Should we eat soft cheese or not?

[kristina]

Should we eat soft cheese or not?

I was under the impression soft cheese was preferable to hard cheese for people suffering from ESRF,
but recently I examined all the soft cheeses at the supermarket and they nearly all had a warning stating that,
“This cheese or cheeses of this type should not be eaten by expectant mothers”.
I took this to a female chemist who could not understand why, because she could not find the ingredients on the package.
I then looked further among the soft cheeses and found on only one cheese the words written
“This contains raw milk and should not be eaten by expectant mothers”.
The chemist then knew instantly why, and that is that anything raw is not recommended for expectant mothers.
This information has rather confused me because although one can appreciate the effect of ingredients on unborn children & expectant mothers,
 I am left wondering if raw milk could have an effect on people like myself who have
ESRF (I am pre-dialysis & my kidney function is only 10%) ?
The other point which confuses me is the fact that people drank what I assume to be raw milk hundreds of years ago, and they seemed to have been ok,
and now I read that raw milk is not good for expectant mothers. Perhaps the raw milk they add to soft cheese now is not as fresh as it was for our forefathers,
or they put now other ingredients with it?
So, is soft cheese good for us or not? If anyone can elaborate on this or knows a few more facts which can help us to form an opinion, please feel free to comment.
I am left wondering if I should have instead only a little bit of hard cheese each day?

Thank you from Kristina.

[Rerun]

Anything in moderation.  If you are on dialysis remember to take a binder with any cheese.

[jbeany]

I know cream cheese is lower in phos than hard cheeses like cheddar or swiss, so it's a better choice for dialysis patients.  Basic Philly cream cheese doesn't have any such warnings.  If you are talking about soft cheeses like brie, etc., then I'm not sure.  I think you'd have to decide on a brand by brand basis - check out the manufacturing process to see if there's raw milk added, and what the phos levels are. 

[dwcrawford]

I think it all depends on your potassium and phosphrous levels along with the ratio of each in a specific cheese.  Probably need to consider calcium too.  But my personal levels are different from most dialysis people and I'm  told to eat all the cheese  i can... think brie would be bad for most people as dietician recommend brie for me at christmas time.

[kristina]

Your suggestions are certainly food for thought.
Just to clarify, I should have really said I meant Camembert and Brie
and similar types of this soft cheese and not Cream Cheeses.
But what about this raw-milk-business?

Thanks again, Kristina.

[jbeany]

I think it'd be safer on D than on transplant meds.  I know we don't have the best immune systems on D, but not so low that everything is a risk.

[okarol]

From the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Salmonella Typhimurium Infection Associated with Raw Milk and Cheese Consumption --- Pennsylvania, 2007

In February 2007, the Pennsylvania Department of Health received reports, through routine electronic laboratory disease reporting, of two persons with recent laboratory-confirmed infections with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium. Both persons had reported drinking raw (unpasteurized) milk from the same York County, Pennsylvania, dairy (dairy A). S. Typhimurium isolates from these persons had pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns that were indistinguishable by use of the XbaI restriction enzyme. The same month, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) received reports of illness from raw-milk customers of dairy A. PDA obtained milk samples from the raw-milk bulk tank at dairy A, which yielded S. Typhimurium with a PFGE pattern that was identical to the pattern from patient isolates. On February 26, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and PDA launched an investigation to determine the source and scope of the outbreak. This report summarizes the findings of that investigation, which determined that 29 cases of diarrheal illness caused by S. Typhimurium were associated with consumption of raw milk or raw-milk products from dairy A. The findings underscore the need to inform policymakers and the public of the potential health risks associated with raw-milk consumption.

More about this article here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5644a3.htm

[kristina]

Thanks very much for all your thoughts and answers
and thanks very much for your research, Karol.
I now begin to understand why caution is necessary
when thinking about eating soft-cheese like Brie and Camembert.
I now wonder whether the use of raw milk may be a cheaper option
in the manufacture of other products as well?
I shall not have Brie or Camembert anymore because of my frail condition
I cannot afford the risk.
Thanks again for helping to clarify this little spoken-about food-topic.
Kind regards from Kristina.

[Hanify]

Well, personally I think the whole 'what you shouldn't eat when you're pregnant' thing is a load of rubbish.  However, I'm pretty sure if I was ever to have a transplant I wouldn't be risking anything!

[Malibu]

IMHO the US kills cheese by pasturizing it.  When we've gone to other countries the cheese is DELICIOUS!  And it is still alive. :O) Neither one of us ever got sick from it either.  There are risks associated with consuming lots of products:  do you ever eat eggs sunny side up?  This egg is raw and if it is contaminated with salmonella you will get sick.  Here in Houston, in the City of Houston proper they passed a law that says they cannot serve eggs any way other than fully done unless the customer asks for it.  Want to see a bunch of pissed Mexicans (and gringos too!) --  when they started delivering Huevos Rancheros with well done eggs it was not pretty.

That being said, people will chronic illnesses do need to watch what they eat.  My husband asked if he could have raw oysters now that he is on dialysis.  Ummmmmm, NO!

[Wenchie58]

I spent the better part of my 49 years prior to transplant drinking raw milk and eating the cheese and butter that we made from it.  I had two totally healthy and "somewhat" normal children with no complications.  Post transplant I have given up everything raw....including rare prime rib which was always enjoyed on special occasions.

I dont think I'll take the chances now, but my children switched to pasturized as soon as they were old enough to make their own choices and my grandkids have allergies, asthma and a multitude of slight problems.  Does it have to do with what their mothers ingested...I don't know, but it always makes me wonder.

[Hanify]

 eat oysters all the time - why not?  Didn't even know I wasn't supposed to. 

[dwcrawford]

Only if you have really good crackers to go with it.