheese.
On the other hand, you can have more fun with:
– Wensleydale: a blue cheese produced in Wensleydale, a valley in North Yorkshire in England.
– Emmental: This hard Swiss cheese is a delight to bite into on its own or to grate in pasta. And in addition it contains only 0.5 g of salt per 100 g of cheese.
– Mozzarella: this classic of Italian gastronomy is a delight on pizzas or in caprese with tomatoes.
– The cream cheese (Philadelphia type) that we love to spread or use in cheesecakes contains only 1 g of salt per 100 g.
– Cottage cheese made from sour milk also contains little salt compared to other cheeses.
Italian cheese lovers can rejoice because ricotta and parmesan are also “tolerable” cheeses for their salt content.
Do not remove cheese from your diet
Even if the cheese is a relatively caloric and salt-rich food, it should not be removed from your diet, the key is to choose it well. Because cheese is also a food rich in calcium and potassium which, thanks to its appetite suppressant effect, allows you to control your calorie intake throughout the day. Furthermore, it would allow fight diabetes.
To select the right cheese, it is important to know how to read the labels. Salt (sea or rock) is sodium chloride. On the labels of packaged foods, the sodium content is most often mentioned. To get the salt content, multiply this figure by 2.4. Thus a product that contains 500 mg of sodium (per 100g), provides 1.2 g of salt.