Gouda cheese: lower LDL than butter, at portions few people eat

Eating hard cheese in place of butter lowers LDL cholesterol. In a meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials, about 4.8 oz (135 g) of hard or semi-hard cheese a day for at least 14 days lowered LDL by 7.3 mg/dL (95% CI 4.6 to 10; metric: 0.19 mmol/L, 0.12 to 0.27) compared with about 1.8 oz (52 g) of butter. Every trial in it carried some concern about bias. An earlier meta-analysis of 5 trials in healthy adults, at 5.1 oz (145 g) of cheese a day, found LDL 6.5% lower and HDL 3.9% lower than on butter, with triglycerides unchanged. Those trials tested hard cheese in general, and none of them tested Gouda by name. A normal 21 g slice of Gouda or Edam gives about 75 calories, 5.2 g of protein, 147 mg of calcium and 172 mg of sodium, in a US record that merges the two cheeses. UK tables list Gouda with only trace lactose, 773 mg of calcium, 925 mg of sodium and 20.3 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g). USDA gives 700 mg of calcium and 17.6 g of saturated fat, and the gap reflects different samples and methods.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• A 21 g slice of Gouda or Edam provides about 75 calories, 5.2 g protein, 147 mg calcium and 172 mg sodium. — US dietary survey food record Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 356 calories, 24.94 g protein, 700 mg calcium, 819 mg sodium; cracker-size slice 9 g, cubic inch 17 g
• UK composition tables list Gouda with only trace lactose, 773 mg calcium, 925 mg sodium and 20.3 g saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g). — UK food composition table record Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: lactose trace, protein 25.3 g, fat 30.6 g, saturated fat 20.33 g, calcium 773 mg, sodium 925 mg, 377 calories; USDA gives 700 mg calcium and 17.6 g saturated fat

What a real portion looks like

• The 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines set a dairy goal of 3 servings a day for a 2,000-calorie diet, without defining what a serving of cheese is. — United States general population, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030 Evidence E source
  3 servings of dairy per day at 2,000 calories

What your body absorbs

• A systematic review of human studies found vitamin K2 status improved after cheese in only one study, on Jarlsberg, and no well-controlled large trials of fermented foods for vitamin status. — human interventional and observational studies on fermented foods and vitamin status, 1970 to 2024 Evidence C source
  Vitamin K2 status improved in one cheese study (Jarlsberg); evidence for B vitamins limited or inconsistent

What cooking and storage change

• In a 6-week randomized trial in 162 overweight adults aged 50 and over, eating 4.2 oz (120 g) of cheddar a day melted rather than unmelted raised total cholesterol by 7.7 mg/dL (0.20 mmol/L) and triglycerides by 15 mg/dL (0.17 mmol/L). — 162 overweight adults aged 50 or over, 43.3% men; 120 g full-fat cheddar daily for 6 weeks (n = 162) Evidence B source
  Total cholesterol +7.7 mg/dL (0.20 mmol/L) and triglycerides +15 mg/dL (0.17 mmol/L), melted vs unmelted; no difference in LDL, HDL, weight or glucose

What it does to your health

• A meta-analysis of 5 randomized trials found that eating hard cheese instead of butter lowered LDL cholesterol by 6.5% and HDL cholesterol by 3.9% in healthy adults. — healthy adults in 5 RCTs comparing hard cheese with butter of similar P/S ratio; mean cheese intake 145 g/day (n = 5 RCTs) Evidence A source
  LDL-C -8.5 mg/dL (95% CI -11 to -5.4; metric: -0.22 mmol/L, -0.29 to -0.14); HDL-C -1.9 mg/dL (95% CI -3.5 to -0.77; metric: -0.05 mmol/L, -0.09 to -0.02); triglycerides unchanged
• An updated meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials found that about 4.8 oz (135 g) of hard or semi-hard cheese a day for at least 14 days lowered LDL cholesterol by 7.3 mg/dL (0.19 mmol/L) compared with about 1.8 oz (52 g) of butter. — adults in 7 RCTs, isoenergetic substitution of hard or semi-hard cheese with butter, at least 14 days (n = 7 RCTs) Evidence A source
  Total cholesterol -9.3 mg/dL (95% CI -13 to -5.8; metric: -0.24 mmol/L, -0.34 to -0.15); LDL-C -7.3 mg/dL (95% CI -10 to -4.6; metric: -0.19 mmol/L, -0.27 to -0.12); HDL-C -1.5 mg/dL (95% CI -3.1 to 0; metric: -0.04 mmol/L, -0.08 to 0.00)
• Across 55 prospective cohort studies, total dairy was linked to modestly lower risk of hypertension and stroke, with heart disease at the edge of significance, while cheese alone showed inconsistent associations. — 55 prospective cohort studies of dairy intake and hypertension, coronary heart disease or stroke (n = 55 studies) Evidence C source
  Total dairy RR 0.91 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.95) for hypertension, 0.96 (0.92 to 1.00) for CHD, 0.90 (0.85 to 0.96) for stroke; cheese inconsistent
• The 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines recommend including full-fat dairy with no added sugars, while keeping saturated fat at no more than 10% of daily calories. — United States general population, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030 Evidence E source
  Full-fat dairy recommended; saturated fat cap ≤10% of calories kept

