Cheese components and health effects in Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano
What it found
Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano contain peptides, fatty acids, prebiotic sugars and probiotic bacteria that may affect blood pressure, bones and gut health.
Some of these effects were seen in people, but many come from animal or lab studies.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood pressure in people
In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 30 people with high blood pressure, adding 30 g of Grana Padano daily led to a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The placebo was flavoured bread with fat and salt matching the cheese.
Blood sugar after a meal
A meal of 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano, a boiled egg and water, eaten 30 minutes before a strong glucose load, had a hypoglycaemic effect compared with a control group that did not receive the meal. The authors say proteins eaten with carbohydrates lower blood sugar by boosting insulin secretion and slightly slowing stomach emptying.
Animal and lab studies
Bioactive peptides present
Several known bioactive peptides were found in Parmigiano Reggiano samples, including phosphopeptides that bind minerals, peptides that affect the immune system, and ACE-inhibitory peptides that lower blood pressure. These peptides form during ripening and during digestion.
Calcium and bone health
These cheeses contain 1159 mg of calcium per 100 g, and the calcium is highly bioavailable. Casein phosphopeptides from the cheese can activate calcium uptake by intestinal cells, and gastrointestinal digestates of Grana Padano and Trentingrana promoted intestinal calcium uptake and bone matrix formation in lab tests.
CLA in animals
In rodents, the trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomer reduced body fat and changed body composition, and both main CLA isomers inhibited carcinogenesis in animal models. In rats given both CLA, premalignant lesions were reduced by 33 to 36 percent at 6 weeks and mammary carcinomas by 35 to 40 percent at 24 weeks.
Other findings
Lactose and prebiotics
Lactose disappears in the early hours of cheese making, and Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano can be called lactose-free because they contain no more than 0.10 mg per 100 kcal. Parmigiano Reggiano also contains oligosaccharides at about 2.5 g per 100 g that may act as prebiotics in the colon.
What the authors conclude
“It appears that there are many important benefits related to the dietary intake of the components of these types of cheese, making these products truly valuable functional foods.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that there are many important benefits related to the dietary intake of the components of these types of cheese, making these products truly valuable functional foods.
- They say the ability to keep blood pressure regulated through ACE-inhibitory peptides, and the role as a source of bioavailable calcium, seem to be of great interest.
- They state that this evidence needs to be highlighted to counteract the negative impact of the smear campaign against animal foods.
How it was done
The authors say milk and dairy products contain about 2000 molecules, some with specific biological activity, and that Italian hard cooked cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano have positive nutritional qualities. They wanted to describe these components and the beneficial effects linked to their activities.
The authors pulled together published studies on the proteins, peptides, fats, carbohydrates, bacteria, vitamins and minerals in Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. The studies they describe include lab tests, animal experiments and some trials in people.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the effects described come from lab tests or animal studies, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The blood pressure and blood sugar findings come from small studies, so they cannot show what happens in larger or longer-term use.
- The review pulls together other studies and does not present new experiments of its own.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Parma, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Cheese as Functional Food: The Example of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Summer A, Formaggioni P, Franceschi P, Di Frangia F, Righi F, Malacarne M (2017). Cheese as Functional Food: The Example of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Food technology and biotechnology. doi:10.17113/ftb.55.03.17.5233Free full textPubMed 29089844DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error