# How does milk change while becoming cheese?



## Mrs. Mucket (Apr 22, 2010)

Can any of you cheesemakers (or others) tell me how the properties of milk change when it becomes cheese? I have had a health situation for years where milk and yogurt cause me hypoglycemia-like issues but cheese can actually quickly remedy it. Generally my problem is that if I eat carbohydrates I need to eat enough of certain complete protein foods (meat, eggs, cheese) with it to avoid issues. Milk, yogurt, legumes, whole grains and nuts don't work and I need meat, eggs or cheese with them too. I have had my blood sugar tested annually for years and it never indicates either diabetes or hypoglycemia. I've also had several doctors over the years and none have had any explanation except my current doctor (finally) at least agreed that I need to have protein with any carbs, which I had demised by trial and error. I manage it mostly by careful choices and carrying string cheese wherever I go but that is annoying, especially in summer when it melts. ANYWAY if I knew what about cheese makes it helpful when milk and yogurt aren't, I might be able to figure this out more.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

Not sure of any of the science but when making cheese you separate the whey from the proteins. The whey contains sugars. Sugars are carbohydrates.


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## Mrs. Mucket (Apr 22, 2010)

Ah, so milk and yogurt have whey, but cheese does not?


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## minifarmer (Mar 28, 2008)

Here is a basic science experiment (minus the centrifuge!) that gives a little explanation:
http://www.nyhallsci.org/biochem/content/educators/cheese-educators.pdf


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Cheese does the same for me. My blood sugar is very low. The other thing I find is sprouted grains, because they don't have carbs either. I mix sprouted grains with dried fruit and eat between meals, with a small piece of cheese. Yogurt made with goats milk doesn't bother me but only 2 tablespoons at a time. I eat every 2 hours....James


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## Mrs. Mucket (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow, I should have asked you guys years ago! Putting together all your answers got me on a google frenzy and I think a key is lactose (higher glycemic level) in milk vs. lactic acid (lower glycemic level) in cheese. A lot of the lactose is in the whey, which is discarded. If I understand it right, fermentation of the remaining lactose produces lactic acid; lactose decreases and lactic acid increases as cheese ripens. Though that doesn't explain why plain yogurt is a problem, or maybe I need more lactic acid than yogurt has. And goat's milk has less lactose than cow's milk, hence the goat's milk yogurt probably has less. Anyway now I'm on a roll, thanks!


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