Mainly made from sheep or goat milk (often combined), Feta cheese is a nutrient-rich option and a deliciously flavoured dairy. Feta is easier to digest and much less allergenic and inflammatory than cheeses made from cow's milk, which makes it a better option for those who may be sensitive to dairy products.
Feta cheese does not have many adverse effects if you consume it in moderation. However, excess consumption can lead to uncomfortable stomach symptoms like bloating, flatulence, stomach cramps, nausea and diarrhoea.
Feta is lower in fat than many other cheeses, however, and is considered a reasonable option to eat in moderation. Because it's not traditionally made from cow's milk, but with milk from sheep and goats, it's also easier to digest.
May support gut health
Feta cheese contains beneficial microbes including yeasts and bacteria, such as Lactobacillus plantarum, which may help support gut health.
Try: Chevre, feta, pecorino Romano
While goat and sheep's milk cheese contain more fat, the fat globules are small, which facilitates digestion. They also contain higher amounts of MCT (that stuff that helps digestion from before!).
You can consider swapping in hard cheeses such as asiago, cheddar, mozzarella or parmesan, which may be better tolerated.
Feta cheese also contains probiotics, which also help the immune system fight infection and disease. It has been shown to contain lactobacillus plantarum, which accounts for about 48 per cent of its bacteria.
Hard, aged cheeses like Swiss, parmesan, and cheddars are lower in lactose. Other low-lactose cheese options include cottage cheese or feta cheese made from goat or sheep's milk.
IT COULD BE lactose intolerance. This is the inability to digest lactose, a naturally occurring sugar in milk. This may be a permanent intolerance caused by the genetic inability to produce the lactase enzyme which breaks down the lactose.
Dairy is off-limits for many IBS sufferers, although lactose-free dairy (found in cream cheese, half and half, hard cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, and Swiss, and soft cheeses like brie, feta, and mozzarella can be tolerated by many of us.
Low-FODMAP dairy foods include: Cheddar cheese, cream, feta cheese, lactose-free milk and Parmesan cheese.
Milk and dairy products are high in fat and tend to make heartburn worse. When you have frequent GERD symptoms, like heartburn, eating high-fat dairy products like cheese can aggravate your symptoms.
Goat cheese
“This is because the casein protein in goat cheese doesn't cause inflammatory effects as associated with other kinds of dairy,” Neumann says. Goat cheese is also high in selenium, a nutrient that helps protect the body against inflammation.
Cheese is a great source of protein and calcium but is often high in saturated fat and salt. This means eating too much could lead to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Feta cheese is made with sheep's milk and is very low in lactose. It's a good choice for people who are lactose intolerant because it is lower in lactose than other types of cheese. Lactose is a type of sugar that is found in dairy products.
Aged cheeses such as Parmesan, Cheddar, Gorgonzola, Brie and feta are rich in tyramine. Foods containing high levels of tyramine can cause blood pressure to dramatically increase, so it's best to avoid if you're hoping to drift off peacefully.
Whilst regular milk is high in lactose, many common cheeses such as cheddar, feta and even soft cheeses like brie and camembert contain virtually no lactose in a typical serve.
So those with particularly sensitive stomachs will want to avoid creamier varieties such as ricotta or cottage cheese at all costs. Sugar is the primary component of lactose that makes it difficult to digest, which means that aged, hard cheeses—which have a lower sugar content—are easier on the stomach.
Whole grains such as oatmeal, couscous and brown rice. Root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots and beets. Green vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli and green beans.
Hard cheeses such as parmesan, Swiss, and cheddar may be easier to digest because most of the lactose is eliminated while the cheese is being made. Products made from cream — like ice cream, cream cheese, custard, or butter — should be avoided due to the high levels of lactose.