Safety, limits and interactions

• Hard cheeses were the high-risk foods on an MAO inhibitor diet most often eaten by psychiatric patients who might later need these drugs, and fewer than 1% never ate hard cheese. — 139 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients surveyed before possible MAOI treatment (n = 139) Evidence C source
  90% ate cheese-containing food daily or weekly; under 1% never ate hard cheese
• CDC tells people at higher risk of Listeria, including pregnant women, to avoid any cheese made from raw milk and lists hard cheeses made with pasteurized milk among safer choices. — people at higher risk of listeriosis: pregnant women, adults 65 and over, people with weakened immunity Evidence E source
  Avoid: any cheese made with raw (unpasteurized) milk; choose instead: hard cheeses made with pasteurized milk
• In September 2025 FDA posted a recall of one lot of organic Gouda, along with other cheeses from the same Ohio plant, after company testing found Listeria in finished product and on cutting equipment. No illnesses were reported. — US consumers of Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op products distributed in Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas, July to August 2025 Evidence E source
  1 lot of Organic Gouda (8 oz) recalled with Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Swiss and Mozzarella/Provolone lots; contamination found on cutting equipment surfaces; no illnesses reported

What people believe that the data does not support

• A 2026 meta-analysis of 7 observational studies found about 8% of people with migraine name cheese as a trigger, based on self-reported data with very high heterogeneity. — people with migraine in 7 observational studies of patient-reported triggers, searched to November 2024 (n = 7 studies) Evidence C source
  Pooled proportion reporting cheese as a trigger 0.08 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.12), I2 95.1%; chocolate 13.9%, caffeine 12.0%

Who this works differently for

• In a randomized trial in 79 postmenopausal women, 60 g a day of reduced-fat Gouda-type cheese enriched with 5.7 ug vitamin D3 for 8 winter weeks raised serum 25(OH)D by 5.1 nmol/L while it fell 4.6 nmol/L on plain cheese. — 79 postmenopausal women aged 55 to 75 in Greece, 60 g cheese daily for 8 weeks, January to March (n = 79) Evidence B source
  25(OH)D +5.1 (95% CI 3.4 to 6.9) vs -4.6 (95% CI -6.4 to -2.8) nmol/L, P < 0.001; deficiency at follow-up 0% vs 41.0%
• In the same Greek trial, vitamin D-enriched Gouda-type cheese went with serum 25(OH)D 23.4 nmol/L higher, and with lower parathyroid hormone and a bone resorption marker than in the control group, in vitamin D-insufficient women within 5 years of menopause. — 79 postmenopausal women aged 55 to 75, 60 g cheese daily for 8 winter weeks; subgroup analysis (n = 79) Evidence B source
  25(OH)D higher by 23.4 nmol/L (p = 0.022) in early and by 13.4 nmol/L (p < 0.001) in later menopause; PTH beta -0.63, TRAP-5b beta -0.65 (p = 0.004) vs control group
• In a double-blind randomized trial in 62 women, half with lactose maldigestion, a week of dairy including 56 g cheese a day raised only flatus, not bloating, pain or diarrhea, in those with maldigestion. — 62 women, 31 with and 31 without lactose maldigestion; 1-week periods of dairy supplying 1300 mg calcium a day (n = 62) Evidence B source
  Flatus frequency increased with 34 g vs 2 g lactose a day; bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and overall severity not different
• The 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines list full-fat yogurt and cheese among foods to introduce to infants from about 6 months and call full-fat dairy important for children's energy needs and brain development. — infants from about 6 months and children aged 5–10, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030 Evidence E source
  Full-fat cheese among complementary foods; full-fat dairy for children

