Is The Insanely Popular Cottage Cheese Craze Good For People With Prediabetes And Diabetes?
Let's unpack this health food trend of adding the quintessential diet food, cottage cheese, to popular recipes, to lower blood sugars and carbs, no weight loss required!
Does Adding Cottage Cheese Make a Recipe Healthy?
I bet you wonder if increasing your protein intake is a good idea. You have heard that eating more protein via cottage cheese improves blood sugar, makes you feel fuller longer, and reduces carbs. Because cottage cheese has long been associated with dieting, some ‘trust’ issues may still swirl around this food. This article looks at whether eating a lot of cottage cheese is all it is cracked up to be.
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Setting Your Nutritional Goals
Most people aren't clear on how much protein to consume daily. More is better, right? It is easy to fall into this type of thinking. Yet, this rule doesn’t apply to your body. More isn't better. In fact, for people with diabetes, eating too much or too little of anything (protein, fat or carbohydrates, fiber or sodium) can create problems down the line.
What to do? Consider your nutritional goals for each meal. Most clients find that three meals work best for stable blood sugar. If you are thinking, "I eat three meals," great! Keep reading.
The minimum RDA is between 60 and 90 grams of protein daily for most people. If your BMI is 35 or less, to estimate your protein needs, divide your current weight by 2.2 and then multiply this number by .8. For higher-weight individuals with a BMI greater than 35, estimating the protein needs is a bit more math-intensive, and I would encourage you to meet with a dietitian.
Your protein needs are offered in a range of .8-1.0 grams per kilogram. This isn’t your IDEAL protein need, but it is a minimum.
Next, divide this into three parts (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). You will likely need 20-30 grams of protein at each meal.
Using a person who weighs 180 pounds, divide this number by 2.2 = 81 to get your weight in kilograms. Now, divide this number into three, so you have an estimate for each meal: 27-30 grams of protein.
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What does that look like in food?
If you have two eggs for breakfast, you will consume about 14 grams of protein. Two slices of whole wheat bread will provide another 7 grams of protein. This balanced breakfast offers 20 grams of protein, 30 grams of carbohydrates, six grams of fiber, and about 300 mg of sodium.
If you want more protein, add 1 ounce of cheese or ¼ cup of cottage cheese to your eggs. Both add about 7 grams of protein without any carbohydrates. One ounce of cheddar cheese has 6 grams of saturated fat, whereas cottage cheese provides 4 grams of saturated fat (if you choose full fat). You might think, “That is amazing; I will add cottage cheese to everything!” Keep reading.
Eating less carbs and more protein doesn't make your meal balanced. Skipping whole wheat bread means you don't get any fiber in this meal. You also have added 200+ mg of sodium to the meal. You may have forgotten that cheese and cottage cheese are high in sodium, with cottage cheese having over 800 mg of sodium per cup.
How much sodium is recommended?
The FDA website states, "Americans eat on average about 3,400 mg of sodium per day." As a general guide, 5% Daily Value, DV or less of sodium per serving, is considered low, and 20% DV or more of sodium per serving is considered high.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends adults limit their sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day. If we divide this number by three, we can get a ballpark idea of how much sodium to have at each meal. 750 mg of sodium per meal will get you close to the recommended limit, which means that eating a cup of cottage cheese will likely put you over.
Are you saying that cottage cheese is bad?
No! Cottage cheese is a great source of protein. It can be added to eggs to boost protein and make them light and tasty. It can also be used as a protein in salad. However, cottage cheese isn't a perfect food because perfect foods don't exist.
Cottage cheese is a high-sodium food that can be part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation —dang it, there is that word again! Adding cottage cheese to everything doesn't make your diet healthier, nor does avoiding carbs and replacing them with a ton of protein.
So, let's revisit breakfast.
Say you have two eggs for breakfast; that is about 14 grams of protein.
If you have two slices of whole wheat bread, you'll have 7 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. Tossing in ½ peppers and onions will increase the fiber by 2 grams.
Whole wheat bread and vegetables have added about 300 mg of sodium, bringing the total to ~550 mg. Adding either 1 oz of cheese or ¼ cup of cottage cheese would add protein and an additional 200 mg, bringing the total to 770 mg, which is close enough to your target!
That feels like a lot of food!
It is lovely to hear you are checking in with your hunger and fullness! If you feel full, stop eating. Your direct experience is also part of the meal. If you are feeling full, regardless of what the nutrient tallies say, you don't have to “clean your plate." If wasting food gives you the shivers, eat the other half later. If that doesn't sound appealing or possible, pack a snack if you get hungry.
Summary:
Eating a variety of foods gives you protein and fiber, both of which blunt blood sugar rises. Remember that there aren't perfect foods (including cottage cheese) that magically make what you eat healthier. It does take some time and planning to understand nutrition. Looking at each meal helps you see what to aim for.
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