Cottage cheese glycemic index (GI)

by Victoria Mazmanyan | Last updated on September 28, 2023

Medically reviewed by Jack Yacoubian

This article is a deep dive into the glycemic index of cottage cheese. It is important to know that most cheeses are low in carbohydrates; thus, calculating a glycemic index for them would be exceedingly difficult (1).

Compared to other cheeses, cottage cheese contains a moderate level of carbohydrates.

Based on numbers from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reduced-fat and low-fat cottage cheese have a glycemic index of 10 (2).

This makes the glycemic index of cottage cheese very low.

Consumption of cottage cheese is associated with improved insulin response and reduced risks of developing diabetes (3).

Curd cheese is very similar to cottage cheese, with one different step in its production. Supplementation of curd cheese to gluten-free bread has been proven to reduce the glycemic response (4).

Overall, most studies show that cottage cheese is a low glycemic index product that has a beneficial effect on insulin secretion and glycemic response and can be safely consumed in moderation on a diabetes diet (5).