What is still unknown

• In a 2026 unblinded randomized trial in 57 adults aged 55 and over, 1.7 to 2.4 oz (47 to 67 g) of Jarlsberg cheese a day with calcium and vitamin D raised lumbar spine bone density by 1.0% over 32 weeks. — 57 postmenopausal women and men aged 55 and over with BMD T-score between -2.5 and 0, no osteoporosis drugs, all given calcium and vitamin D (n = 57) Evidence B source
  Pooled lumbar spine BMD +0.012 g/cm2 (95% CI 0.002 to 0.022), 1.0%; total hip +0.4%; femoral neck unchanged

The bottom line

Whether cheese on its own protects the heart is unsettled. A meta-analysis of 55 prospective cohort studies linked total dairy with lower risk of hypertension and stroke, and for cheese alone the associations were inconsistent. These are observational links from low to moderate quality evidence. Melting may matter. In 162 overweight adults aged 50 and over, 4.2 oz (120 g) of cheddar a day for 6 weeks raised total cholesterol by 7.7 mg/dL (0.20 mmol/L) and triglycerides by 15 mg/dL (0.17 mmol/L) when eaten melted rather than unmelted, with no difference in LDL or HDL. That was cheddar, and we found no such trial on Gouda. The 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend full-fat dairy with no added sugars and set a goal of 3 dairy servings a day on a 2,000 calories diet. They do not say how much cheese makes a serving, they do not name Gouda, and the same document keeps saturated fat at no more than 10 percent of daily calories. That is a position with no evidence review of its own. They also list full-fat cheese among the foods to introduce to babies from about 6 months, and say only in general terms what texture is safe for an infant. For vitamin K2, a systematic review found better status after cheese in one study, on Jarlsberg, and Gouda itself has not been studied. The one bone trial we have also used Jarlsberg. In 57 adults aged 55 and over, all given calcium and vitamin D, 47 to 67 g a day raised lumbar spine bone density by 1.0% over 32 weeks (95% CI 0.002 to 0.022 g/cm2). It was small and unblinded, the producer supplied the cheese, and Jarlsberg is fermented by different bacteria, so the result does not carry over to Gouda. In 79 postmenopausal Greek women, 60 g a day of a reduced-fat Gouda-type cheese enriched with 5.7 micrograms of vitamin D3 raised serum vitamin D by 5.1 nmol/L over 8 winter weeks, while it fell 4.6 nmol/L on the plain version. Ordinary Gouda does not contain that much vitamin D. In the vitamin D-insufficient women within 5 years of menopause, the enriched cheese went with serum vitamin D 23.4 nmol/L higher, in a subgroup analysis of the same trial. About 8% of people with migraine name cheese as a trigger (95% CI 3 to 12 percent), in a 2026 pooled analysis of 7 self-report studies with very high heterogeneity. None of those studies tested anyone with cheese, and the authors say avoiding it cannot be recommended for everyone. Who should be careful. CDC tells pregnant women, adults 65 and over and people with weakened immunity to avoid any cheese made from raw milk, and puts hard cheeses made from pasteurized milk on its safer list. Gouda is not named on that page, and farmhouse Gouda can be made from raw milk, so the label decides which list your cheese belongs to. In September 2025 FDA posted a recall of one lot of organic Gouda from an Ohio plant after company testing found Listeria in finished cheese and on cutting equipment. No illnesses were reported, and the notice did not say whether the milk was pasteurized. If you take an MAO inhibitor antidepressant, the diet that goes with these drugs counts hard cheeses as high-risk foods. In a survey of 139 psychiatric patients who might need these drugs, hard cheeses were the high-risk foods they ate most often, and under 1% of them never ate hard cheese. That survey counted how often people ate cheese and did not measure tyramine in Gouda, and we have no such measurement, so this page cannot tell you how much a slice holds. With lactose maldigestion, 62 women took a week of dairy that included 2 oz (56 g) of cheese a day, and the women with maldigestion reported more flatus with no rise in bloating, pain or diarrhea. Most of that lactose came from milk and yogurt.

