By Funke Oshifuye
Due to the fact that cheese is a concentrated dairy product made from milk curds, it is a dense source of many of the nutrients in milk. With its naturally occurring calcium and phosphorous, coupled with its protein, fat and vitamins, you cannot overemphasize the versatility of cheese.

Consume cheese in-between, with or after meals especially if you indulge in sugary drinks and snacks because it may help in preventing your tooth from decay. This is because when we eat cheese, our mouth produces more saliva which helps to clear food and reduce the amount of sugar present for fermentation and acid production by the bacteria in the mouth.

The saliva also helps to neutralise the acid that is formed, and can help to inhibit the action of plaque bacteria helping to reduce acid production and damage. Studies have also found that consuming cheese either alone or as part of a meal, whether mixed or cooked increases the concentration of calcium in the plaque around our teeth which in turn helps to reduce and replace the calcium lost when teeth come under attack from acids produced in the mouth. It has been shown that when we eat cheese after repeated consumption of acidic drinks, the levels of calcium in the plaque can be returned to pre-drink levels.

People with lactose intolerance may have found an ally in cheese as its lactose content is particularly low compared with other dairy foods. Lactose intolerance describes a reduced ability to digest the milk sugar, lactose due to low levels of the enzyme, lactase, in the gut.

In people who have this condition, consumption of certain amounts of lactose tends to produce symptoms such as bloating, production of gas, stomach cramps and diarrhoea which can be painful and unpleasant. In effect, dairy products are often avoided by this section of the population and this can compromise requirements for nutrients such as calcium and phosphorous towards which dairy products make a significant dietary contribution. But cheese has come to the rescue! It is worthy to note that most of the lactose in the original milk used to make cheese is removed during processing.

Cheese is often criticised because of its high salt content. This is owing to the fact that sodium in the form of sodium chloride (or salt) is added to cheese in order to preserve them and bring out the flavour. Worried about your high blood pressure?

Put your mind at rest because the sodium content of cheese varies between the different varieties depending on the amount of salt added by the manufacturers and there are many low sodium varieties now available in the shops. Eat your cheese in moderate quantities as it is a good provider of a host of other essential nutrients. In effect, it is more beneficial to health than harmful!