- What is Blue Cheese?
- Blue Cheese Origin
- Blue Cheese Health Benefits
- Blue Cheese Health Risks
- Blue Cheese Nutrition Facts
- Blue Cheese FAQs
Cheese has been one of the most used ingredients in various fast foods and many of us love it for its taste. It has various health benefits and we all know that. However, cheese is not a single variety. There are various types of cheese available in the market and one special variety among them is the Blue Cheese.
Blue cheese is one of the kind of cheese and is popular for its numerous health benefits as every other type of cheese available in the market. Especially Blue cheese works wonder for the patients with heart problems. If you are a heart patient, you should definitely know about it. Apart from the benefits that it gives to heart, there are many other Blue cheese health benefits that you should be aware of too.
Before jumping in to the health benefits of blue cheese, let us see what actually is blue cheese and about its taste, origin etc.
What is Blue Cheese?
Blue Cheese is not actually blue in color, it is in off-white color as many other cheese. However, there are blue-green colored strikes on them formed due to the presence of bacteria and formed at the aging process.
Blue cheese has a pungent smell and typical flavour. Once you start to taste, it is tough to resist. Blue cheese is low in fat and calories but full of nutrients which are very essential for our body. This kind of cheese is generally used for dressing and toppings of the various dishes.
What Is Blue Cheese Made Of?
Blue Cheese which is also known as Blue Vein Cheese is made of milk from cow, goat or sheep by adding mold Penicillium. This special kind of mold makes the distinctive veins of blue-green or blue mold all over the cheese.
The veins present in the Blue Cheese are made in the stage of production when it is spiked with steel rods to make the oxygen circulate and allow the growth of the mold. During this process, the texture is softened and unique blue flavor is developed.
Generally, six standard steps are followed to make most of the cheeses and they include, acidification, coagulation, curds and whey, salting, shaping and ripening.
What Does Blue Cheese Taste Like?
When it comes to the taste, Blue Cheese tends to be mild and salty and its strong or sharp smell in this cheese is because of the mold and the type of bacteria that is present in it. The crumbly and creamy blue cheeses are the strongest and the winner among the strongest blue cheese is the Roquefort.
If you are thinking of how to eat blue cheese, add it with pears, crackers, fruit bread etc. or use as a dressing or topping. It tastes best when it is served with them.
Blue Cheese Origin
Blue cheese or Blue Vein Cheese has an interesting story of origin. Blue cheese is believed to be discovered through an accident when the cheese is kept in the normal temperature at caves which are moisture controlled. This condition is said to be favourable for various types of harmless mold. The moisture present in the cave is reasonable for the formation of the mold.
As per the legend, Roquefort is discovered when a youth left his bread and ewes milk cheese in the nearby cave seeing a beautiful girl at some distance. After few months when he returned back to the cave, he found the mold transformed the cheese he left in to the Roquefort.
Blue Cheese Health Benefits
Is blue cheese healthy? We would definitely say yes. It offers numerous health benefits for body as it has various minerals and nutrients that improve the health of an individual in many ways. Some of the well-known benefits that Blue Cheese offer are as follows.
1. Healthy for Heart
Blue cheese is one of the best foods for reducing the risks of heart diseases when you add it in our diet. It do also lowers the cholesterol levels, prevents blood clotting in arteries or veins, and artery inflammation. As per a study, people who consume blue cheese regularly have low risk of contracting heart diseases compared to other people who do not eat it.
2. Helps Lose Weight
Blue cheese is known to be low in fat and adding it to the weight loss diet would be definitely helpful. According to the study published by American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the diet rich in calcium can induce in the loss of fat from the body. Women ageing between 18 to 30 years participated in this study, half among them took calcium rich diet and the other half ate foods low in calcium. The final findings were like this, women who ate foods high in calcium burnt 20 times more calories or fat compared to the women with low-calcium diet. So, Make a healthy diet with the Blue cheese and make it a part of your daily diet to lose weight. However, take only small portion of it to avoid weight gain.
3. Combats Arthritis
Arthritis is one of the common health issue experienced with aging. The blue cheese anti-inflammatory properties will help lower the inflammation in the joints and gives you relief from arthritis pain. Adding blue cheese to diet along with other dairy products would help fight this problem as per a study.
4. Improves Immune System
There are many vital minerals, vitamins like Vitamin A and D, sodium, zinc and potassium in the Blue Cheese. Many studies have proven that consumption of blue cheese boosts the immune system by preventing diseases. This is one of the main health benefits of blue cheese.
5. Enhance Bone Health
Blue Cheese is rich source of Phosphorous which is very essential for bones and teeth health. Bone related issues such as rickets are caused because of the phosphorous deficiency. To improve the bone health and to help perform some important functions in the body, one should eat foods like blue cheese that contain phosphorous.