Sources

1. gou-daily-r3-01 · food composition dataset
   Cheese, Gouda or Edam | FNDDS code 14105010 | fdc_id 2705717 | 1 slice 61935 = 21 g | 1 cracker-size slice 64017 = 9 g | 1 cubic inch 51000 = 17 g | per 100 g: Energy 356 kcal, Protein 24.94 g, Calcium 700 mg, Sodium 819 mg
   USDA FNDDS, Cheese, Gouda or Edam, food code 14105010, fdc_id 2705717 · checked 2026-09-28
2. gou-daily-r3-02 · food composition dataset
   Cheese, Gouda | CoFID 12-358 | Lactose Tr | Protein 25.3 g | Fat 30.6 g | Satd FA 20.33 g | Calcium 773 mg | Sodium 925 mg | Energy 377 kcal
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England, Cheese, Gouda, code 12-358 (OGL v3.0) · checked 2026-09-28
3. gou-dga-02 · government guidance
   Dairy serving goals: 3 servings per day as part of a 2,000-calorie dietary pattern, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements.
   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (January 2026), p. 2 · checked 2026-09-29
4. gou-daily-r3-11 · systematic narrative review
   Notably, folate (vitamin B9) bioavailability was enhanced in some cases following the consumption of Camembert cheese naturally rich in folate, while vitamin K2 status was effectively improved in several studies on natto (fermented soy) and in one study on Jarlsberg cheese. ... Despite encouraging data, there is a lack of well-controlled, large-scale human studies to validate FF as a sustainable strategy to improve vitamin status.
   Front Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-09-28
5. gou-daily-r3-05 · randomized controlled trial
   A 6-week randomised parallel intervention, where 162 participants (43.3% male) received ∼40 g of dairy fat per day, in 1 of 3 treatments: (A) 120 g full-fat Irish grass-fed cheddar cheese, eaten in unmelted form (n 58); (B) 120 g full-fat Irish grass-fed cheddar cheese eaten in melted form (n 53); ... Melted cheese increased total cholesterol concentrations by 0.20 ± 0.15 mmol L-1 and triglyceride concentrations by 0.17 ± 0.08 mmol L-1 compared to unmelted cheese.
   Food Funct, 2024 · checked 2026-09-28
6. gou-daily-r3-03 · meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
   A meta-analysis of 5 RCTs that compared the effects of hard cheese and butter, both of which had a similar ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids (P/S ratio), was performed. DATA SYNTHESIS: Compared with butter intake, cheese intake (weighted mean difference: 145.0 g/d) reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by 6.5% (-0.22 mmol/l; 95%CI: -0.29 to -0.14) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) by 3.9% (-0.05 mmol/l; 95%CI: -0.09 to -0.02) but had no effect on triglycerides.
   Nutr Rev, 2015 · checked 2026-09-28
7. gou-daily-r3-04 · meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
   Pooled analyses of 7 RCTs showed a reduction in fasting total cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C concentrations after ≥14 d mean daily intake of 135 g cheese (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -0.24 mmol/L; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.34, -0.15; I2 = 59.8%, WMD: -0.19 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.27, -0.12; I2 = 42.8%, and WMD: -0.04 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.08, -0.00; I2 = 58.6%, respectively) relative to ∼52 g/d butter.
   Adv Nutr, 2023 · checked 2026-09-28
8. gou-daily-r3-10 · meta-analysis of cohort studies
   Fifty-five studies were included. ... Milk, cheese, or yogurt consumption showed inconsistent associations with the cardiovascular outcomes in high compared with low intake and dose-response meta-analyses.
   Adv Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-28
9. gou-dga-01 · government guidance
   When consuming dairy, include full-fat dairy with no added sugars. Dairy is an excellent source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. ... In general, saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10% of total daily calories.
   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (January 2026), p. 2–3 · checked 2026-09-29
10. gou-daily-r3-09 · cross-sectional survey
    The most frequently used high-risk items were the hard cheeses. Ninety percent of patients reported daily or weekly consumption of some food containing cheese, while less than 1% of patients reported never eating hard cheese.
