Brazilian snowboarder Pat Burgener has summed up better than anyone the paradigm shift that separates the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 and those in Milano Cortina 2026. In a video that has gone viral, it contrasts two scenes: in one, the Swiss Nicolas Huber stoically endures the endless nasal tests in the Chinese health bubble; In the other, Burgener appears enthusiastically tasting Italian food in the Olympic village. He’s not the only one. Austrians Stefan Rettenegger, Johannes Lamparter and Thomas Rettenegger have documented on social networks how they unapologetically enjoy local cuisine and even Italian-style naps.
The contrast is total. The restrictive and purely clinical environment of four years ago has given way to an authentic Mediterranean feast. And at the epicenter of this culinary revolution in the Olympic villages, there is an undisputed protagonist that crowns each pasta or risotto dish: mountains of grated cheese. Far from being a simple gastronomic whim, the decision to replace the classic synthetic energy bars with portions of cheese wrapped in Olympic logos, or to snack muffins rich in proteins baked with this dairy, responds to a calculated nutritional and commercial strategy, As detailed in a report in The New York Times.
If Italian food had an athlete competing in these Winter Games, it would undoubtedly be cheese Grana Padano. This cured dairy, often considered Parmigiano-Reggiano’s less expensive sibling, has literally colonized the event. The strategy goes far beyond putting cheese wedges on Olympic buffets. The intention of Mirella Parmeggiani, marketing manager of the consortium that manages its production, is to position this food, which Benedictine monks began to make in the 12th century, as a true “ally in the healthy diet of sports enthusiasts.”
To achieve this, the Organizing Committee of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has signed an official collaboration agreement with the Grana Padano Consortium. The organization considers this entity a firm “ambassador of Italian taste throughout the world” and highlights that they share fundamental principles of sport such as commitment, passion and generosity.
But the agreement also has a geopolitical dimension. Italy will reach a record of 70 billion dollars in 2025 in agri-food exports. And the DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) system of the European Union protects more than 850 Italian products under strict standards of origin and elaboration. In the case of Grana Padano, the milk must come from specific regions in northern Italy and the cheese must mature for at least nine months. In fact, only in 2024 were exported 2,685,541 Grana Padano wheels to international markets
The message is clear: cheese is protein, but it is also national identity and gastronomic diplomacy.
Marketing genius or real nutrition?
Seeing this display of gastronomic diplomacy, it is inevitable to ask: are we facing simple marketing genius or is there a real scientific basis that justifies the constant presence of cheese in high-performance Olympic menus?
From a nutritional point of view, Grana Padano provides approximately 33 grams of protein per 100 grams of product, without carbohydrates or sugars and with a high concentration of calcium and vitamin B12. Sports nutritionist Saúl Sánchez points out that parmesan and Grana Padano They are placed among the cheeses with greater protein density – 32 grams per 100 grams in the case of Grana Padano – and maintains that its saturated fats should not be demonized in the context of a varied diet.
From the sports fieldswimmer Gemma Mengual has described cheese as a “superfood” for elite athletes, while karate fighter Damián Quintero highlights its usefulness both before and after training. The technical explanation usually focuses on casein, a slowly digestible protein that progressively releases amino acids, contributing to prolonged muscle recovery.
In the Nutrimi Forumone of the main scientific meetings on nutrition in Italy, Dr. Maria Letizia Petroni defended the approach Food Firstwhich prioritizes natural foods over the systematic use of isolated supplements. In that context, he mentioned cured cheese as a rich source of leucine and proteins of high biological value useful in post-workout recovery strategies.
The milky labyrinth and the “protective matrix”
The success of cheese in sports clashes, paradoxically, with the controversial scientific debate on the consumption of liquid milk in adulthood, what many experts already call the “dairy labyrinth.” While some studies associate a high consumption of full-fat dairy products with certain metabolic problems, cheese is saved from this screening thanks to the so-called “dairy matrix”.
Modern science has discovered that the saturated fat in cheese does not behave in the body the same as that of an ultra-processed product. The bacteria, vitamins and polar lipids produced during maturation alter the way the body absorbs these fats, mitigating inflammation. In addition, it solves the big problem with milk: lactose. While in countries like Spain lactose intolerance affects around 30% of the population, the long fermentation process of Grana Padano (often more than 24 months) makes it a natural product lactose free and highly digestible for athletes around the world.
The evidence, under the papers
One of the studies most cited in this conversation was published in 2024 in the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. He tested 35 untrained young men during four weeks of strength training combined with cheese supplementation. Participants who consumed a dose equivalent to 13.4 grams of protein from cheese three times a week showed improvements in body composition and reductions in total and LDL cholesterol compared to the lower dose group.
However, it is worth clarifying: the study was not carried out on elite athletes, the sample was small and no significant additional improvements in strength were observed compared to training alone. The authors themselves pointed out the need for broader research.
In the field of aging, a systematic review published in Nutrition Research observed that dairy protein may help increase lean body mass in older adults. It also found small benefits associated with vitamin D in functional tests. However, the results were not consistent in all the trials analyzed. In other words, there are interesting signals in certain clinical contexts, but that is not equivalent to demonstrating a direct advantage in Olympic athletes subjected to extreme loads.
Diplomacy in the form of grated cheese
The return of the Games to Italy has offered an unbeatable opportunity to project the national image. After the experience of Turin 2006, where products such as Barolo or gianduja expanded their international recognitionthe country once again uses food as a tool of soft power.
Some local producers feared that the weight of Grana Padano would overshadow smaller regional varieties. However, in venues like Bormio festivals are held where Grana Padano and artisan cheeses such as Storico Ribelle coexist, produced in very limited quantities. The gastronomic journalist Eugenio Signoroni consider that The fact that Italian food companies compete internationally with global giants is “great for all of Italy.”
Even its historic rival, Parmigiano-Reggiano, had its own viral sports moments, such as the photographs of gymnast Giorgia Villa performing splits on giant wheels of cheese, or his famous commercial agreements with American sports franchises such as the New York Jets.
The oldest doping in the world
Italy has not invented a revolutionary supplement. It has done something much more subtle: it has wrapped a traditional food, with centuries of history behind it, in the language of contemporary sports nutrition.
There is no conclusive evidence that cheese provides a decisive advantage over other protein intakes in Olympic athletes. Yes, it is a dense source of high-quality proteins, calcium and essential amino acids, with excellent digestive tolerance in its cured version thanks to its absence of lactose.
In a sports environment dominated for decades by aseptic synthetic shakes and isolate powders, Milano Cortina has proposed a culturally powerful alternative: recovering protein in its most ancient form. The “legal doping” of these Games does not come in a fluorescent bottle. It arrives in the shape of an ancient wedge, grated over a plate of hot pasta. And for now, athletes seem happy to accept it.
Image | Claudia Castaldi and Pat Burgener
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