Top of the best cheeses for health (fat, lactose free and low salt)
Good morning to you all! The purpose of this summary post is to draw up a list of the best cheeses to consume, should you have chosen to include them in your diet.
Certainly, cheese is a food that is causing controversy over its health relevance.
Often demonized because it is considered too fatty, especially too rich in saturated fats, too salty, too caloric, or poorly digested because of the lactose it contains, cheese is nevertheless increasingly coming back to the forefront for its interesting nutritional properties, provided you learn how to eat it.
If one wants to make the cheese lawyer, here are the arguments that could be made in its favour:
First of all, it is fat and protein, and carbohydrate-free, therefore totally compatible with a "diet" diet oriented health and sport. Indeed, low-carb diets low in carbohydrates and sugars are back in the spotlight, and the Blooness guide does not fail to echo this.
It does contain saturated fats, but according to some doctors and dieticians, if consumed at the beginning of the day, and not before bedtime, these saturated fats could be beneficial for health and dietary balance. In any case, this is the trail that has been dug for a long time by practitioners of chrononutrition, a type of diet that puts the biological clock back at the centre of the diet, and to which we will come back on Blooness.
It is an ancestral food that is consumed in certain blue zones without any particular health problems.
Finally, there is a plethora of cheeses with little or no lactose, and the salt content tends to be lowered by cheese producers, who even market low-sodium versions.
Just avoid or moderate fresh cheeses, which still contain too much lactose, which in addition to being considered by emerging nutritionists as a relatively bad type of carbohydrate, is not suitable for lactose allergies.
First of all, here is a list of the fattest cheeses. These are the cheeses that should ideally be favoured in low-carb food, and must be eaten in the morning when you get up.
In this list, cheeses that are too high in sodium have been italicized. People at risk should therefore avoid some of these overly salty cheeses.
Top of the fattest cheeses:
Brillat-Savarin PGI
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 390 kcalories
- proteins: 10 g
- carbohydrates: 2 g
- lipids: 38 g
- sodium: 435 mg
Saint-Albray
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 365 kcalories
- proteins: 17 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 33 g
- sodium: 520 mg
County
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 417 kcalories
- protein: 28.1 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 34 g
- sodium: 567 mg
Cheddar
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 403 kcalories
- protein: 25.5 g
- carbohydrates: 0.5 g
- lipids: 33.4 g
- sodium: 670 mg
Tome, paving stone or brick of the Cazelles Gabriel Coulet
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 384 kcalories
- proteins: 21 g
- carbohydrates: 3 g
- lipids: 32 g
- sodium: 720 mg
PDO Abondance (Savoy Cheeses)
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 401 kcalories
- proteins: 25 g
- carbohydrates: 1 g
- lipids: 33 g
- sodium: 787 mg
Gorgonzola
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 360 kcalories
- protein: 19.4 g
- carbohydrates: 0.1 g
- lipids: 31.2 g
- sodium: 1450 mg
Parmesan
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 441 kcalories
- protein: 39.4 g
- carbohydrates: 1.87 g
- lipids: 30.9 g
- sodium: 1090 mg
Saint Paulin
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 370 kcalories
- protein: 23.5 g
- carbohydrates: 0.9 g
- lipids: 30.4 g
- sodium: 722 mg - available in a low-sodium version.