    J Clin Psychiatry, 1995 · checked 2026-09-28
11. gou-daily-r3-12 · agency guidance
    Any type of cheese when made with (raw) unpasteurized milk ... Hard cheeses, when made with pasteurized milk, such as Asiago, Cheddar, Parmesan, or Swiss/Gruyere/Emmental
    CDC, Preventing Listeria Infection, updated 2025-01-31 · checked 2026-09-29
12. gou-daily-r3-15 · agency recall notice
    one lot of Organic Gouda Cheese in 8 oz. packages ... testing by the company revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in finished product and on surfaces of cutting equipment. There have been no reports of illness to date associated with consumption of these products.
    FDA, Recalls, Market Withdrawals & Safety Alerts: Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op recalls Organic Gouda and other cheeses, 2025-09-08 · checked 2026-09-29
13. gou-daily-r3-13 · meta-analysis of observational studies
    The pooled effect size was 0.08 (95% CI: 0.03 to 0.12, p‐value < 0.001). ... Many studies relied on self‐reported data, which is prone to recall bias and may cause patients to misremember the timing or presence of specific triggers.
    Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
14. gou-daily-r3-06 · randomized controlled trial
    A sample of 79 postmenopausal women (55-75 years old) was randomized either to a control group (CG: n = 39) or an intervention group (IG: n = 40) that consumed, as part of their usual diet, 60 g of either non-enriched or vitamin D3 enriched Gouda-type cheese, respectively, for eight consecutive weeks (i.e., from January to March 2015). Sixty grams of enriched cheese provided a daily dose of 5.7 μg of vitamin D3. RESULTS: There was a differential response of mean (95 % CI) serum 25(OH)D levels in the IG and CG, with the former increasing and the latter decreasing significantly over the eight weeks of the trial [i.e., by 5.1 (3.4, 6.9) nmol/L vs. -4.6 (-6.4, -2.8) nmol/L, P < 0.001, respectively].
    Eur J Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-09-28
15. gou-daily-r3-07 · randomized controlled trial
    Consumption of the vitamin D-enriched cheese led to higher serum 25(OH)D concentrations of 23.4 ± 6.39 (p = 0.022) and 13.4 ± 1.35 (p < 0.001) nmol/L in vitamin D-insufficient women being at menopause for less and more than 5 years, respectively. In vitamin D-insufficient women that were less than 5 years at menopause, consumption of vitamin D-enriched cheese was also associated with lower serum PTH (Beta -0.63 ± 1.11; p < 0.001) and TRAP-5b (Beta -0.65 ± 0.23; p = 0.004) levels at follow-up, compared with the CG.
    Nutrients, 2021 · checked 2026-09-28
16. gou-daily-r3-08 · randomized controlled trial
    Sixty-two women (31 with lactose maldigestion and 31 without) were studied in a double-blind, randomized protocol. Symptoms were compared during 1-wk periods when the diet was supplemented with 480 mL (2 cups) milk, 56 g cheese, and 240 mL yogurt provided as conventional products (34 g lactose/d) or as lactose-hydrolyzed products (2 g lactose/d). ... Women with lactose maldigestion reported significantly increased flatus frequency and subjective impression of rectal gas during the period of high lactose intake; however, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and the global perception of overall symptom severity were not significantly different between the 2 treatment periods.
    Am J Clin Nutr, 1998 · checked 2026-09-28
17. gou-dga-03 · government guidance
    Examples of nutrient-dense foods to introduce during the complementary feeding period include: ... Full-fat yogurt and cheese ... Full-fat dairy products are important for children to help meet energy needs and support brain development.
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (January 2026), p. 6–7 · checked 2026-09-29
18. gou-daily-r3-14 · randomized trial
    Females in the J-group received 47 g (three slices) and males 67 g (4.5 slices) of Jarlsberg daily. ... This was an increase of 0.012 g/cm² (95% CI 0.002 to 0.022) (p=0.04), 1.0%. ... Key limitations were that blinding was not feasible and that background diet, including intake of other fermented foods, could not be fully controlled.
    BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29