Well, the Phsycians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is at it again. Two huge billboards warn Albany (New York) residents that eating cheese poses a health risk and contributes to the area’s high obesity rates. The billboards are sponsored by the nonprofit PCRM. One billboard, located at Route 378, half a mile west of the I-787 expressway, shows a man’s obese belly beside the words, “Your abs on cheese.” The other, at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 20, features an overweight woman and the words, “Your thighs on cheese.” New York State is one of the nation’s largest producers of dairy products, and Albany County is home to several dairy farms. See them for yourself. I refuse to post them here.
Dr. Neal Bernard, the president of PCRM, is asking that schools cut down on dairy products served in schools to prevent childhood obesity. The assumption is that dairy – milk and cheese – are the main culprits behind obesity in America. Now, when you look at what he’s describing as “bad” cheese and dairy-loaded items at the schools in Albany County, New York, it’s cheese laden pizzas, chicken parmesan slathered with cheese, lasagna with three different cheeses, and more. If you take into account that most schools are using processed cheese, it’s not surprising these would contribute to childhood obesity.
Processed Cheese Slices
Processed cheese, process cheese, cheese slice, prepared cheese, cheese singles or cheese food is a food product made from normal cheese and sometimes other unfermented dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, extra salt, food colorings, or whey.
Due to the processing and additives, some softer varieties cannot legally be labeled as “cheese” in many countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, and so are sold as “cheese food”, “cheese spread”, or “cheese product”, depending primarily on the amount of cheese, moisture, and milkfat present in the final product.
The US Food & Drug Administration does not maintain a standard of identity for “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product“, a designation which particularly appears on many popular Kraft products (as well as some others). Neither does the FDA maintain a standard of identity for “Pasteurized Process Cheese Product” (emphasis on the trailing “Product”), a designation which appears particularly on many American store- and generic-branded singles. Products labeled as such may therefore use milk protein concentrate (MPC) in the formulation, an ingredient which does not appear in the above FDA definitions. The desire to use inexpensive imported milk protein concentrate is noted as motivation for the introduction of these and similar terms, and for the relabeling of some products. After an FDA Warning Letter protesting Kraft’s use of MPC in late 2002, some varieties of Kraft Singles formerly labeled “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food” became “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product”, Velveeta went from “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread” to “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product”, and Easy Cheese went from “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread” to “Pasteurized Cheese Snack”. Think Kraft slices, Velveeta, and the like.
After knowing all that, who on earth would want to eat processed cheese products?? I sure as hell don’t. The important thing to note is that this type of cheese product is considerably different from artisanal natural cheeses. You can’t even compare the two because they are so significantly different. The health benefits of artisanal cheese have been proven over and over again. As I always continue to say, everything in moderation, including cheese, which I wrote about in another article. If you sit and eat a pound of cheese a day and do nothing to work it off (as in exercise), of course you’re going to gain weight. This is the case with ANY food, not just cheese as Dr. Bernard claims. What about sugar? White bread? Red meat? Processed foods? They don’t contribute to obesity? The problem with Dr. Bernard’s claims is that he states cheese is the driving force behind obesity and isn’t caused by “inactivity, bread, rice, gluttony, weak will, or a bad childhood.”* Seriously? I have a difficult time swallowing that bitter pill. We are a nation of laziness. How can inactivity NOT contribute to obesity? Let me give you a personal example.
For one year, I had to change my diet considerably. I became an almost vegetarian and gluten-free due to suspected food allergies. I gave up gluten, bread, chicken, most red meat, most pork, and alcohol. I ate more veggies, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and some cheese and dairy (very limited) than I ever had before. It was quite the experience. The only thing I didn’t change was my activity level (which I’m embarrassed to say is quite low). I did feel better and less sluggish due to eating very little of processed foods. Did I lose weight? Did I become less obese?
NO. I didn’t lose a single pound the entire year.
I went to Italy for two weeks and spent almost eight hours a day walking, exploring the cities. I ate normally (not the vegetarian/gluten-free diet), enjoyed the rich Italian food, yet somehow I lost two sizes in two weeks. I wonder what caused that? Could it be the exercise? I wonder what Dr. Bernard would say about that? How can someone say that inactivity doesn’t matter and doesn’t contribute to obesity?
While this isn’t a topic that I’m going to address here, I wanted to point out an article by TIME, “Fat Stigma: How Online News May Worsen The Problem of Obesity.” It’s an excellent article that you should check out.
Artisanal Cheese and Max McCalman, world-renowned Cheese expert and Maitre Fromager, wrote an excellent response to the PCRM the first time they started these absurd claims and blaming cheese for obesity epidemics. You can check it out here. They are working to respond to the newest claims by PCRM. One of the biggest points they make is that cheese is such a near-complete food and provides almost all the nutrients we require (especially the high-fat cheeses) that we can reach satiety long before we have consumed excessive calories, calories which in turn lead to weight gain if not expended (as in exercise).
As Max McCalman says in his response, “Find some other food to pick on. Cheese production offers the only viable enterprise remaining for the family farm. Cheese has suffered enough.”
An interesting side note…Dr. Neal Bernard is a psychiatrist, not a dietician or nutrionist.
Hmmmm….
*Cheese and the Obesity Epidemic, Dr. Neal Bernard, 2/8/12
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My choice? Served crumbled atop a bed of portabello mushroom and cheese tortellini with a sage walnut butter sauce and balsamic honey syrup. I swoon just remembering the bursting flavors setting off my senses like a pinball machine gone “TILT.” Trying to go meatless a few times a week to boost our health, what better way than ooey gooey pasta? Ok, it doesn’t rank quite high on the health meter when you add all the butter, but a lot of the butter reduces as you cook. If that’s my only ‘sin’ in this dish, than so be it. I still won’t give it up.
