With obesity on the rise, more and more people are being told to stay away from cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products due to their high fat content, but is this also true for cottage cheese? Does it have the same nutritional status as other types of cheese? Let's examine the calorie, fat, calcium, and protein content of cottage cheese. With a little knowledge, you'll be able to make your own decision regarding whether or not cottage cheese is a good food for you.

Calories

Cottage cheese is a relatively low calorie food. Most brands of cottage cheese suggest a serving size of a half of a cup, which amounts of about 110 calories. While this may seem like a lot of calories when examined of its own, it is important to compare it to other snacks in order to really understand how it rates. The same half of a cup of ice cream contains around 250 calories, and a half of a cup of potato chips can contain nearly 300 calories. When you look at it this way, 110 calories doesn't seem so bad after all.

Fat

A half of a cup of cottage cheese contains five grams of fat - approximately 15% of your total fat intake for the day. While this is really not a huge amount of fat, the fat found within cottage cheese is primarily saturated fat. Saturated fat has been found to be linked to the development of cardiovascular disease, stroke and even some types of cancer. Therefore, researchers suggest limiting saturated fat from your diet, or even better, avoiding it entirely. While saturated fat is dangerous for good health, the low amount found in cottage cheese is not significantly dangerous enough to promote eliminating it from your diet.

Calcium

We have talked quite a bit about some of the unhealthy components of cottage cheese - now let's look at some of its benefits. Cottage cheese contains approximately 8% of your total recommended calcium intake for the day. Most people have heard from an early age that calcium is important to keeping teeth and bones strong and healthy. While this is important, calcium is also essential to maintain the functioning of the heart. Without adequate calcium consumption, our bodies would have a very difficult time functioning properly.

Protein

Cottage cheese is a great source of dietary protein. Most brands of cottage cheese contain around 24% of the total recommended protein intake for the day. This is a relatively huge amount, considering the serving size for cottage cheese is only half a cup. Protein is essential to maintain and promote new muscle growth, which allows us to perform our daily activities. The high amount of protein found in cottage cheese makes it great for vegetarians or others who simply don't like eating meat. They can still get quite a bit of protein in their diet through this food.