Why is Cheese so Addictive?
Food Hazards in Animal Flesh and By-products from All-Creatures.org Vegan Health Articles

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From David Jack James
October 26, 2020 Facebook posting

Opiates have a calming effect, and they also cause the brain to release dopamine, leading to a sense of reward and pleasure.

addictive cheese

When someone says, “I could never give up cheese,” explain the science: It is actually a chemical addiction! Opiate compounds!

“…Call it DAIRY CRACK. Just as cocaine manufacturers have found ways to turn an addictive drug (cocaine) into an extremely addictive one (crack), dairy producers have found their own ways to keep you coming back….[T]oday’s cheese industry knows all about cheese craving and is eager to exploit it. It is doing its level best to trigger cheese craving in vulnerable people.

…If you were to look at a protein molecule with a powerful microscope, it would look like a long string of beads. Each ‘bead’ is a protein building block called an amino acid, and, during digestion, the individual amino acids come apart and are absorbed into your bloodstream so that your body can use them to build proteins of its own.

…[C]asein [the protein in milk] is an unusual protein. While it does break apart to release individual beads, it also releases longer fragments—chains that might be four, five, or seven amino acid beads in length. THESE CASEIN FRAGMENTS ARE CALLED CASOMORPHINS—THAT IS, CASEIN-DERIVED MORPHINE-LIKE COMPOUNDS. AND THEY CAN ATTACH TO THE SAME BRAIN RECEPTORS THAT HEROIN AND OTHER NARCOTICS ATTACH TO. IN OTHER WORDS, DAIRY PROTEIN HAS OPIATE MOLECULES BUILT RIGHT INTO IT.

Opiates in dairy products? What the heck are they doing there, you might ask. Well, imagine if a calf did not want to nurse. Or if a human baby was not interested in nursing. They would not do very well. So, along with protein, fat, sugar, and a sprinkling of hormones, milk contains opiates that reward the baby for nursing.

Have you ever looked at a nursing baby’s face? The infant has a look of great intensity and then collapses into sleep. Of course, we imagine that to be the beauty of the mother-infant bond. But the fact is, mother’s milk delivers a mild drug to the child, albeit in a benign and loving way. If that sounds coldly biological, it pays to remember that nature never leaves anything as important as a baby’s survival to chance.

Opiates have a calming effect, and they also cause the brain to release dopamine, leading to a sense of reward and pleasure.

A cup of milk contains about 7.7 grams of protein, 80% of which is casein, more or less. Turning it into Cheddar cheese multiplies the protein content seven-fold, to 56 grams. It is the most concentrated form of casein in any food in the grocery store...”

This excerpt is from The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy by Neal Barnard, MD, of The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

“‘The Cheese Trap’ is a fascinating tour though all the things you never knew about America’s favorite addiction—and how to break free. If you’ve been looking to lose weight, tackle cholesterol, skin problems, headaches, joint pains, or respiratory troubles, or you just wanted to take an important step for the animals and the Earth, this is the place to begin.”


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We began this archive as a means of assisting our visitors in answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to take a pro-active part in their own health. We believe the articles and information contained herein are true, but are not presenting them as advice. We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own health, and simply wish to share with others the things we have found. Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body. If you have a health problem, see your own physician.