Cheese Stinks!

It’s bad for you. Really, really bad for you.

It’s addictive – truly. So when you say you can’t give it up, it’s because you’re hooked. Literally.  Casein, the main dairy protein, breaks apart during digestion to release little opiate molecules called casomorphins.  It’s baby cow “crack” designed by nature to help them thrive, gain weight and bond with their mothers.    

Great that baby and mom bond, but not so great this stuff bonds to your arteries.  70% of the calories in cheese come from fat, most of it saturated – the BAD kind.  Saturated fat loves to hang out in your arteries. It’s also loaded with sodium. Cottage cheese, the favorite of the diner diet plate, has more than 900 milligrams in a cup.

Eating cheese has been linked to arthritis, high blood pressure, cancer, hormone imbalance, allergies… I could go on and on about all the health risks. To learn more about plant based diets and health, check out my resouces page.

But what about calcium?  Eating and drinking dairy actually creates an acidic unbalance in your body.  Your body releases calcium from your bones to balance itself to a more alkaline state.  The only countries where osteoporosis is an issue are those where dairy products are consumed. In Africa, the Masai are the only tribe with the disease. They are cattle farmers. 

“The myth that osteoporosis is caused by calcium deficiency was created to sell dairy products and calcium supplements. There’s no truth to it. American women are among the biggest consumers of calcium in the world, and they still have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis in the world. And eating even more dairy products and calcium supplements is not going to change that fact.”
– Dr. John McDougal

Calcium is readily available in a number of plant based foods. See the chart below for a few good sources.

OK, so maybe you have good genes and health is not an issue.  Maybe you’re worried about fitting into your jeans? A calf can gain 400 pounds in a year on nothing but mother’s milk.  It’s designed to help these little babies grow up big. Yep, cheese is fattening. Who can stop with a 2 oz serving?  What’s that – about half a slice of pizza?

So, you aren’t worries about your health or fitting into your size 2’s.  At least consider the issues cows face on commercial dairies. They don’t roam free, eating grass until the friendly farmer comes along, sits down on a stool and starts gently milking. Unfortunately, commercial dairies are cruel places where cows are separated from their young, kept in small stalls and forced to give milk hooked up to a machine without rest.  A lifespan of 25 years is shortened to four. Milk must be pasteurized because blood and puss end up mixed in.  Good sources to learn more about the plight of the dairy cow can be found at Californiacowsarenothappy.com and Peta.org.

Ready to give up cheese?  Try it for two weeks and you’ll find you don’t miss it. If you do decide to try vegan cheese, I recommend Daiya.  It melts and tastes like cheese.  Read your labels and watch out for some “non-dairy” cheeses that still contain milk byproducts, especially casein. Your body, your planet, and the cows will thank you!

Here are just a few great sources of calcium. (source: whfoods.com)