Don't cut the cheese

190 pounds

Great news for all of you cheese lovers . . .

According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "women who ate an ounce of full fat cheese every day gained fewer pounds over time than those who didn't."*

Yes, I said full-fat cheese.

Not low-fat cheese, not part-skim cheese, not nonfat cheese. But full-fat cheese.

I've always hated low-fat and nonfat foods—especially cheese—so this announcement makes me particularly happy.

Obviously, one of the things that bugs me about reduced fat foods is the fact that they never taste as good as the original food. From my point of view, it's better to eat half as much of something in its original full-fat version than it is to eat any of the reduced-fat stuff.

Not only do I hate the way it tastes. I also hate it on principle.

It even bothers me when other people eat low-fat or low-cal food substitutes. I feel as if they are depriving themselves of something real, something authentic, and as I've said before, I believe that when we deny ourselves something we desire, it only makes us eat more in the long run. Because, let's face it, eating reduced-fat or reduced-calorie items doesn't usually satisfy our cravings. Low-fat pizza? No thanks.

And as it turns out, research has shown that low-fat or low-cal foods give us the false sense that we can eat as much as we want, thereby canceling the benefits they provide.

But the truth is that full-fat cheese is not only satisfying, it also helps us lose weight because it increases our metabolism.* And, as we all know, cheese is a wonderful source of calcium as well.

So next time you find yourself eyeing the reduced-fat cheddar in the dairy section of your grocery story, do yourself a favor and go for the real thing.

I promise you won't regret it.