We put cottage cheese through an evidence check—and the health claims didn’t stack up

Cottage cheese is having a moment. It’s being added to dips, mixed into batters and even used in pizza and brownies. It’s touted as a high-protein food that can help people build muscle and lose fat. But the research supporting these benefits is not quite as abundant as the number of viral cottage cheese recipes out there.

My colleagues and I published a review last year that provided a full breakdown of the available evidence.

Interestingly, our review did not identify any published studies that directly examined the effects of cottage cheese on muscle mass, growth and function. There were also no studies investigating whether eating cottage cheese leads to meaningful changes in body weight or body composition.

This means that much of the current hype around cottage cheese and its benefits is based only on what we know about protein in general. There is relatively little research on the impact cottage cheese has on muscle gain and weight loss.

What the research says

Cottage cheese is relatively low in fat compared with many other cheese varieties, making it high in protein relative to its fat and calorie content. This means you can consume a high amount of protein without necessarily consuming as much fat or as many calories as you might with other types of cheese.

The protein in cottage cheese also comes predominantly from casein. This is a slower-digesting protein that causes a more prolonged release of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins, including those needed to maintain and build muscle) compared with proteins such as whey, which are rapidly digested and absorbed. Because casein is digested more slowly, it has been suggested that it could help people feel fuller for longer.

Cottage cheese’s enduring popularity among fitness enthusiasts perhaps stems from suggestions that its high-quality protein can support muscle growth when combined with resistance training (such as weightlifting).

Its high protein-to-fat ratio and potential to promote fullness have also led to suggestions that cottage cheese could make it easier to maintain a calorie deficit, which can support fat loss.

But there is an important distinction here: The purported benefits of cottage cheese are based on what we know about protein generally.

So, to understand what the research actually says about cottage cheese’s impact on health, my colleagues and I conducted a review, providing a full breakdown of the available evidence. High-quality human randomized controlled trials, the gold standard for establishing causal effects, are lacking. This makes firm conclusions difficult.

A study in healthy women found that cottage cheese caused more insulin to be released into the bloodstream than a cod fillet or soy protein did. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. It does this by promoting the uptake of glucose (a type of sugar) from the bloodstream into cells, where it can be used for energy or stored for later use.

Studies in both healthy and diabetic participants similarly found that cottage cheese stimulated a greater insulin response than several other protein sources, including egg white, lean beef, turkey, fish and soy.

These findings suggest that cottage cheese causes greater amounts of insulin to be released compared with some other protein sources. The reason for this is not entirely clear, although differences in protein composition, amino acid availability and how easily the protein source is digested may play a role.

There have also been individual studies examining cottage cheese’s effects on energy expenditure (the number of calories a person burns) and appetite. These studies suggest that cottage cheese does not appear to affect energy expenditure, satiety or appetite differently from other protein sources when matched for calories, protein and other macronutrients.

Overall, our review did not find any studies that directly examined the effects of cottage cheese on muscle mass, growth and function. Nor did we find any studies showing that cottage cheese leads to meaningful changes in body weight or body composition.

So, while the nutritional characteristics of cottage cheese make some of the claims surrounding it biologically plausible, we should be careful not to confuse plausibility with evidence.

Our research team is currently investigating various aspects of cottage cheese in the hope of understanding its effects on the gut, muscle health and aging. We hope that the results of our work will provide much-needed evidence showing how cottage cheese affects our health.

What does this mean for you?

The proposed benefits of cottage cheese are largely grounded in plausible mechanisms and evidence relating to its nutritional characteristics—rather than evidence demonstrating that cottage cheese itself produces these benefits.

But despite the lack of direct scientific evidence, cottage cheese remains a versatile, protein-rich food that can be included as part of a healthy diet. It provides a convenient and nutritious way to increase protein intake.

Still, it’s important that when health claims are made, we’re clear about where the evidence ends and the speculation begins. For now, the science behind cottage cheese is promising in places, but the trend is ahead of the research.

Who’s behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.