# Cheeses?



## Chile Chef (Nov 2, 2009)

Could you guys and gals name some cheeses that are all natural. And not processed?

I had another heart failur epiode this last week and I was in the hospital for 6 day's getting fluid drained from my lungs, and I don't want to go threw that again. Doctors said I can have natural cheese. So I was wondering if you guys and gals know of any?

And if I do have any processed cheese, it has to be like 10z or smaller bites.


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## JMediger (Nov 2, 2009)

All cheeses are natural cheeses ... cheddar, swiss, colby, etc.  
Processed cheeses are like Kraft Singles, Velveeta, etc.


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## LPBeier (Nov 2, 2009)

Derek, this sounds serious.  I am sure if the doctor mentioned cheese there was also a long list of other things you can't eat as well. I am sorry to hear of your health problems.  I am not doubting you in any way, but I am very curious why, if it is that serious, processed cheese was singled out.  I would check back with your doctor or a dietitian.  Take care of yourself.


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## Michael in FtW (Nov 2, 2009)

Well, if you basically stay away from Velveeta, Cheez Whiz, Laughing Cow/La Vache Qui Rit, Gourmandise, American cheese and American process pasteurized cheese food (cheese-in-a-squirt-can for example) you should be fine and back into the world of natural cheeses.

But, since it sounds like you were suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF) I would think the doc would want you to steer clear of the natural cheeses, which are sometimes high in sodium, and look more to the low sodium processed cheeses. I, too am curious as to why the doc gave the nix to processed cheese.


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## Chile Chef (Nov 2, 2009)

LPBeier said:


> Derek, this sounds serious.  I am sure if the doctor mentioned cheese there was also a long list of other things you can't eat as well. I am sorry to hear of your health problems.  I am not doubting you in any way, but I am very curious why, if it is that serious, processed cheese was singled out.  I would check back with your doctor or a dietitian.  Take care of yourself.


I will check back with him. And it was pretty serious, my lungs filled up with fluid and I couldn't breath and they had to drain me. Anyways I've talked to a nutritionist and he processed cheese is more salty then natural. So if I can stay around the natural cheese and eat it in moteration I will be fine. 



Michael in FtW said:


> Well, if you basically stay away from Velveeta, Cheez Whiz, Laughing Cow/La Vache Qui Rit, Gourmandise, American cheese and American process pasteurized cheese food (cheese-in-a-squirt-can for example) you should be fine and back into the world of natural cheeses.
> 
> But, since it sounds like you were suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF) I would think the doc would want you to steer clear of the natural cheeses, which are sometimes high in sodium, and look more to the low sodium processed cheeses. I, too am curious as to why the doc gave the nix to processed cheese.


You're right Micheal, I was in chf at a dangeruos level, and I spent 6 days in the hospital.

but I'm all better now as long as I watch my salt, liquids.


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## bigdaddy3k (Nov 2, 2009)

I was going to come on and post about processed and salt but someone beat me to it. I will however say that the salt is added to promote longer shelf life without molding. I never used to have to worry about that but now the whole house is ona diet and I have to stay cheese light.


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## Selkie (Nov 2, 2009)

I would read the lables and look for the terms or phrases:

Processed Cheese; Processed Cheese Food; Imitation cheese; Cheese Product -  they are all *Fake Cheeses*. And they usually come from vegetable oil or other oil product.


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## Chile Chef (Nov 2, 2009)

bigdaddy3k said:


> I was going to come on and post about processed and salt but someone beat me to it. I will however say that the salt is added to promote longer shelf life without molding. I never used to have to worry about that but now the whole house is ona diet and I have to stay cheese light.


I know what you mean BigD, I'm on a diet and I've allways been on a diet, however now I got to watch my liquid and salt intank. 
I can only have #3000 grams of sodium per day, and 2 liters of liquid per day no matter what it is. 



Selkie said:


> I would read the lables and look for the terms or phrases:
> 
> Processed Cheese; Processed Cheese Food; Imitation cheese; Cheese Product -  they are all *Fake Cheeses*. And they usually come from vegetable oil or other oil product.


Selkie, I do read the labels and you would be surprised how much salt is in ravioli for a half of a can it's #1300 grams of sodium, but I make my own ravioli wich is around #800 soidum for the whole pot. 


Thank you very much for all the advice guys and gals.


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## TheDude (Nov 3, 2009)

Chile Chef said:


> I can only have #3000 grams of sodium per day,


 
What? 3000 *grams *of sodium means you could eat well over _2 pounds_ of ordinary table salt (sodium chloride) every day.

I think you really should talk to your doctor again - you are not doing yourself a favour by thinking that processed cheese is the only thing you should avoid.


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## Wyogal (Nov 3, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your illness...
Yes, check back with your doctor, as it seems like your numbers are not quite right. Work with a nutritionist and/or a dietician, they should be able to outline a diet for your special needs.
Cheeses that are natural also contain salt, as reported earlier. Continue to read labels. If you have someone helping you with your medical needs/diet, then they should be able to recommend specific foods that will fall within your guidelines. 
Asking here is kind of like playing darts blindfolded...


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## Alix (Nov 3, 2009)

Think Derek means milligrams - mg. 3000mg=3g


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## Chile Chef (Nov 3, 2009)

Alix said:


> Think Derek means milligrams - mg. 3000mg=3g


Yes I do. Thanks a lot for clearing it up Alix.


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## jennyema (Nov 3, 2009)

Whoever told you you could have "natural" but not processed cheese gave you some potentially dangerous advice, IMO

Cheese in general is not a low sodium food.  Many "natural" cheeses can be high in sodium, particularly blue cheeses which are ust as bad and maybe worse than processed cheese, sodium wise.  Feta is bad too.

