Although the dairy industry spends millions annually telling you that milk products like yellow cheese are vital to your health, the Harvard School of Public Health reports that the fat content of dairy products can outweigh the benefits of the calcium content. This is especially true for those who already have dangerously high total cholesterol counts.
Yellow Cheese
Cheese is made by separating milk into curds and whey, then pressing the curds into the solid, waxy material you buy at the supermarket. There are literally thousands of varieties of cheese, but the most commonly sold yellow cheeses in America are cheddar and Colby. So-called "American cheese" is a manufactured product, and not a cheese at all -- despite being bright yellow and sold as cheese.
Cholesterol Basics
Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the cholesterol your doctor worries about. It is vital to tissue health, but can also cause high blood pressure and other circulatory problems, including heart attack and stroke. Your body produces LDL when you eat foods rich in saturated fat. When you eat foods with unsaturated fat, your body makes HDL -- high-density lipoprotein-- a substance that cleans harmful material, including LDL cholesterol, out of your bloodstream.
Yellow Cheese Nutrition
The U.S. Department of Agriculture publicizes nutrition information about many kinds of food, including both cheddar and Colby cheese. According to the USDA, a typical slice of cheddar cheese contains 5.9 g of saturated fat and 2.9 g of unsaturated fat. A similar-sized serving of Colby cheese contains 5.7 g of saturated fat and 2.9 g of unsaturated fat.
Yellow Cheese and Cholesterol
Both Colby and cheddar cheese contain significantly more saturated fat than unsaturated fat. This means both are likely to stimulate your body to produce more harmful LDL than helpful LDL. Although an occasional slice of yellow cheese on your luncheon sandwich won't instantly give you a heart attack, people with high cholesterol should watch their consumption of yellow cheese.
References
- USDA: Nutrition Database for Standard Reference
- CDC: Dietary Cholesterol
- "For Whom the Cheese Melts"; Good Eats; Season 2, Episode 2
