I could simply just say – because. And leave it at that, but then what good would that do?

One key thing to the “art” of clean eating is: fresh is better. Typical guidelines for this kind of eating is 5 ingredients or less. If you can’t pronounce it, you really shouldn’t be eating it. One of the things that people tend to slip up on when following the clean eating lifestyle is cheese.

But it’s all the same.

No. It’s not. Processed cheeses should never be lucky enough to sit in your refrigerator or to grace dinner tonight as a topping. Ever. Sure, it starts the same. But processed cheese is actually cheese by-products that are made from a combination of things. The natural cheese is used as a base, then ingredients are added like stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers etc. This is done so that the cheese becomes a shelf-stable product that can be kept on the shelves at your local grocer for more than a few days before being tossed. They also, often, have a higher calorie count. Unprocessed or natural cheeses, while have a shorter shelf life, contain less chemicals and additives, therefore fewer things to interfere with your body’s system.

Unless that label says Ingredients: Parmesan cheese (made from skim, whole, etc… milk),  it contains enzymes (which won’t be listed so you don’t know what ‘enzymes’ were used), cellulose powder to prevent caking, potassium sorbate (which is used to ‘protect flavor’ and prevent mold growth).

So, in the end, it’s pretty easy to figure out what would be better fitting for that clean eating lifestyle you’re following. Clean cheese is just better for you.