If you like cottage cheese, you can enjoy it on a triglyceride-conscious diet. It possesses no special abilities to lower your triglycerides, but provides a good source of calcium and protein. To reduce saturated fat in your diet, choose low fat or nonfat varieties of cottage cheese over those made from whole milk. You could raise your triglycerides if you included a lot of whole milk cottage cheese in your diet.
Nutrition
The effect of cottage cheese on your triglycerides depends on the type you choose. A 1/2 cup serving of cottage cheese made from whole milk contains 111 calories, 12.6 g of protein, 4.9 g of fat and 3.2 g of carbohydrates. It contains 1.9 g of saturated fat and 19 mg of dietary cholesterol. Cottage cheese made from 2 percent milk contains 97 calories in a 1/2 cup serving . It provides 13.4 g of protein, 2.8 g of fat – including 1.1 g of saturated fat -- and 4.1 g of carbohydrates. It provides 11 mg of dietary cholesterol. Cottage cheese made from 1 percent milk contains 81 calories, 14 g of protein, 1.2 g of fat and 3.1 g of carbohydrates per 1/2 cup serving. It contains less saturated fat -- 0.7 g -- and less cholesterol – 5 mg --than whole milk or 2 percent cottage cheese. A 1/2 cup of non-fat cottage cheese provides 11.7 g of protein and 7.5 g of carbohydrate with negligible amounts of fat.
Saturated Fat
To lower triglycerides, the American Heart Association recommends you limit saturated fat in your diet to no more than 16 g a day. Animal protein provides the main source of saturated fat, and you need about 5 oz. to 6 1/2 oz. of protein in your daily diet.. One cup of cottage cheese provides about the same amount of protein as 3 oz. of beef tenderloin. A 3- oz. serving of beef tenderloin contains 3.67 g of saturated fat, less than the 3.8 g in a cup of whole fat cottage cheese. But, if you chose 1 percent cottage cheese as your protein source, you could get as much protein as you would from the beef tenderloin but with less than a third as much saturated fat – 1.4 g.
Calcium
Being overweight puts you at risk for elevating your triglyceride levels. You could add a lot of calories from your diet if you obtained your calcium from whole fat cottage cheese. Ounce for ounce, cottage cheese provides half as much calcium as milk. Adults need to drink 3 cups of milk to meet their needs. You'd need to eat 6 cups of cottage cheese to obtain as much calcium as 3 cups of milk provides. If you chose whole fat cottage cheese, you'd add 1,332 calories to your daily total and 22.8 g of saturated fat -- more than your daily recommended intake. Six cups of non-fat cottage cheese provides 486 calories.
Considerations
Cottage cheese provides important nutrition but with more calories and fat than milk. Enjoy low-fat or non-fat varieties in moderation. Do not top cottage cheese with honey or other sweeteners. And, if you top it with fruit, choose varieties low in fructose such as cantaloupe and peaches. The AHA recommends you limit calories from added sugars to 5 percent to 10 percent of your daily total -- about 100 to 200 calories, based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. You should also limit fructose intake to 50 g to 100 g a day.
References
- United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database
- "Circulation"; Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association; Michael Miller, et al.; April 18, 2011
- United States Department of Agriculture, Choose My Plate: How Much Food From the Protein Foods Group is Needed Daily?
- United States Department of Agriculture, Choose My Plate: How Much Food From the Dairy Group is Needed Daily?
- United States Department of Agriculture, Choose My Plate: What Counts as a Cup in the Dairy Group?
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