Placed on a cracker with a spoonful of chutney or melted on a baking sheet with a piece of bread, cheese is a Christmas staple.
While creamy brie and fruity Wensleydale might make it to your fridge during the festive season, Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese might show your cholesterol and blood glucose levels more goodness.
A surprising study, published in the British Medical Journal Nutrition Prevention & Health, found that this cheese with regular holes does not act like other similar dairy products.
Characterized by its nutty flavor, Jarlsberg is a soft, semi-soft cheese made from cow’s milk that originates from Jarlsberg in eastern Norway.
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As the research team began to look at Jarlsberg’s effects on bone thinning, the team also came to this surprising conclusion.
The researchers studied 66 healthy women, with an average age of 33 years and an average body mass index of 24, considered “normal”.
These women were able to enjoy a daily serving of 57 grams of Jarlsberg or 50 grams of Camembert cheese for six weeks.
At the end of this period, the Camembert-eating group was transferred to Jarlsberg for another six weeks.
They even suggest that Jarlsberg cheese may therefore help prevent metabolic diseases such as diabetes; however, more research is needed to confirm this.
Professor Sumantra Ray, Executive Director of the NNEdPro Global Center for Nutrition and Health, co-owner of the journal, said: “Different preparation methods mean that there are important differences in the nutrient composition of cheese, which is often considered a homogeneous food. in dietary research to date. This needs to be addressed in future studies.”
However, the expert also urged caution when adding Jarlsberg to your daily menu, as it is still cheese after all.
Sumantra said: “As this is a small study in young, healthy people designed to explore new avenues linking diet and bone health, the results need to be interpreted with great caution as study participants will not necessarily be representative of other groups.
“And it should not be taken as a recommendation to eat a certain type of cheese.”