Why Gouda is likely the most nutrient dense type of cheese you can buy even if you buy supermarket brands made with conventional milk.
If I was forced to choose a single cheese to eat for the rest of my life that would best maintain my health, it would be Gouda cheese.
Is Gouda my favorite healthy cheese?
Not really.
While I certainly like Gouda cheese and don’t mind eating it, my taste buds consistently rank several other cheeses quite a bit higher on the enjoyment scale such as Brie which I craved during pregnancy.
Why Gouda cheese then?
Gouda and the X Factor
You might be shocked to learn, as I was, that Gouda cheese is higher than most liver, grassfed butter, and even pastured egg yolks in the critical nutrient Vitamin K2.
This is the nutrient identified by Dr. Weston A. Price as the elusive “Activator X”.
Vitamin K2 along with the other fat soluble activators A and D are synergistically responsible for the vibrant health and extremely high resistance to aging and degenerative disease as experienced by Traditional Cultures and as described in Dr. Price’s groundbreaking book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
Vitamin K2 is extremely difficult to get sufficient quantities of in the diet. This is the case even if one consumes grassfed meats and dairy on a regular basis.
The reason is the worrisome depletion of our soils which grassfed farmers are valiantly turning the tide on, but which will still take several decades if not even a century or two to reverse on a widespread basis.
On top of this, many families are currently struggling to afford any grassfed meat and dairy at all.
An inflationary economy requires creative and practical solutions for the food budget. This ensures that this critical and elusive nutrient is in the diet in sufficient quantities.
This helps secure freedom from tooth decay and high immunity. Such vigilance prevents degenerative diseases like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, periodontal disease, cancer, and diabetes among many others.
K2 is also the vanity vitamin as it is known to prevent facial wrinkles. K2 deficiency can be written all over your face…quite literally!
Synergy with No Toxicity
Vitamin K2 has no known toxicity even at high intake levels.
However, it is most effective when consumed in the presence of the other fat soluble activators Vitamin A and D.
Therefore, getting Vitamin K2 from food is always the best way to go if at all possible.
Gouda Cheese Top 3 for Most Elusive Nutrient
This is where Gouda cheese comes in.
You see, the food that is highest in Vitamin K2 is natto, which is very difficult to find and even more difficult to consume due to its very horrible taste and texture. If you are game, you can usually find it at Asian specialty stores. Look for it in the freezer section.
Natto contains about 1,103 mcg of K2 per 3.5 ounce portion. This is more than any other food by a large margin. Note that it is best to source organic natto due to toxicity issues from GMO soybeans.
The second highest food in Vitamin K2 is goose fat particularly from the liver which has 369 mcg per 3 1/2 ounce portion.
While highly delicious and wonderful to eat, goose liver pate is very hard to find in most places. It is also a very high end, gourmet food which makes the price out of reach for most.
Rounding out the top 3 foods highest in Vitamin K2 is none other than the humble Gouda cheese. It boasts 75 mcg per 3 1/2 ounce serving! This compares to pastured egg yolks and butter, which each have about 15 mcg of K2 per 3 1/2 ounce portion.
Grassfed or Organic Not Required
Here’s the really excellent news…
Gouda cheese is extremely high in Vitamin K2 even if the milk it’s made from was not grassfed.
This is due to the bacterial cultures used to ferment milk into Gouda cheese. Bacteria produce a special type of Vitamin K2 (MK-7) which according to current research is as effective as the animal form of Vitamin K2 (MK-4) at preserving human health when combined in the diet with the other fat soluble activators A and D.
Of course, grassfed Gouda cheese would be best as Gouda made from this highest quality raw milk would be high not only in MK-7 but also MK-4, the animal form of K2.
For some, however, supermarket Gouda cheese is all they can find or afford!
In other words, Gouda cheese is high in Vitamin K2 regardless of how the milk was produced. Gouda even if made from the milk of the average grainfed, conventionally raised cow, is still very much worth it to buy from a nutritional standpoint!
Other hard cheeses would also be high in Vitamin K2, but Gouda is the highest of them all. Perhaps this is a reason why cheese is the most stolen item in the world!
Sources
Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, by Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue ND
Do you know where I could purchase the MK-7 cheese culture?
