HEALTH
Are You a Cheese Junkie?
The heroin-like substance in ‘dairy crack’ that gets you hooked
Let’s face it — cheese is addictive. There are a lot of very good reasons why we shouldn’t eat it — it’s terrible for our health, it causes untold animal suffering, and it’s a huge contributor to global warming — but many people just can’t imagine life without it. When you suggest that maybe they shouldn’t eat cheese, they act like a junkie to whom you’ve suggested they shouldn’t inject smack.
It’s hardly surprising — it contains a substance remarkably similar to heroin, but more of that later. First, I want to look at some of the very good reasons we should not be eating the stuff.
Dairy cheese is loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol, the dangers of which are well known. For one thing, these substances tend to form plaques on the arteries, leading to narrowing and hardening of those blood vessels and making it harder for the blood to reach vital tissues. This is a common cause of erectile disfunction, but more dangerously can cause heart attacks and strokes by cutting off blood supply to the heart or brain.
Diabetes, too, another top killer in Western society, is often a direct result of eating too much saturated fat and cholesterol. It’s often thought that type 2 diabetes…
