Nutritional Information
Nutrition and Calories
To make 100g of Grana Padano PDO, 1.5 liters of fresh milk from cows in the Po River Basin plains are needed, making it a cheese condensed with the nutrition and deliciousness of milk. Through the production and aging process, fat content is reduced, lactose is eliminated, and the cheese becomes rich in protein containing nine essential amino acids, generating vitamins and minerals that are easily absorbed by the body, making it a cheese that is easy to digest for people of all ages.
Below is the average nutritional value table for Grana Padano PDO. Grana Padano PDO has strict and detailed regulations for all production processes, from cows' feed to the branding/stamping of the cheese, to protect and guarantee brand quality, so its nutritional value can be considered to be very consistent
Nutritional value of Grana Padano
Protein
33% of Grana Padano PDO consists of proteins with high biological value. It also contains nine essential amino acids, 20% of which are branched-chain amino acids—isoleucine, leucine, and valine—which serve as muscle energy sources. Branched-chain amino acids are absorbed directly into muscles without passing through the liver, supporting the repair of muscles damaged by intense exercise and providing energy during activity, making them crucial for people who do sports. Leucine also helps maintain weight loss and increases satiety, making it ideal for those on a diet.
Carbohydrates
Grana Padano PDO is lactose-free. During the production process, lactose is naturally eliminated through the action of lactic acid bacteria. Any small amount of lactose remaining after processing is also eliminated during aging. One of the strict conditions imposed on the processing of Grana Padano PDO is a minimum aging period of nine months. By the end of this aging period, Grana Padano PDO is naturally completely free of lactose. The galactose content also becomes around 10mg, an amount digestible even for people with lactose intolerance.
Fats
The whole milk used for Grana Padano PDO is naturally skimmed during processing, losing almost 50% of its fat content to become a semi-skimmed cheese. Through this skimming, approximately 29g of fat remains on average in about 100g of cheese. Of this, 68% are saturated fatty acids (11% of which are so-called "good fats," i.e., short-chain fatty acids), 28% are monounsaturated fatty acids found in olive oil, etc., and the remaining 4% are polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish, nuts, and dried fruits. Since dairy (or milk) fat is secreted from the cow's mammary glands, it can be said that unlike animal fats from meat or eggs, it does not constitute a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Cholesterol
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), adults should not consume more than 200-300mg of cholesterol per day. 25g of Grana Padano PDO contains approximately 25mg of cholesterol, which is only about 10-11% of the daily intake recommended by the AHA.
Minerals
Grana Padano PDO, made by concentrating milk, is rich in essential minerals, including calcium. The absorption rate of calcium from cheese in the body is about 75%, which is very high compared to calcium in vegetables, which is only absorbed at 2-10%. In Italy, it is recommended to consume calcium derived from milk. According to the Italian Epidemiology Institute's food database, 25g of Grana Padano (two spoons of grated cheese) contains 291mg of calcium, and no other food commonly consumed by Italians contains such a high amount of calcium. Just 25g of Grana Padano contains 30% of an adult's daily requirement for calcium, phosphorus, and minerals such as selenium and zinc etc.. which are important for antioxidant function.
Vitamins
All the essential vitamins found in milk are condensed in Grana Padano PDO, with particularly high amounts of B vitamins and vitamin A. Consuming 25g of Grana Padano provides 19% of an adult's daily requirement for vitamin B12, 7% for vitamin B2, and 10% for vitamin A. The high content and good absorption rate of vitamin B12 in Grana Padano PDO make it an ideal food for meeting daily essential nutritional needs, even for those who consume only small amounts of meat and eggs regularly. Vitamin B12 aids in the maturation of red blood cells (its deficiency causes anemia) and is crucial for maintaining nervous system function. Vitamin A has many functions, including for visual health and, like zinc and selenium, is an essential nutrient for antioxidant function.