Is There Really More Protein In Parmesan Than A Protein Bar?

It would be objectively weird for someone to pull out a hunk of Parmesan cheese and take a bite at their desk – right? Or would it be a smart choice of protein-rich snack, one devoid of the sort of hidden ultra-processed ingredients a typical protein bar might contain?

For Jessie Inchauspé – better known as the Glucose Goddess – it’s the latter of the two. On Instagram, the French biochemist has claimed to eat a kilogram of Parmesan per week, stashing it in her handbag for moments when hunger strikes.

Intrigued, we asked the experts whether Parmesan is actually an underrated protein source we should all be eating more of.

Is Parmesan a high-protein food?

“It’s a fairly good protein source and, compared to a protein powder, is much more natural,” says nutritionist, naturopath and Artah founder Rhian Stephenson. “It has a decent hit of calcium and contains no sugars, sweeteners or emulsifiers.”

What does fairly good mean in numerical terms, though? Protein bars promise up to 20g of protein, while powders often claim 30g as a minimum per serving. Can Parmesan stack up, numbers-wise?

To consume between 25g to 30g of protein from Parmesan, you’d need to eat around 80g of it. That equates to around 330 to 400 calories, between 20g and 30g of fat and 0-1g of carbohydrates. For keto-minded people, it sounds great. There is more to the story, though.

“The trade off is that parmesan, as a protein source, is also high in sodium and saturated fat,” Stephenson explains. Saturated fat is a type of fat that tends to be solid at room temperature and is found in cheese, butter, red meat and oils. Consuming too much can increase your risk of heat and circulatory disease.