Cottage cheese is having a moment. It’s being added to dips, mixed into batters and even used in pizza and brownies. It’s touted as a high-proteinfood that can help build muscle and lose fat. But the research supporting these benefits is not quite as abundant as the number of viral cottage cheese recipes that are out there
My colleagues and I published a review last year which provided a full breakdown of the available evidence
Interestingly, our review did not identify any published studies which directly examined the effects of cottage cheese on muscle mass, growth and function. There were also no studies investigating whether eating cottage cheese leads to meaningful changes in body weight or body composition
This means that much of the current hype around cottage cheese and its benefits is really only based on what we know about protein in general. There is actually relatively little research on the impact that cottage cheese has on muscle gain and weight loss
What the research says
Cottage cheese is relatively low in fat compared with many other cheese varieties, making it high in protein relative to its fat and calorie content. This means you can consume a high amount of protein without necessarily consuming as much fat or calories as you might with other types of cheese
The protein in cottage cheese also comes predominantly from casein. This is a slower-digesting protein that causes a more prolonged release of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins, including those needed to maintain and build muscle) compared with proteins such as whey, which are rapidly digested and absorbed. Because casein is digested more slowly, it has been suggested it could help people feel fuller for longer
Cottage cheese’s enduring popularity among fitness enthusiasts perhaps stems from suggestions that its high-quality protein can support muscle growth when combined with resistance training (such as weight lifting)
Its high protein-to-fat ratio and potential to promote fullness have also led to suggestions that cottage cheese could make it easier to maintain a calorie deficit, which can support fat loss
But there is an important distinction here: the purported benefits of cottage cheese are based on what we know about protein generally
So to understand what the research actually says about cottage cheese’s impact on health, my colleagues and I conducted a review, providing a full breakdown of the available evidence. High-quality human randomised controlled trials, the gold standard for establishing causal effects, are lacking. This makes firm conclusions difficult
A study in healthy women found that cottage cheese caused more insulin to be released into the blood stream than a cod fillet or soy protein did. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. It does this by promoting the uptake of glucose (a type of sugar) from the bloodstream into cells, where it can be used for energy or stored for later use
Studies in both healthy and diabetic participants similarly found that cottage cheese stimulated a greater insulin response than several other protein
These findings suggest that cottage cheese causes greater amounts of insulin to be released compared with some other proteinrences in protein composition, amino acid availability and how easily the protein
There have also been individual studies examining cottage cheese’s effects on energy expenditure (the number of calories a person burns) and appetite. These studies suggest that cottage cheese does not appear to affect energy expenditure, satiety or appetite differently from other proteins
Overall, our review did not find any studies that directly examined the effects of cottage cheese on muscle mass, growth and function. Nor did we find any studies showing cottage cheese leads to meaningful changes in body weight and composition
So, while the nutritional characteristics of cottage cheese make some of the claims surrounding it biologically plausible, we should be careful not to confuse plausibility with evidence
Our research team is currently investigating various aspects of cottage cheese in the hopes of understanding its effects on the gut, muscle health and ageing. We hope that the results of our work will provide much-needed evidence showing how cottage cheese impacts our health
About the author
Dominic Farsi is a Visiting Postdoctoral Research Associate, King’s College London; Teagasc; Queen’s University Belfast. This article was first published by The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article
What does this mean for you?
The proposed benefits of cottage cheese are largely grounded in plausible mechanisms and evidence relating to its nutritional characteristics – rather than evidence demonstrating that cottage cheese itself produces these benefits
But despite the lack of direct scientific evidence, cottage cheese remains a versatile, protein-rich food which can be included as part of a healthy diet. It provides a convenient and nutritious way of increasing protein intake
Still, it’s important that when health claims are made, we’re clear about where the evidence ends and the speculation begins. For now, the science behind cottage cheese is promising in places, but the trend is ahead of the research
