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  6. Cheese vs. Kefir

Cheese vs. Kefir — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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How are cheese and kefir different?

  • Kefir contains less calcium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B12, zinc, vitamin B2, and vitamin A than cheese.
  • Cheese covers your daily need for saturated fat, 91% more than kefir.
  • Cheese has 20 times more cholesterol than kefir. Cheese has 99mg of cholesterol, while kefir has 5mg.
  • Kefir contains less saturated fat.
  • Kefir has a higher glycemic index. The glycemic index of kefir is 36, while the glycemic index of cheese is 0.

Cheese, cheddar and Kefir, lowfat, plain, LIFEWAY types were used in this article.

Infographic

Cheese vs Kefir infographic
Infographic link

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.
Cheese
Cheese
8
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 19% 213% 6.7% 5.3% 10% 99% 195% 85% 3.5% 155%
Kefir
Kefir
2
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 8.6% 39% 14% 1.5% 3% 13% 45% 5.2% 0.65% 20%
Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium +125%
Contains more CalciumCalcium +446.2%
Contains more IronIron +250%
Contains more CopperCopper +233.3%
Contains more ZincZinc +691.3%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus +333.3%
Contains more ManganeseManganese +440%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium +691.7%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium +115.8%
Contains less SodiumSodium -93.9%

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.
Cheese
Cheese
7
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate Choline Choline 0% 110% 14% 9% 7.3% 99% 1.1% 25% 15% 138% 6% 20% 9%
Kefir
Kefir
3
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate Choline Choline 0.67% 57% 0.4% 15% 7.5% 31% 2.8% 23% 13% 36% 0.25% 9.8% 8.3%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A +93%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E +3450%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2 +217%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6 +13.8%
Contains more Vitamin B12Vitamin B12 +279.3%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K +2300%
Contains more FolateFolate +107.7%
Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C +∞%
Contains more Vitamin DVitamin D +66.7%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3 +154.2%
~equal in Vitamin B1 ~0.03mg
~equal in Vitamin B5 ~0.385mg
~equal in Choline ~15.2mg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient Cheese Kefir DV% diff.
Saturated fat 18.867g 0.658g 83%
Calcium 710mg 130mg 58%
Fats 33.31g 0.93g 50%
Phosphorus 455mg 105mg 50%
Selenium 28.5µg 3.6µg 45%
Protein 22.87g 3.79g 38%
Vitamin B12 1.1µg 0.29µg 34%
Cholesterol 99mg 5mg 31%
Zinc 3.64mg 0.46mg 29%
Sodium 653mg 40mg 27%
Vitamin B2 0.428mg 0.135mg 23%
Monounsaturated fat 9.246g 0.31g 22%
Calories 404kcal 41kcal 18%
Vitamin A 330µg 171µg 18%
Polyunsaturated fat 1.421g 0.053g 9%
Vitamin E 0.71mg 0.02mg 5%
Folate 27µg 13µg 4%
Magnesium 27mg 12mg 4%
Potassium 76mg 164mg 3%
Vitamin D 0.6µg 1µg 2%
Copper 0.03mg 0.009mg 2%
Vitamin K 2.4µg 0.1µg 2%
Vitamin D 24IU 41IU 2%
Manganese 0.027mg 0.005mg 1%
Iron 0.14mg 0.04mg 1%
Vitamin B3 0.059mg 0.15mg 1%
Vitamin B6 0.066mg 0.058mg 1%
Vitamin C 0mg 0.2mg 0%
Carbs 3.09g 4.48g 0%
Net carbs 3.09g 4.48g N/A
Sugar 0.48g 4.61g N/A
Vitamin B1 0.029mg 0.03mg 0%
Vitamin B5 0.41mg 0.385mg 0%
Trans fat 0.917g 0.037g N/A
Choline 16.5mg 15.2mg 0%
Tryptophan 0.547mg 0%
Threonine 1.044mg 0%
Isoleucine 1.206mg 0%
Leucine 1.939mg 0%
Lysine 1.025mg 0%
Methionine 0.547mg 0%
Phenylalanine 1.074mg 0%
Valine 1.404mg 0%
Histidine 0.547mg 0%
Omega-3 - EPA 0.01g 0g N/A
Omega-3 - DHA 0.001g 0g N/A
Omega-3 - ALA 0.006g N/A
Omega-3 - DPA 0.017g 0.001g N/A
Omega-6 - Dihomo-gamma-linoleic acid 0.002g N/A
Omega-6 - Eicosadienoic acid 0.007g 0g N/A
Omega-6 - Linoleic acid 0.029g N/A

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison
Cheese
Cheese
3
23% 33% 3% 37% 4%
Protein: 22.87 g
Fats: 33.31 g
Carbs: 3.09 g
Water: 37.02 g
Other: 3.71 g
Kefir
Kefir
2
4% 4% 90%
Protein: 3.79 g
Fats: 0.93 g
Carbs: 4.48 g
Water: 90.07 g
Other: 0.73 g
Contains more ProteinProtein +503.4%
Contains more FatsFats +3481.7%
Contains more OtherOther +408.2%
Contains more CarbsCarbs +45%
Contains more WaterWater +143.3%

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison
Cheese
Cheese
2
64% 31% 5%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 18.867 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 9.246 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 1.421 g
Kefir
Kefir
1
64% 30% 5%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.658 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.31 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.053 g
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat +2882.6%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat +2581.1%
Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat -96.5%

Carbohydrate type comparison

Carbohydrate type breakdown side-by-side comparison
Cheese
Cheese
1
54% 25% 21%
Starch: 0 g
Sucrose: 0 g
Glucose: 0.26 g
Fructose: 0 g
Lactose: 0.12 g
Maltose: 0 g
Galactose: 0.1 g
Kefir
Kefir
2
80% 20%
Starch: 0 g
Sucrose: 0 g
Glucose: 0 g
Fructose: 0 g
Lactose: 3.7 g
Maltose: 0 g
Galactose: 0.91 g
Contains more GlucoseGlucose +∞%
Contains more LactoseLactose +2983.3%
Contains more GalactoseGalactose +810%
~equal in Starch ~0g
~equal in Sucrose ~0g
~equal in Fructose ~0g
~equal in Maltose ~0g

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References

All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.

  1. Cheese - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173414/nutrients
  2. Kefir - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170904/nutrients

All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.

Data provided by FoodStruct.com should be considered and used as information only. Please consult your physician before beginning any diet.