Edam cheese is a traditional cheese which originally comes from the Netherlands. This cheese was made for the first time in Edam, province of North Holland. That’s why it is named Edam cheese. The shape of Edam cheese is round and it has a yellow color. It is wrapped in red or yellow paraffin wax. Then, the color of the paraffin wax will turn into black if the cheese is already wrapped for 17 weeks.
As the other cheeses, Edam cheese was derived from milk which has been pasteurized and some of the cream has been removed in other words semi-skimmed, or the whole part of the cream is removed or skimmed. Edam cheese goes well with fruits such as apple, peaches, melon, and etc. It is also usually eaten with cracker or bread. This kind of cheese gets popular in North America and many other countries in the part of the world.
Edam cheese has a bit differences with the other cheeses. It is tasted silkier, a bit salty, and more like a nut. But, as the age of Edam cheese, the flavor will sharpen and firm. Compared to the other cheeses, Edam cheese has no smell. Besides Edam cheese has no smell, the other excellence of Edam cheese compared to the other cheeses is its low-fat content. Yeah, Edam cheese may have as little as 28% fat in dry matter.
As for the further information which is related to the nutritional content in Edam cheese can be seen in the list below:
- Calories 707 kcal
- Fat 55.04 g
- Saturated Fat 34,793 g
- Double Saturated Fat 1,317 g
- Single Saturated Fats 16.088 g
- Cholesterol 176 mg
- Protein 49.48 g
- Carbohydrates 2.83 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Sugar 2.83 g
- Sodium 1911 mg
- Potassium 372 mg
After seeing the nutritional contents contained in Edam cheese above, you must not deny that the Edam cheese is able to bring the health benefits for us. Even though, all this time cheese is considered as unhealthy food which may risk the health. But, you shouldn’t keep that mind! Because here are the lists of health benefits of Edam cheese that are available for you:
1. Provides Food for the Brain
Did you know what food which is good for the brain? Yeah, the answer is protein. Protein plays an important role in optimizing the function of the brain. Furthermore, the protein which is composed of amino acids is also able to play an important role in the transport of neurotransmitters in the brain. For example, tryptophan amino acids can help the brain in producing serotonin neurotransmitters that are used to play a role in controlling mood, appetite, and sleep patterns.
In order to fulfill the intake of protein for your brain, you can consume the Edam cheese. Besides the Edam cheese is worth for health, you may also get a tasty and delicious snack.
2. Good for Metabolism
As you know that metabolism is a process to produce energy. Eating the Edam cheese is good for metabolism. Of course, it can’t be apart from the contents contained in the Edam cheese such as carbohydrate, protein, fat, and etc. which plays a great role in metabolism process.
3. Source of Energy
The reason why the Edam cheese is said as the source of Energy because it contains many calories. As you can see on the list above, calories contained in Edam cheese reaches 770 kcal. It can support the calories intake that body requires per day.
Not only the calories but the rich protein and fat content in the Edam cheese is also able to be the source of energy for the body.
4. Provides Potassium Content
Potassium is one of the essential minerals contained in the Edam cheese which is required by the body. Benefits of Potassium include in regulating the muscle contraction, maintaining healthy nerve function, and regulating the fluid balance.
Not only that, potassium becomes the important minerals that should be taken daily by the body. The right amount of potassium intake will prevent any side effects which risk our health due to potassium deficiency such as feeling weak and fatigue, muscle cramps, digestive problems, and etc.
5. Prevent the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases
There are many health benefits of Edam cheese. You should know that eating many foods which contain much protein will help you to prevent the risk of cardiovascular diseases. As known that cardiovascular diseases are the diseases that relate to the heart and blood vessels. If the blood pressure is getting increased then the risk of having the cardiovascular diseases also will increase. So, you need to make sure that your blood pressure stable and one of the ways you can do is to consume the food that rich in protein content such as Edam cheese.
6. Fight the Bad Cholesterol
Cholesterol is often considered in a negative way. Even though the cholesterol is actually included as the important content needed by the body. the body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods.
For your information, cholesterol consists of good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. As its name, the good cholesterol brings the health benefits for the body while the bad cholesterol will risk the health.
Then, according to a research, cheese is included as one of the foods that lower cholesterol level. It means that eating cheese is able to lower the bad cholesterol in the body. It is because the cheese contains many nutritional contents such as calcium and fat which is good for enhancing the good cholesterol level and increase increasing of bad cholesterol in the body.
7. Rich in Sodium content
Health benefits of Sodium is also included as the important mineral needed by the body. The rich sodium contained in Edam cheese will be beneficial to our health because it is able to balance the ions in the body, prevent the muscle cramps, support the healthy heart, and many more.
Well, as for the side effects consuming Edam cheese may have no many differences with the side effects of consuming cheese in general. If it is consumed in high portion and too often, it must be risky for your health. So, you must be wise!
That’s the information of health benefits of Edam cheese. Hopefully, it will be beneficial to you. Thanks for reading!