Beaufort
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 393 kcalories
- protein: 26.6 g
- carbohydrates: 3.71 g
- lipids: 30.3 g
- sodium: 506 mg
Cantal
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 371 kcalories
- protein: 24.7 g
- carbohydrates: 0.2 g
- lipids: 30.3 g
- sodium: 875 mg
Bishop's Bridge AOP
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 298 kcalories
- proteins: 22 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 23 g
- sodium: 701 mg
Picodon
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 365 kcalories
- protein: 20.9 g
- carbohydrates: 1.33 g
- lipids: 30.3 g
- sodium: 560 mg
Pyrenean cheese with cow's milk
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 376 kcalories
- protein: 22.4 g
- carbohydrates: 4.38 g
- lipids: 30.1 g
- sodium: 779 mg
Tomme de Savoie
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 361 kcalories
- protein: 22.6 g
- carbohydrates: 0.234 g
- lipids: 30.1 g
- sodium: 807 mg
Goat dung or raw milk
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 384 kcalories
- protein: 23.2 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 32.6 g
- sodium: 405 mg
Caprice of the Gods
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 330 kcalories
- proteins: 15 g
- carbohydrates: 0.8 g
- lipids: 30 g
- sodium: 1400 mg
Gouda
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 363 kcalories
- proteins: 24 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 29.9 g
- sodium: 747 mg
Blue with cow's milk
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 344 kcalories
- protein: 18.6 g
- carbohydrates: 0.9 g
- Fat: 29.4 g
- sodium: 1260 mg
Bleu de Bresse
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 348 kcalories
- protein: 17.9 g
- carbohydrates: 3 g
- Fat: 29.3 g
- sodium: 551 mg
Ambert shape
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 353 kcalories
- protein: 19.8 g
- carbohydrates: 4.14 g
- lipids: 28.5 g
- sodium: 921 mg
Auvergne Blue
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 353 kcalories
- protein: 19.7 g
- carbohydrates: 1.4 g
- Fat: 28.4 g
- sodium: 1230 mg
Emmental cheese
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 367 kcalories
- protein: 28.2 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 28.3 g
- sodium: 277 mg
Sainte-Maure
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 344 kcalories
- protein: 21.8 g
- carbohydrates: 1.15 g
- Fat: 28.2 g
- sodium: 1040 mg
Brie
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 337 kcalories
- protein: 19.6 g
- carbohydrates: 2.2 g
- Fat: 27.9 g
- sodium: 645 mg
Pélardon
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 352 kcalories
- protein: 23.8 g
- carbohydrates: 0.85 g
- lipids: 27.8 g
- sodium: 572 mg
Reblochon
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 330 kcalories
- protein: 20.8 g
- carbohydrates: 0.094 g
- lipids: 27.6 g
- sodium: 477 mg
Rouy
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 335 kcalories
- protein: 22.5 g
- carbohydrates: 1 g
- lipids: 27 g
- sodium: 484 mg
Chavignol dung
Per 100 grams:
- energy: 329 kcalories
- protein: 19.7 g
- carbohydrates: 1.25 g
- lipids: 26.9 g
- sodium: 679 mg
Morbier
Per 100g:
- energy: 347 kcalories
- protein: 23.6 g
- carbohydrates: 3.14 g
- lipids: 26.9 g
- sodium: 990 mg
Saint-Nectaire
Per 100g:
- energy: 339 kcalories
- protein: 24.4 g
- carbohydrates: 0.228 g
- lipids: 26.9 g
- sodium: 328 mg
Pouligny Saint-Pierre
Per 100g:
- energy: 328 kcalories
- protein: 20.2 g
- carbohydrates: 0.45 g
- lipids: 26.8 g
- sodium: 377 mg
Maroilles
Per 100g:
- energy: 348 kcalories
- protein: 28.2 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 26.4 g
- sodium: 933 mg
Halloumi
Per 100g:
- energy: 333 kcalories
- protein: 22.07 g
- carbohydrates: 1.47 g
- lipids: 26.4 g
- sodium: 1250 mg
Mimolette
Per 100g:
- energy: 329 kcalories
- protein: 24.9 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 25.7 g
- sodium: 1110 mg
Tomme
Per 100g:
- energy: 343 kcalories
- protein: 28.6 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 25.6 g
- sodium: 697 mg
Saint-Marcellin
Per 100g:
- energy: 283 kcalories
- protein: 12.7 g
- carbohydrates: 1.01 g
- Fat: 25.4 g
- sodium: 1520 mg
Pavé d'Auge
Per 100g:
- energy: 304 kcalories
- proteins: 22 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 24 g
- sodium: 1600 mg
Coulommiers
Per 100g:
- energy: 292 kcalories
- protein: 19.4 g
- carbohydrates: 0 g
- lipids: 24 g
- sodium: 506 mg
Vacherin Mont d'Or
Per 100g:
- energy: 288 kcalories
- protein: 17.6 g
- carbohydrates: 0.671 g
- lipids: 24 g
- sodium: 450 mg
Chevrot
Per 100g:
- energy: 288 kcalories
- protein: 18.5 g
- carbohydrates: 1.25 g
- lipids: 22.8 g
- sodium: 449 mg
Neufchâtel
Per 100g:
- energy: 255 kcalories
- protein: 9.15 g
- carbohydrates: 3.49 g
- lipids: 22.8 g
- sodium: 334 mg
Valençay
Per 100g:
- energy: 282 kcalories
- protein: 17.5 g
- carbohydrates: 2.05 g
- Fat: 22.2 g
- sodium: 824 mg
Chaource
Per 100g:
- energy: 272 kcalories
- protein: 17.4 g
- carbohydrates: 1.35 g
- lipids: 22 g
- sodium: 792 mg
Camembert with raw milk
Per 100g:
- energy: 267 kcalories
- protein: 20.4 g
- carbohydrates: 1.22 g
- lipids: 20.2 g
- sodium: 670 mg
Top of the least salty cheeses
As areminder, the recommended dietary intake of sodium is 400 to 800 mg / day, and this can go up to at least 1200 mg / day for athletes, and perhaps more for those who practice the ketogenic diet. Ideally, there should be no overdosage or deficiency, otherwise there is a risk to health.