My family will be thrilled to hear this! We are cheese eaters in a big way, but at $15 a pound for grassfed, I’ve been cutting back. I still don’t like cheese made from industrialized cows due to the content of the milk, and would really rather not put my money toward that system, but maybe a little Gouda now and then wouldn’t hurt! Thanks!
Our Whole Foods had one type of grass-fed organic cheese on sale for 3.99/8oz. A few of them of them even had $1 off coupons. The regular price is 4.99/8 oz. I can’t remember the brand, but it’s from a farm in CA, I think. It came in mozzarella, sharp cheddar and monterey jack blocks.
Grace,
Soft cheeses are not as healthy as hard cheese is. Too much fat for the arteries etc.
Although if its grass fed, I’ll have to check that out..
I also live in Ca.
Trader Joe’s sell 1000 day aged Gouda cheese..It is wonderful.
Does not taste anything like the regular gouda from the markets, and T.J’s 1000 day Gouda is a hard cheese.
I think it should be mentioned here, that is a difference in K2 MK-4, then K2 MK-7.
Mk-2 takes the calcium to your Bones, and Not your Arteries. You do not need as much Mk-7, as it also can cause a rapid heart beat. Which Mk-2 does not..
Mk-2 leaves the body in about 5 hours, so it needs to be taken more often.
Mk-7 maybe take every 3 days..Has a longer shelve life in the body.
Thanks for digging up and sharing this fascinating news, Sarah. We’re fortunate to have a source for gouda here in Minnesota (Sunny Road cheese) that is local, raw AND grassfed!
I love gouda, although usually we buy aged gouda (1-5 years) which is a harder and saltier cheese that what you typically find in supermarkets where the gouda is softer. Do you know if the aged gouda also has the same level of K2?
Aged gouda would have more K2 as it would be fermented for a longer period of time.
Fortunately I love Gouda, it’s one of my favorites.
BTW, I found I can swallow some natto without chewing or tasting it much. it’s easy to make, and is VERY inexpensive to make. I was a little nervous about eating soy, though and still haven’t made peace with the soy issue. Thoughts?
You only need small amounts of natto to get plenty of K2. Small amounts of fermented soy in the diet is fine if you have no thyroid issues and consume plenty of iodine rich foods which you certainly would consuming traditional foods.
Can you please post your natto recipe? I also am nervous about soy but you can buy it organic and non GMO if you look. Any natto coming from Japan would be non GMO.
I haven’t made or even tried natto myself, but I am planning to order some of the spores responsible for fermenting natto from cultures for health. After doing some research online, you are supposed to be able to make natto from black beans, kidney beans, azuki beans, and lentils instead of soy. Since I try to consume as little soy as possible, but want to partake of this super-food, I’m planning to try this. 🙂
Thank you for this good news about Gouda! No wonder they call it Gouda.
Mmm, I love Gouda and just bought a big hunk of it as my “indulgent treat” from Costco! Who knew it was actually my nutritional powerhouse, too?
Awesome news. I don’t generally eat too much cheese, but I love me some gouda.
Yay! Gouda is my favorite!
I’m not sure if I’ve ever had Gouda, but it’s going on the list.
As a “supplement” how often would you recommend it? I’m not big on cheese, but I am big on food as medicine so if possible, I would appreciate maybe a weekly average to shoot for? I probably wouldn’t eat it everyday (because I’d forget) so I’d probably add a big chunk of it to a steak or something like that. For what it’s worth I’m a 5’7, 152lbs, 26 year old active male… I am also not currently partaking in grass-fed or pastured anything, unfortunately. Chances are I’m low in this “Activator X” which sounds too cool to be missing out on.
My personal goal for K2 is 100-200 mcg per day. The current thinking is that around 120mcg or so is necessary to achieve the levels obtained by traditional cultures.
When you mention Gouda cheese for K2, What we should know is, “Age Gouda Cheese” has more K2 MK-4..you might want to know, that K2 MK-4 takes the calcium to your bones and Not your Arteries. That is why we need it.
Also you can buy at Amazon, Thorne, K2 MK4..I have nothing to do with Thorne.
Just want to mention it.
I do not believe we can eat enough Pasture butter to get enough K2 MK4..