Cheese: A Nourishing Delight or Hidden Danger?

When it comes to cheese, opinions vary:
either it's praised for its health benefits and calcium content with optimal absorption; studies suggest dairy includes other nutrients aiding calcium absorption.
Or, conversely, cheese is criticized as full of hormones and that digesting the calcium actually requires the body to release calcium.
The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between.

Let's clarify things.
First off, I'd like to discuss the difference between acidic and alkaline foods.

Dr. Otto Heinrich Warburg, a German Jewish physician, won the Nobel Prize in 1931 for his cellular research. Dr. Warburg concluded that cancer cells, heaven forbid, thrive in acidic environments and struggle in alkaline ones.
Thus, when we eat foods that create an acidic environment, such as animal products – meat, milk, and its derivatives, the body wants to balance the acidity and releases calcium from stores to neutralize the acid.

Recently in the USA, the new trend is as many alkaline foods as possible.
Even industries have caught on and invented "alkaline water" (?!).
I argue that all this extremism is unnecessary.
It's best to balance types of foods.
For example – alongside an acidic, juicy steak, eat a fresh, alkaline lettuce salad, and then everything balances out and fits together.

It's a bit confusing that a lemon is considered alkaline while milk is acidic – you'd expect the opposite.
To simplify, I visited a popular American website and translated the chart they present, which is included here for your review.

To the left, there are acidic foods. The most acidic are all soft and carbonated drinks, and alcohol.
Water is neutral.
As you move right, foods become more alkaline. The most alkaline are primarily green vegetables.

In general, processed food, as well as animal-derived food, tends to be acidic, while natural, earth-derived food is more alkaline.

Back to cheeses.
Since cheeses are considered acidic, balance them with a vegetable salad dressed in Mediterranean olive oil.
Overall, the Mediterranean diet that includes fresh vegetables, fish, a little cheese, and lots of olive oil is considered very healthy.

This way, we can enjoy the nutritional components that cheese offers, as well as its wonderful taste.
When we were redecorating, my dear neighbor above saw that the house was "in chaos" and made the best offer she could – a tray of homemade cheese-corn muffins for dinner.
The muffins were a hit.
So tasty, the cheese melted perfectly in harmony with the sweet taste of the corn.
Since then, the recipe has become a staple in our home, a favorite among the kids.

Sometimes I make a double batch – for dinner and to have leftovers instead of school sandwiches.
While in many cases the kids return home with half a sandwich, they’ve never brought muffins back. Lunchboxes come back empty.

So here it is, fresh from my recipe box:
Revital's Cheese-Corn Muffins

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Mix in a bowl:

• 2 organic free-range eggs
• 50 grams of Tov Ta'am cheese
• 1 cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 50 grams grated yellow cheese
• Chopped onion
• 1/2 cup corn (canned or frozen)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons oats
• A small packet of baking powder
• Pinch of salt.

• Transfer to a greased muffin tray
• Bake for about 25 minutes

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to let me know how it turned out and if they liked it at home.

Now that we’ve covered dinner, with Hashem's help, join me next time for a piece on preparing for bedtime.
Until then, many blessings,
Chen Tovi