Gorgonzola DOP is rich in micronutrients that are useful for our health, especially in vitamins and mineral salts, including calcium, phosphorous and zinc.
Water-soluble vitamins are found in the aqueous phase of milk and their amount in cheese is subject to variation due to the heating processes that are carried out during cheese-making. Milk is a good source of riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid and, to a lesser extent, folates and vitamin B12.
As to fat-soluble vitamins, milk contains retinol and carotenes, whose amounts change depending on the type of diet eaten by the animals. Milk also contains tocopherols and vitamin D. The fact that Gorgonzola DOP is made using whole milk means that the majority of soluble vitamins are preserved in the actual cheese.
Some of these micronutrients have been linked to numerous beneficial effects associated with the correct functioning of several vital functions of our “body”, including our immune system, nervous system, skeletal system and cognitive system.
The consumption of Gorgonzola DOP is useful in all these respects.
Worthy of note, in particular, is the positive effect on the preservation of a healthy bone structure, thanks to a number of nutrients, including, in particular, proteins, zinc and, obviously, calcium and phosphorous. With regard to calcium, like with other minerals, what matters is not only the total intake but also the percentage that is actually absorbed by the body, transported to the sites of action and converted into a valid active form. This variable is generally defined as ‘bioavailability’. The distribution of calcium, magnesium, phosphate and citrate and their interactions with proteins are particularly important in terms of bioavailability, that is in terms of their actual intestinal absorption. In Gorgonzola DOP, calcium is highly bioavailable and the calcium/phosphorous ratio is also optimal.
Thanks to its high content of vitamins and mineral salts, Gorgonzola DOP can be rightly regarded as a food with remarkable protective properties and can therefore be recommended as part of a healthy and balanced diet.
