Is Parmesan a Healthy Cheese?

Parmesan is a hard Italian cheese. Parmesan cheese is considered a functional food because it contains biologically active ingredients that benefit your body or health in some way.

Parmesan is a hard Italian cheese. It’s considered a particularly healthy type of cheese because it’s easy to digest and full of essential nutrients, like calcium. It’s also lactose-free, so it’s safe for people with lactose intolerance. 

Parmesan cheese has a granular texture and a firm rind. It’s very easy to grate into small pieces. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), cheese is considered a parmesan if it:

• Is made in a particular way
• Contains no more than 32% moisture
• Contains no less than 32% milk fat

U.S. consumption of Italian cheeses — like parmesan, mozzarella, and provolone — is on the rise, especially compared to other cheeses. With more people eating increasing amounts of parmesan, it’s particularly important to be aware of the health benefits that this cheese can provide.  

To make parmesan cheese, you need to mix milk with a harmless kind of bacteria. This bacteria needs to be capable of producing lactic acid, which can break down the lactose in milk. Once these ingredients are mixed, an enzyme — like rennet — is added to clot the milk and produce semisolid curds. 

These curds are cut into small pieces, heated, and stirred until they reach a temperature between 115 degrees Fahrenheit and 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Then the curd is allowed to settle before it’s pressed together and salted. The salt can either be applied through a liquid brine or when it’s dry.

Finally, the cheese is left to cure in a cold, ventilated room. You can coat or color the rind and add safe flavoring agents. This cheese must be cured for a minimum of 10 months to be considered a parmesan. 

Keep in mind that, in Europe, real Parmigiano-Reggiano can only come from a particular region in Italy. There are many different places worldwide that attempt to mimic this specific cheese.

In Europe, parmesan cheese is considered a functional food. This means that it contains biologically active ingredients that benefit your body or health in some way. Many of these benefits are still being studied. But much of the value is clear based on the nutrients found within parmesan cheese. 

For example, parmesan cheese is approximately 33% protein, an important source of energy. It even contains all the essential amino acids humans need in their diet. 

Plus, these amino acids are available in forms that are easily digested and absorbed. The cheese ripening process partially breaks down the proteins, essentially the same as a pre-digestive step. 

Although parmesan cheese contains fat, it has very low levels of cholesterol. There’s even some evidence that fat from dairy products can reduce chronic inflammation in your body. 

There are a large number of healthy nutrients found in parmesan cheese. The numbers listed below are the amount of each ingredient found in one ounce — or 28.35 grams — of parmesan cheese. Specific parmesan ingredients include: 

• Water: 8.5 grams
• Protein: 10.1 grams
• Fat: 7.09 grams
• Carbohydrates: 0.9 grams
• Sugars: 0.03 grams
• Calcium: 335 milligrams
• Iron: 0.232 milligrams
• Magnesium: 12.5 milligrams
• Phosphorus: 197 milligrams
• Potassium: 26.1 milligrams
• Sodium: 335 milligrams
• Zinc: 0.78 milligrams
• Vitamin B6: 0.026 milligrams
• Folate: 1.98 micrograms
• Choline: 4.37 milligrams
• Vitamin B12: 0.34 micrograms
• Vitamin A: 58.7 micrograms — this includes multiple sources like beta carotene
• Vitamin E: 0.062 milligrams
• Vitamin D: 5.39 international units
• Vitamin K: 0.48 micrograms

Almost everyone can benefit from incorporating parmesan cheese into their diets. Parmesan cheese is recommended for all age groups. It’s good for anyone who can safely eat solid foods. 

Pregnant people craving cheese should be safe with hard cheeses like parmesan. Pregnant women should always make sure that their cheese is made with pasteurized milk.

Soft cheeses are more likely to be made with unpasteurized or raw milk than hard ones. Raw milk cheeses can contain viruses and bacteria that can harm your infant. Cheese labels should always state whether or not they’re made with pasteurized milk products. 

People who are lactose intolerant know that it’s a good idea to avoid most dairy products. Usually, dairy products contain lactose — the major carbohydrate in milk. This nutrient can be hard to digest, particularly in people with lactose intolerance. 

Luckily, parmesan cheese doesn’t contain lactose. This means it’s a safe dairy product for people with lactose intolerance. 

The main reason to avoid parmesan is if you’re allergic to dairy. It does contain some of the proteins that commonly trigger milk allergies in children. 

The health benefits of parmesan cheese come from several crucial nutrients found within the cheese, like calcium. Calcium is one of the main components of your bones and teeth. It also helps keep tissues strong and flexible. 

Osteoporosis is one of the most relevant health issues that come from not getting enough calcium. Osteoporosis involves a loss of bone mass and overall bone deterioration. Eating parmesan cheese is a delicious way to add a lot of calcium to your diet. 

Health benefits of eating parmesan cheese include: 

• The formation of strong bones
• The maintenance of strong bones
• Potential probiotic effects — but we need more research to understand and verify the early data that indicates these positive effects

Since cheese is a member of the dairy group, the amount you should eat is mostly based on daily recommendations for dairy. The exact amount of dairy that you need depends on several factors, including your: 

• Age
• Sex
• Weight
• Height 
• Amount of physical activity

In general, once you’re nine years old and older, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends about three cups of dairy each day. 

This can be hard to calculate with solid objects, like parmesan cheese. A good rule of thumb is that 1.5 ounces of hard cheese equal a cup of dairy. You could technically eat up to 4.5 ounces of parmesan cheese daily to fulfill your daily dairy requirement. 

But remember that this means that you shouldn’t eat other dairy sources on the same day. There’s also a chance that this much parmesan could put you over the limit for other nutrient requirements. 

Your best bet for a balanced diet is to use cheese as a small part of your daily dairy intake. The exact amount can vary day by day as long as you ensure that you’re getting enough dairy. 

Overall, you need to make sure that your diet includes a healthy balance of all food groups. Even though cheese is tasty, you need more than parmesan to survive. It needs to be eaten with fruits, grains, vegetables, and other crucial food groups to help you live your healthiest life.