What Cheeses Can I Eat With High Blood Pressure?

One of the bigger questions for cheese lovers when they are diagnosed with high blood pressure is what cheeses you can eat. High blood pressure of hypertension is a condition that is very serious and if you do not take care of yourself and your diet it can lead to heart failure. The problem with cheese when you are diagnosed with high blood pressure is that there is a fairly high amount of sodium in a lot of cheeses and sodium is something that you must reduce to a minimum in your diet. Whether you are a Muenster, Cheddar, Swiss, Mozzarella or a cheese curds fan, you need to know the sodium content so that you can remain healthy. Also keep in mind that according to the American Heart Association you should keep sodium under 1,500 mg per day.

Start By Having Appropriate Portions

You would have a hard time living without cheddar; after all it is one of the most consumed cheeses in the country. Cheddar is a variety that’s not as high in sodium as other types of cheese. 1 oz. of cheddar cheese has 176 mg of sodium which is way under the 1500 mg recommended. That means that you can have Cheddar cheese but you should not have it in large quantities or every day. A good alternative to cheddar would be Swiss cheese which has only 54 mg of sodium per oz.

Enjoy A Variety

Cheese curds are another cheese that per ounce is not so bad. An ounce of cheese curds will give you 244 mg of sodium. The problem is that it is difficult to stay with one ounce of cheese curds. Once you have a little you just want more. If you consume cheese curds you should do so with care and self-control. Having 5 oz. of cheese curds can give you close to the daily recommended amount at 1220 mg of sodium. If you can control yourself with cheese curds then you should go for it.

Use It As A Topper

If you like Mozzarella cheese you should know that it is not one of the bad ones. You can even get a variety of Mozzarella that is made from part skim milk. You should still control the amount of cheese that you consume as one slice of even the slimmed down version equals ten percent of the 1500 mg of sodium recommended. The trick of consuming cheese when you have been diagnosed with hypertension is to know the recommended amounts and reading the labels. A label that says “low sodium” on Mozzarella is a good indicator, but you should still read the nutritional contents label to ensure that you are not consuming more sodium than you may believe. You have options and you should make sure that you can enjoy your cheese guilt free.