The Reason You Should Be Eating Ricotta Cheese
There are people who love cheese and then there are those who really love cheese. No matter which camp you belong to, there's no resisting the creamy, tangy, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness that is a cheese board. Cheddar, Brie, mozzarella, Parmesan — it doesn't matter what form it's in. If it's cheese, we want it. Sadly, however, cheese has gotten a bad rap for its high sodium and saturated fat content and potential digestive-issue-causing ingredients (via Healthline). In other words, there are plenty of people who argue cheese isn't always the healthiest snack to reach for.
But fear not, lovers of all things cheesy and delicious: There is some good news on the horizon. According to Everyday Health, one specific type of cheese provides some health benefits that could make up for its questionable qualities and give you the perfect excuse to reach for seconds: ricotta. It's the cheese you often find on pizza or stuffed in pasta noodles and it might be healthier than you thought.
Ricotta has a ton of good-for-you vitamins and nutrients
The next time you're digging into a hearty slice of lasagna or chowing down on a slice of white pizza, you can rest easy knowing that your body is getting plenty of Vitamin D, thanks to the heavy helping of ricotta cheese in your meal. The fluffy cheese contains about five times as much vitamin D as any other type of cheese. Vitamin D (which you can also get from the sun) is great for improving your bone strength, fighting off infections, and boosting your mood. According to a 2018 article by Mercy Medical Center, 42 percent of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D, so if you're looking for an excuse to eat more ricotta, this is it.
Not only that, but ricotta also packs in a lot of protein and calcium. A half-cup serving of whole-milk ricotta contains about 9 grams of muscle-building protein and 255 milligrams of bone-strengthening grams of calcium, according to My Food Data. That means that with just one portion of ricotta, you could get over a fifth of your daily calcium needs. More cheese, please!