Cheese and Saturated Fat

I usually prefer to approach healthy eating from a positive perspective in terms of putting food into our bodies to improve our health. I don't usually like to think about depriving myself, rather I like to think of food as nuturing. But, and here is the big but, I am trying to talk myself out of eating cheese.


I was reading the back of the mozerella cheese package that I was using for the pizza I was making. I was shocked when I read that a 1.5 cm slice of cheese contains 5 grams of saturated fat! That means this 7 cm chunk of cheese contains a whopping 23 grams of saturated fats!!! Saturated fats are generally recognized as a significant cause of both heart disease and cancer. Basically saturated fats cause atherosclerosis, in other words, hardening of the arteries. According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman "Cheese is the food that contributes the most saturated fat to the [North] American diet and is one of the most dangerous foods in the world to consume. Though it tastes good, it should be used very rarely, if at all. Most cheeses are more than 50 percent of calories from fat, and even low-fat cheeses are very high-fat foods" (Fuhrman 2003, 135-136).



Well I tried to rectify this unhealthy pizza by loading it up with lots of fresh toppings. I find pizza a great way to use up the bits and pieces left in the fridge.



Here is the final dinner. A small slice of pizza served with a huge green salad loaded with cucumbers and tomatoes fresh from our garden. The flesh of cucumbers is primarily composed of water but also contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. Cucumbers' hard skin is rich in fiber. Beets help to fight against heart disease and some forms of cancer so I shredded some beets on top in an attempt to counteract the cancer and heart disease causing cheese!