Cottage cheese can be polarizing; either you love it, or you hate it. Regardless of your taste buds, cottage cheese is a great source of nutrition. Because of its high leucine content, cottage cheese is a helpful tool in gaining muscle mass.

Though its name can be misleading, cottage cheese doesn’t come in slices. It’s a cheese curd product that can be quite nutritious. In each half-cup of cottage cheese, there are about 1.27 grams of leucine, which is an essential amino acid credited with protein synthesis. Eating cottage cheese can trigger muscle growth and help you lose weight if used correctly. That being said, cottage cheese is a dairy product, so it’s not accessible to everyone. Whether you’re allergic to dairy or don’t like the taste of cottage cheese, you can use a healthy protein powder to increase your leucine intake instead.

At ENU, we care about creating products that fit everyone’s needs. Pro3+ Nutritional Powder can help you increase your muscle mass, without the need for dairy. To try our Pro3+ Nutritional Powder with leucine, visit us online or call ENU today at (855) 266-6733.

How Much Leucine Is There in a Serving of Cottage Cheese?

Cottage cheese is a tasty, nutritious dairy product. It’s essentially fresh cheese curds that contain lots of protein and leucine. By eating a half cup of cottage cheese, you can get half of your recommended daily intake of leucine. It’s widely available and can be a great snack throughout the day.

You don’t need to eat a whole lot of cottage cheese to increase your leucine intake. Generally, in a half cup of cottage cheese, there are 1.27 grams of leucine. Bump that serving size up to a cup, and you can essentially complete your daily leucine intake in one sitting.

Cottage cheese is simple to integrate into your diet. Some people like to eat cottage cheese in the morning with fruit. Others prefer it at night with a sprinkling of cinnamon. If you’ve never had cottage cheese before, you might be confused. Think of it like yogurt with bits of curd spread throughout. Tasty to some, cottage cheese isn’t the ideal snack for everyone. Not to mention, those with lactose intolerance or allergies can hardly eat a spoon of cottage cheese, let alone an entire cup. Although cottage cheese is a great source of leucine, it isn’t for everyone.

How Can I Get Leucine if I Don’t Like Cottage Cheese?

A dairy allergy can prevent you from eating nutrient-dense foods that offer lots of leucine, like cottage cheese. Made from dairy, cottage cheese is any lactose intolerant person’s nightmare. However, having a dairy allergy shouldn’t prevent you from getting the leucine you need to increase muscle mass and strength. If that’s the case, try using a lactose-free protein powder to boost your leucine intake.

When you can’t (or won’t) eat cottage cheese, a protein powder can help you up your leucine intake. For example, Pro3+ Nutritional Powder with leucine has 0.6 grams in each scoop. Though that might seem a lot less than the leucine content in cottage cheese, it’s all relative. Instead of eating an entire cup of cottage cheese each day, you can add a few scoops of the super soluble Pro3+ Nutritional Powder with leucine into your favorite drinks or snacks. Pro3+ is lactose-free, so you won’t have to worry about discomfort from eating dairy products.

Although cottage cheese takes little to no preparation, it can be heavy for anyone to eat, not just for those with a lactose allergy. Though low in calories, cottage cheese is dairy at the end of the day. Eating it in excess can cause discomfort, especially if consumed right before a visit to the gym. Some athletes like to load up on leucine before a workout to protect and reinforce their muscles. Reaching for cottage cheese instead of an easily digestible protein powder, like Pro3+ Nutritional Powder with leucine, can result in discomfort.

If you like cottage cheese – go for it. Just remember that everything should be eaten in moderation. Try alternating your favorite cottage cheese treat with a healthy protein powder to monitor your leucine intake.

What Are the Benefits to Leucine in Cottage Cheese?

Intentionally boosting your leucine intake can cause your muscles to grow faster. The high leucine concentration of cottage cheese makes it a great choice for athletes and medical patients alike. However, besides being rich in leucine, cottage cheese has other health benefits as well.

Cottage cheese is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids, including leucine. A promoter of protein synthesis, leucine can help you gain muscle mass more quickly. Eating leucine-rich foods like cottage cheese can reduce recovery time and repair muscles faster. Remember, cottage cheese is a dairy product, so it can weigh heavy in your stomach if you eat it before a workout. Because of that, it’s better to reach for a protein powder, like Pro3+ Nutritional Powder with leucine to avoid discomfort while exercising.

In one cup of cottage cheese, there are 24.2 grams of protein. That’s a lot. The protein in cottage cheese can help you feel energized and satiated, leading to weight loss. Cottage cheese is a prominent feature in various weight loss methods because it fills you up while adding few calories to your daily diet. In fact, there are only 105 calories in a cup of nonfat cottage cheese.

That being said, not every brand of cottage cheese is the same. Some varieties contain whole milk, which means more calories. It’s important to choose a cottage cheese that aligns with your goals. If you want to gain muscle and weight, you might choose a product that has more calories. If you want to gain lean muscle while losing weight, pick a cottage cheese that contains less fat.

You Can Use Pro3+ Nutritional Powder to Boost Your Leucine Intake

If you don’t like cottage cheese, or can’t eat it because of a dairy allergy, try using a healthy protein powder add more leucine into your diet. To buy Pro3+ Nutritional Powder with leucine today, visit our website or call ENU at (855) 266-6733.