Have you ever heard someone say “Oh, I could never be vegan, I could never give up cheese!” It is a common sentiment that many vegans hear from their non-vegan friends and family. A good response may be “That is because you are addicted to it. Cheese is addicting.” Once you detox from cheese, it’s actually quite easy to give it up. Just ask any vegan!
So what makes cheese so addicting, anyway? Well, the main protein in milk is casein. When digesting casein, our bodies create casomorphins, which have an opioid effect on us. In other words, it makes us feel happy. The reason that cheese makes people so happy and milk doesn’t have the same effect is because the casein concentration in cheese is much higher due to the curdling process.
As if that wasn’t enough, cheese also contains a chemical called phenylethylamine, which causes pleasure in certain areas of the brain. Phenylethylamine is sometimes used as an anti-depressant because of its mood-elevating qualities.
The issue is that dairy is not healthy. It is not a good source of absorbable calcium, like the dairy industry would like you to believe. It is not easily digested by a lot of people. It can aggravate allergies and cause ear infections. Consuming dairy has been linked to higher rates of cancer, as well. To read up on the link between casein and cancer, read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell.
Finally, the dairy industry is extremely abusive to animals. To learn more about the abuses of the dairy industry, visit http://www.mercyforanimals.org/dairy/.
When a friend or family member states that cheese is just too hard to give up, now you can explain why. Once they kick the diary habit, they will be happy they did. They will be healthier, and will not be supporting such a cruel industry.
Lauren is a lawyer and vegan blogger. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can follow her blog at brooklynnatural.blogspot.com/ and follow her on Twitter, below.
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