This raises the question of cheeses that are more or less rich in salt (which contains 40% sodium as a reminder).

It is therefore sufficient to consult the above list of the fattiest cheeses, and to lift the fangs on cheeses whose sodium content per 100g of cheese can quickly exceed the recommended intake, which can quickly be achieved if one chooses to eat cheese in the morning as a main food.
Therefore, if one suffers from certain illnesses where salt could be harmful(hypertension in particular), one should ideally avoid Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Caprice des Dieux, Saint-Marcellin, etc... and possibly find their low-sodium version (this exists for certain cheeses such as Saint Paulin).
The cheeses listed below will be low in sodium, and therefore more suitable for people who need to reduce their salt intake. This list is taken from our top fat cheeses, from which we have removed those with too much sodium.
- Low-sodium Saint Paulin
- Emmental cheese
- Reblochon
- Rouy
- Saint-Nectaire
- Pouligny Saint-Pierre
- Vacherin Mont d'Or
- Neufchâtel
- Brillat-Savarin PGI
- Etc...
Top lactose-free cheeses
Now that we've seen which cheeses are the highest in fat and the lowest in salt and sodium, let's take a look at which ones contain the least lactose.
Cheeses very low in lactose (traces)
In general, the older a cheese gets, the more the lactose content decreases because it is transformed into lactic acid by the bacteria present in the cheese. In case of low or moderate lactose intolerance, it is best to choose these matured cheeses:
- Saint-Albray
- Cheddar cheese
- Blue
- Parmesan cheese
- Gruyère
- Maroilles
- Mimolette
- Edam
- Emmental cheese
- Gouda
- the Mimolette
- the County
- the Cantal
- the Tomme
- the Reblochon
- la Raclette
- the Saint-Paulin
- the Holy Secretary
- the Gorgonzola
- the Picodon
- Savoy Volume
- Goat dung or raw milk
- Caprice of the Gods
- Pélardon
- Pouligny Saint-Pierre
- Pavé d'Auge
- the Coulommiers
- Vacherin Mont d'Or
Cheeses that contain little lactose (1 to 2 g of lactose per 100 g)
These should be consumed according to the digestive tolerance to lactose. If there are no allergy problems, the lactose content remains so low that it is negligible in terms of health and figure.
They are usually soft cheeses and have less than 5 g of carbohydrates per 100 g:
- the Camembert
- le Rouy
- the Chaource
- Brie
- la Mozzarella
- la Ricotta
- Roquefort
- the Beaufort
- Tome, paving stone and brick of the Cazelles Gabriel Coulet
- Pyrenean cheese with cow's milk
- Sainte-Maure
- Chavignol dung
- Morbier
- Saint-Marcellin
- Chevrot
- Neufchâtel
- Valençay
- PDO Abundance
- Brillat-Savarin PGI
Cheeses that contain too much lactose
Finally, here is the list of cheeses that should be avoided in the context of a low-carb / chrono diet, but to be reserved if you wish for exceptional meals. Indeed, these are mostly fresh cheeses, containing too much lactose.
- cottage cheese
- le Saint Môret®.
- the Philadelphia®.
- the Kiri®.
- The Caprice of the Gods®
- the Boursin®.
- Tartarus®.
- le Carré frais® (Fresh Square®)
- cow's milk cheese
In other words, you should avoid fromage frais, yoghurt, and of course milk. These foods contain lactose and growth factors, which are harmful to health.
Finally, when choosing a cheese, it is better to choose sheep's cheese rather than goat's cheese, the latter often being a little dry and acidic.
The top of the fattest, least salty, lactose-free cheeses.
And so here is the ultimate top of the highest fat, low-sodium and lactose-free (traces) cheeses. To obtain this list, we have extracted from our previous lists the cheeses that "matched" these three conditions.
We find, in this ultimate top, which will of course evolve, the following cheeses:
- Low-sodium Saint Paulin
- Emmental cheese
- Reblochon
- Saint-Nectaire
- Pouligny Saint-Pierre
- Vacherin Mont d'Or

As those who follow the "chrono" diet know, the quantity of cheese to eat in the morning is roughly calculated as follows: at least the height above the metre, i.e. 75g if you are 1.75m tall (at the beginning), then increase the quantity of cheese to prolong satiety before lunch, especially for the elderly or sportsmen and women. The whole accompanied by bread, weighing half the weight of cheese, and quality (traditional baguette for example), with olive oil.
The choice of bread, as well as chrononutrition, are two exciting topics that will be the subject of articles very soon ...