6. Helps in Building Muscles
Is blue cheese healthy for muscle building? If this is your question, then absolutely yes. Blue cheese contains more amount of milk proteins. As proteins are very essential for building and preserving the muscles, one must eat blue cheese and other foods rich in proteins is they want to build muscles. Blue cheese contains 6gm of protein per ounce. Pair blue cheese with some fresh fruits and healthy nuts to get the required amount of proteins.
Blue cheese has anti-cellulite properties which inhibit the body from accumulating of the fat in the form of cellulite. People having more of cellulite fat can consider taking blue cheese to reduce the cellulite fat deposits in their body.
8. Improves Memory
Blue cheese has many nutrients which help in fighting the problems associated with memory. Blue cheese stimulates the brain cells and improves the memory. Especially, it is beneficial for kids. So, add blue cheese to the diet of your kids to boost their memory.
9. Prevents Dental Problems
The calcium present in the Blue cheese can help improve the dental health. The calcium and protein avoid the decay of teeth and fights plaque. Cheeses like blue cheese helps in production of saliva that counters the acids and enzymes effects which are the causes of tooth decay, cavities and gum diseases. The phosphate and the calcium also helps in restoring the tooth mineral content.
10. Fights Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a common health issue among women than men. It is condition in which the bones of the body become weak and tend to break or fracture even with a mild attack. However, blue cheese is rich source of calcium which is necessary for the bone health and consumption of it makes the overall health of bones improve. Thus, bone health problems like Osteoporosis Osteoarthritis are prevented after menopause.
This is how is Blue Cheese good for you. So, try to add it in your diet and stay healthy in all the above listed health problems.
Blue Cheese Health Risks
Though consumption of blue cheese offer various health benefits for the body, it still have some health risks when taken in bigger portions. Few such Blue Cheese Health risks are listed below only to advise you to avoid eating it in large amounts.
1. High Blood Pressure
Blue cheese contains 391mg of sodium per ounce which leads to high blood pressure. An adult should not consume the diet containing more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Diet rich in sodium makes difficult for controlling the blood pressure.
Apart from cheese, other dairy products like milk and yogurt and good choice for controlling the blood pressure as they are low in sodium and rich in potassium. So, take only small amount of blue cheese in a day to get its health benefits.
2. High in Fat and Cholesterol
One ounce of blue cheese contains 100 calories and this is one of the biggest drawback of the blue cheese. Though you think 100 calories is not a matter, if you tend to consume more than one small serving, you are definitely consuming more calories.
A serving of blue cheese also contains 8.2 grams of fat that includes 5.3 grams of saturated fat. It makes almost one quarter of the maximum saturated fat that one should consume in their 2000 calorie diet. This a harmful fat that adversely effects your cholesterol levels and the heart health.
3. Leads to Weight Gain
Eating more than the intended amount of blue cheese can lead to weight gain in the people. There are 99 calories in one ounce of blue cheese that means it is rich in calorific density. However, cheeses that are fat free would be better option for weight control than the blue cheese.
These are few blue cheese side effects that one should be aware of. However, you can still get the Blue cheese health benefits, if you take the blue cheese in the limited quantities as anything more can give you adverse effects and we all know that.
Blue Cheese Nutrition Facts
Here is the Blue Cheese nutritional information per 100 gm.
As if you are aware of the nutritional value of blue cheese, consider eating it in the intended quantity to get its health benefits.
Blue Cheese FAQs
Here is the list of some Frequently Asked Questions on the Blue Cheese which can clear almost all your doubts.
Yes, Blue Cheese is good for health when it consumed in moderate amount. It do have many nutritional values and eating it in small quantities daily can boost the mineral and vitamin intake of a person.
Eating more than the moderate amount of Blue Cheese is not good for health. It has high cholesterol, fat and sodium. If taken in large quantity it leads to weight gain and increase in the blood pressure.
Unpasteurized blue cheese would contain bacteria called listeria as other unpasteurized foods and dairy products. This bacteria is killed by cooking or pasteurizing the food. Pregnant women are 20 times more likely to be infected with the unpasteurized blue cheese than the non-pregnant women as it contains listeria bacteria as per some sources. So, unpasteurized blue cheese during pregnancy is said to be not safe.
Till now there is no satisfactory answer on the question, is blue cheese gluten free or not. It is difficult to answer for any one on this query as there are many researchers going on it till now. However, according to few sources Blue cheese is safe to eat for the persons with celiac diseases until it is stated that it contains wheat, oats, barely or malt or until the company states that the product is not gluten free. So, we would not confirm you whether blue cheese is gluten free or not.
After knowing these amazing Blue Cheese Health Benefits, you would definitely love adding it in your daily diet and improve your health right?? Then go ahead and buy the blue cheese in your local market. Also let us know if there are any more health benefits of blue cheese through the comment section of this page.