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
I never realized how nutritious Gouda cheese could be! Thanks for sharing such detailed information about its benefits. I love incorporating it into my meals, and now I feel even better about enjoying it. Can’t wait to try some of the recipes you suggested!
Hi would you recommend cheese from Cabot Creamery? I like their sharp and vintage cheddars but was wondering if these are healthy to be eating?
Was wondering does it need to be a hard aged gouda or is a softer gouda just as good? Their are gouda slices at Aldi and was wondering if they would still be high in k2 or just go for the more hard aged gouda?
The harder the cheese, the more K2 it has.
Thank you for this piece on Gouda. I had Gouda many years ago and i did not care for it. I think it was smoked and poor quality. I found it at Whole Foods., so I was reluctant to buy it., but I’m glad I did! So rich and delicious! I love, love, love it! It’s a bit $$ but is currently on sale here. An employee said that the cows were most likely grass fed. My new favorite cheese! Thank you, again!
thank you for a great article
I like smoked Gouda, is it also high in K2?
Yes it is!
I’ve only been able to find pasteurized Gouda. Won’t the pasteurization kill the Gouda?
Gouda from pasteurized milk is still very high in K2.
Your article mirrored my own findings and reasoning, but you were 9 years ahead! I would add that several European cheeses are high in K2, and apparently Norwegian Jarlsberg is highest. Check out the French cheeses Munster and Camembert, Dutch Gouda and Edam, British Stilton, Swiss Emmenthal, and Norwegian Jarlsberg, Gamalost, and Norvegia.
It may be a challenge in the US, but for most people such cheeses are the most practical way to get K2. There are some new studies and articles, easily found on the internet.
Yes I agree! Cheese is the BEST way to get K2 from food.
Does Gouda have eggs or lethicin in it?
My cousin in England sent me the link to Sarah Pope’s article. There is so much more interesting and helpful info that one can access.
My question is: What about taking a K2 Vitamin supplement?
I don’t think there is much K2 in yogurt. The fermentation process requires a specific type of bacteria to form K2 such as is in natto, which I eat every day.