Cheese
2.7 - Why Can’t I Have Cheese?
If you have been WFPB for any length of time and told others about your new diet, you’ve probably heard this popular response: “I could never give up cheese.” People often struggle to give up cheese when transitioning to a WFPB diet. It is everywhere in our lives—at every social gathering, on every fast food menu, and at many family dinners. It is ingrained into the social fabric of our culture.
According to the USDA, Americans consumed 661 pounds of dairy products in 2022, and consumption more than doubled between 1981 and 2021. But the social factors are only a part of the struggle people face when they decide to give up cheese. Here are a few other factors that play a role in our struggle with cheese and dairy foods:
Cheese contains casein, a protein that triggers the release of casomorphins. These compounds have opioid-like properties which contribute to the addictive nature of cheese.
Cheese is high in fat and salt, compounds which activate reward centers in the brain, further contributing to cheese cravings.
Marketing efforts by cheese manufacturers create a food environment in which there are more obstacles to giving up cheese. The dairy industry spent 3.29 billion dollars on ads in 2022.
If you struggle to give up dairy, you may need to treat dairy foods like addictive substances by giving them up altogether. This is how alcoholics and cigarette smokers effectively give up their deadly habits. And while the debate lingers as to whether cheese is an addictive substance, given how it reacts in the brain, it can only help your efforts to treat it that way.
If you have been WFPB for any length of time and told others about your new diet, you’ve probably heard this popular response: “I could never give up cheese.” People often struggle to give up cheese when transitioning to a WFPB diet. It is everywhere in our lives—at every social gathering, on every fast food menu, and at many family dinners. It is ingrained into the social fabric of our culture.
According to the USDA, Americans consumed 661 pounds of dairy products in 2022, and consumption more than doubled between 1981 and 2021. But the social factors are only a part of the struggle people face when they decide to give up cheese. Here are a few other factors that play a role in our struggle with cheese and dairy foods:
Cheese contains casein, a protein that triggers the release of casomorphins. These compounds have opioid-like properties which contribute to the addictive nature of cheese.
Cheese is high in fat and salt, compounds which activate reward centers in the brain, further contributing to cheese cravings.
Marketing efforts by cheese manufacturers create a food environment in which there are more obstacles to giving up cheese. The dairy industry spent 3.29 billion dollars on ads in 2022.
If you struggle to give up dairy, you may need to treat dairy foods like addictive substances by giving them up altogether. This is how alcoholics and cigarette smokers effectively give up their deadly habits. And while the debate lingers as to whether cheese is an addictive substance, given how it reacts in the brain, it can only help your efforts to treat it that way.