This food contains almost completely digestible protein

　　As the saying goes, "the concentrate is the essence", this sentence is really suitable for cheese.

Not only is cheese rich in nutrition, but also the sweet and glutinous taste is loved by children, and it has become the first choice for many mothers to choose snacks for their children.

How many healthful nutrients are concentrated in the small body of cheese?

Today, let's analyze the nutritional code of cheese together.

　　Cheese, also known as cheese, is a dairy product made by coagulating raw milk under the action of starter and rennet and maturing for a period of time. About 10kg of milk can be concentrated into 1kg of cheese.

If adolescents aged 7-17 take 1000 mg of calcium per day

　　Low possibility of calcium deficiency

　　Milk is the main food source of calcium in the human body, and concentrated cheese is also a calcium-rich food.

Checking the "Chinese Food Composition Table", it can be found that every 100g soft cheese contains 110mg of calcium, and every 100g dry cheese contains 799mg of calcium.

　　Everyone knows that calcium is very important to health. It is the main component of bones and teeth. Intake of calcium can help bone health.

Physical growth during the development of children and adolescents is very important, and the need for calcium varies with age.

　　According to the recommendation of my country's nutritional residents' dietary nutrient reference intake (2013 edition), if children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 17 can ensure a daily intake of 1000 to 1200 mg of calcium, the possibility of calcium deficiency is very low.

In accordance with the dietary guidelines for children and adolescents, drinking 300ml of pure milk daily with some cheese is very meaningful for increasing calcium intake.

　　Protein in cheese

　　Almost completely digested and absorbed by the body

　　Protein is the material basis of all life. There are 21 kinds of amino acids that make up the human body's protein. Among them, 9 essential amino acids cannot be synthesized by the human body or the synthesis speed cannot meet the needs of the body. They must be provided by food.

A protein with a complete range of essential amino acids and a ratio that meets the needs of the human body is called complete protein, which is what we often call high-quality protein. It can not only promote the growth and development of children, but also maintain our health.

　　In the mature stage of cheese production, part of the casein is gradually broken down into peptides and free amino acids.

Many biologically active peptides have anti-oxidation, anti-microbial, immune regulation and other biological activities only after they are released from the parent protein through proteolysis. Therefore, the protein in cheese can be almost completely digested and absorbed by the human body.

Despite the high fat content

　　But the benefits of cheese outweigh the risks

　　The type of milk source and the way the cheese is made will affect the fat content in the cheese.

The digestibility of fat in different cheese varieties is not the same. In the range of 88%-94%, the digestibility is still relatively high.

Of course, cheese with high fat content is easily associated with high energy and obesity.

In fact, the most essential reason for obesity is that the intake of energy is higher than that of the human body. Compared with high-energy foods such as fried foods and sugary drinks, the nutritional value of cheese is much higher.

　　Generally speaking, cheese fat contains 66% saturated fatty acids and 30% monounsaturated fatty acids.

Stearic acid is an important component of saturated fatty acids in cheese, which can be quickly converted into monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid C18:1.

In addition, conjugated oleic acid is also a beneficial component in cheese fat. It has various biological activities such as anti-cancer, anti-lipid formation, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and appropriate intake is beneficial to human health.

Therefore, the health benefits of moderate intake of cheese are far greater than the risks it brings.

　B vitamins are synthesized during cheese maturation

　　In the process of making cheese, most of the fat-soluble vitamins in milk are concentrated. Some water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin B2, vitamin B12, niacin, folic acid, etc. will be lost with the loss of whey, but the cheese is in the process of maturation. In the process, the synthesis of microorganisms will also make up for the loss of certain B vitamins to a certain extent. For example, propionic acid bacteria will synthesize a large amount of vitamin B12 in hard cheese.

　　Cheese also contains higher calcium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium and other mineral nutrients than the same amount of milk.

A small piece of cheese can supplement a variety of vitamins and minerals necessary for children's growth at the same time, which is convenient, fast, nutritious and delicious.

　　Text/Xu Weisheng (Ph.D., Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention)