The new PROTEIN CURE

The slow-digesting protein in cottage cheese and hard cheeses helps women lose 300% more weight. Yale MD explains how this 2-week plan can work for you!

- LISA MAXBAUER

We love it when a classic trend becomes popular again—like the retro swimsuits and comfy baggy jeans women are wearing these days. So we took notice when we started seeing everyone treating good old cottage cheese like the #1 weight-loss superhero it was in decades past. Cottage cheese is everywhere now: added to smoothies, lasagnas, toast and cupcakes. Why is this food back on top?

“The secret may be the casein, a special type of protein that is digested slowly, extending the feeling of fullness,” says Florence Comite, MD, who founded Women’s Health Research at Yale University.

Not all proteins are digested at the same speed. If you recall the Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme, you know the two types of protein in dairy are curds and whey. The body absorbs whey quickly, in 1 to 2 hours, whereas casein curds deliver a sustained release of amino acids—the building blocks of muscle—over a period of 4 hours, or 39% longer than whey.

Casein curds are known to “clot” in the stomach, delaying stomach emptying in a way similar to how new weight-loss drugs like Ozempic work. So when people eat more casein, they consume 300 fewer calories per day, say Brazilian scientists.

Casein is also proven to boost the body’s fat-burning rates by 48%, leading women who consume it to lose 300% more fat. In one study, women who ate the most protein had a waistline 7.6 inches smaller than those who skimped on protein. What gives? “Muscle is metabolically active tissue,” says Dr. Comite. It burns fat even while we sleep, shifting the percentage of fat and muscle in the body. “It’s better than weight loss,” she says. “It’s body recomposition.”