You might want to look for reduced sodium cheese.  These have, ironically, been processed to remove some of the sodium and make them safer for folks like you to enjoy.

At the very least, get some nutritional advice or look very closely at the niutritional information on the cheese you buy.


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## Michael in FtW (Nov 3, 2009)

I went back and looked at the nutritional information on a few cheeses and I have to agree with jennyema ... not all processed cheeses are worse (sodium content wise) than natural cheeses, and visa versa.

FWIW: 3,000 mg = 3 g ... 1.25 teaspoons table salt = 2,875 mg sodium


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## TheDude (Nov 4, 2009)

3,000 mg is still alot considering that the RDI for a healthy adult is 2,400 mg.

If you really want to eat cheese and only have to watch your sodium intake you can (and should) cut back on other things. 1 tbsp of Heinz tomato ketchup has 190 mg so if you skip the ketchup at lunch you could have an oz of cheese for dinner instead. Campbell's condensed tomato soup has 480 mg of sodium in each serving - note that one serving is 1/2 cup. That's not a lot of food...


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## apple*tart (Nov 4, 2009)

I'm sorry to hear about your health problems.  Is it that your doctor told you to stay away from, or cut back on, processed foods as a whole? Processed foods in general have a tendency to be higher in sodium.  

3000 mg of sodium is higher than the recommended daily average for people _without_ medical sensitivities to sodium. I think your best bet is to double-check this vital nutritional information with your doctor.  If possible, see if he or she will refer you to a nutritionist.

Here's an article from the mayo clinic that may help: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284


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## Chile Chef (Nov 4, 2009)

TheDude said:


> 3,000 mg is still alot considering that the RDI for a healthy adult is 2,400 mg.
> 
> If you really want to eat cheese and only have to watch your sodium intake you can (and should) cut back on other things. 1 tbsp of Heinz tomato ketchup has 190 mg so if you skip the ketchup at lunch you could have an oz of cheese for dinner instead. Campbell's condensed tomato soup has 480 mg of sodium in each serving - note that one serving is 1/2 cup. That's not a lot of food...


Oh yeah, I normally don't even use ketchup on my sandwiches unless I relly need too. I can stay away from that all day long, unless II make goulush of coarse then I may need to add a 1/4th cup of ketscup to the dish.



apple*tart said:


> I'm sorry to hear about your health problems.  Is it that your doctor told you to stay away from, or cut back on, processed foods as a whole? Processed foods in general have a tendency to be higher in sodium.
> 
> 3000 mg of sodium is higher than the recommended daily average for people _without_ medical sensitivities to sodium. I think your best bet is to double-check this vital nutritional information with your doctor.  If possible, see if he or she will refer you to a nutritionist.
> 
> Here's an article from the mayo clinic that may help: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284


Thank  you Apple, And yes it's 3000 per day, and your right it's processed foods a s a whole. I would have to find my booklet to list off the stuff I can't eat and if I do eat it would have to be in very very small portions.


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## TheDude (Nov 5, 2009)

Chile Chef said:


> Oh yeah, I normally don't even use ketchup on my sandwiches unless I relly need too. I can stay away from that all day long, unless II make goulush of coarse then I may need to add a 1/4th cup of ketscup to the dish.


 
Don't stare yourself blind on details, those where just examples illustrating that you get sodium from sources you might not think about. I could have mentioned Coca-cola or milk - plain ol' milk contains surprising amounts of sodium.

I somehow get the feeling you don't want to understand which is surprising considering what just happened. Please talk to a nutritionist about your complete diet instead of asking some random question about cheese on a cooking forum.


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## Wyogal (Nov 5, 2009)

agreed, dude. Like I said, asking random questions here about your diet is like playing darts blindfolded. You have serious health issues.


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## GB (Nov 5, 2009)

The bottom line CC is that if you have what you say you have then it is very serious and you need to get much clearer information that what you have already. that information should ONLY come from your doctor and nutritionist. You should have them write down exactly what you can and can not have. I mistake like 3000g vs 3000mg could be deadly and should not be taken lightly.

While DC is a great resource for information, we are not your doctors. That is who you need to get that information from, not us.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 5, 2009)

GB said:


> The bottom line CC is that if you have what you say you have then it is very serious and you need to get much clearer information that what you have already. that information should ONLY come from your doctor and nutritionist. You should have them write down exactly what you can and can not have. I mistake like 3000g vs 3000mg could be deadly and should not be taken lightly.
> 
> While DC is a great resource for information, we are not your doctors. That is who you need to get that information from, not us.


 
Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Most definitely.  You need to speak to your doctor and a nutritionist who will take a dietary history from you and make recommendations across the board that address YOUR health issues.  CHF and sodium are not a good match, I know because I'm dealing with it with my husband's health and I'm an RN.  Finding all the sodium in your diet is exhausting work and eliminating it is an uphill battle.


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## Michael in FtW (Nov 5, 2009)

One of the biggest problems people have with understanding certain diets is that they remember incorrectly what was said, and things are sometimes lost in the interpretation. You really need something in writing you can refer to frequently. I really can't imagine that one physician would have a low-sodium diet plan for CHF patients much different from another since they all get their information from the same sources. The one caveat to that statement would be if there were additional restrictions or requirements for another underlying condition.

Here is something worth reading: Diet for the Treatment of Heart Failure

This info is from the Clinical Dietitians, Nutrition Services, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center ... the Information is adapted from _Manual of Clinical Dietetics_, American Dietetic Association, 6th Edition, © 2000


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