Cheese Addiction:  Sounds Funny. But I’m Serious. It’s Real.
When talking to people about cleaning up their diet, the number one food that is brought up is cheese. “I can’t live without my cheese.” Or, “Cheese is my main downfall.”

Or simply the statement of surrender, “I can’t give up cheese.” It is never surprising to me, yet it seems surprising to them. There is a very good reason they love and “can’t” give up cheese and it is not in their “head.” Cheese addiction is scientific. It’s real—just like drug and alcohol addiction. Of course, you don’t find people losing their jobs, family, or homes over it (thankfully)! Could you imagine homeless people begging for cheese (“hey, man, got any cheddar? I really need it.”)?

What Makes Cheese Addicting?
Opiates are found in the casein, a protein present all dairy, but concentrated in cheese. It’s the same opiate found in morphine. When I found this out in my studies, it made sense to me on a personal level. I’m very sensitive to opiates and usually choose not to take them if they are prescribed to me for post-op or injury, simply because they knock me out. Cheese does the same thing to me on a smaller scale, of course. I usually avoid consuming cheese on a regular basis. But if I do, it is in small amounts. Otherwise, I find myself napping soon after I eat it and sometimes feeling headachy… not very productive. I also suffered from serious bouts of constipation as a child as I used to eat a lot of dairy. Although dairy is very binding and mucus-forming on its own, opiates also cause constipation since they slow peristalsis in the colon.

How Does the U.S. Government Fuel Cheese Addiction?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gives money to the dairy industry in the form of its Checkoff program. (I wish they would do that with the organic fruit and vegetable industry!). Have you noticed how restaurants, especially fast food establishments, showcase cheese or extra cheese? More cheese slices on sandwiches. More cheese sauces. More cheese crammed onto a pizza or stuffed into it’s crust. More cheese melted over any type of food. It’s on EVERYTHING and there is a lot of it (Pizza Hut’s “Ultimate Cheese Pizza” has a pound of cheese on it and the USDA helped promote it!) As stated by the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine,

Fast food restaurants are trying to cram more cheese onto everything with the help of the USDA's Checkoff program.

The dairy checkoff is a marketing program in effect since 1984 to increase the consumption of dairy products and reduce surpluses by, inter alia, touting the purported benefits of dairy products. It is funded by a mandatory assessment (i.e., tax) on dairy producers. It is administered by USDA and managed by the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (“Dairy Board”), which is comprised of dairy farmers who are appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The government has even acknowledged that cheese has addictive qualities. Rather than educate consumers to reduce or eliminate this unhealthy item from their diets, USDA instead embarked on efforts “aimed at triggering cheese lovers’ craving for cheese.” So in short, the USDA gives money to promote the sale and consumption of cheese — knowingly feeding cheese addiction.

Breaking the Addiction
It’s quite easy. Don’t eat it. No profound advice here. You won’t have withdrawals (maybe some cravings, but no real withdrawal symptoms). Don’t buy it. Start making or ordering foods without it. With the addition of sauces and condiments, you may not even miss it. For example: Use extra salsa in Mexican dishes or extra marinara sauce in Italian dishes. Eliminate cheese from sandwiches. You’ll be surprised how good food will still taste. After about two weeks, you won’t miss it at all.

My Take On Cheese Consumption
In general, I recommend minimizing all dairy intake. But cheese in particular is very calorie-dense, very high in saturated fat and a common culprit for causing constipation. Pasteurization makes it difficult to absorb the calcium contained in dairy (plant sources are much better). If consumed, it should be free of artificial hormones (rbgh) and antibiotics. Melted or cooked cheese is much harder to digest than uncooked cheese (think about it, it’s the consistency of tar!). Furthermore, cheese made with raw milk is easier to digest and more nutritious, but it should be avoided by pregnant women or those with compromised immunity. Eating it with vegetables or beans helps digest it as well (high fiber). I strongly suggest eliminating it completely from your diet if you suffer from allergies or something serious such as cancer (there is a hormone in dairy that fuels the growth of cancer cells. I’ll do a post on that later.).  As with any food recommendation, you should pay attention to how you feel after you eat it and make your own decision and personal modifications based on your physical responses and condition. For instance, if you get headaches, fatigue, or digestion problems after eating it, you should probably eliminate from your diet.

Personally – Do I Eat Cheese?
Sparingly. I really enjoy artisan cheeses once in awhile (the high price helps me avoid it too). I don’t eat cheese when I know I have to be productive since it makes me tired. Some cheese affects me more adversely than others. I’m usually OK after some mozzarella, still a bit sleepy, but no sinus headaches (maybe because of my Italian genes?) but cheddar ruins me. I love a good quesadilla, but I rarely partake since I’m on the couch napping soon after… feeling grouchy and headachy. Most of the time, it’s not worth the consequences.

Are Eggs Good or Bad? The answer is “Yes.”

Ah, the good ol’ egg. To eat or not to eat? There is a lot of contradicting information about eggs. And that is a HUGE understatement. Even cardiologists are giving out misinformation. “What?! Can’t Be!” You may exclaim. Of all people, shouldn’t they know the answer? Well, not necessarily. Most don’t study nutrition on an in depth level. Even prestigious websites such as the Mayo Clinic has false information given by one of its cardiologists that has a column (I emailed them about it).

Eggs can be either good or bad depending on several factors. Specifics such as, what the chickens are fed, how they are raised, and how the eggs are cooked can determine if eggs are healthy or unhealthy for a person. And, of course, if an individual has adverse reactions to them such as an allergy. But let’s focus on cholesterol.

Do Eggs Raise Cholesterol?

There is no evidence that fresh eggs (not powdered) raise cholesterol (If I’m wrong, please prove this to me. Show me the studies!). In fact in a recent British study where people were put on calorie restrictive diets, but one group ate 2 eggs a day, both groups lowered their cholesterol, showing that the eggs had no detrimental effect. Eggs are high in cholesterol, so people falsely think that means it raises their blood (serum) cholesterol. Cholesterol in food, otherwise known as dietary cholesterol, and serum cholesterol are two different things. Cholesterol found in food does not affect blood cholesterol, but rather, saturated fat and transfat raise bad cholesterol in the blood (low density lipids – LDLs). But not all eggs have the same amount of saturated fat and it’s usually low. Some have a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids which actually lower bad cholesterol.

Are Some Eggs Better Than Others? Yes. (Hint: The Deeper Gold the Yolk, The Better.)

The darker gold the yolk, the more nutritious the egg.

I try to buy 100% cage-free chicken eggs. That means the the chickens were never confined and able to eat what chickens normally eat when outdoors (i.e. insects, worms, grains). That, sometimes combined with a high quality chicken feed which is usually organic (so it’s pesticide free), creates eggs with a better nutritional content, lower in saturated fat (bad), higher in omega-3 fatty acids (good). The yolks should be a deeper yellow or orange than commercially raised eggs. The shells are usually thicker as well due to higher calcium intake. Commercial eggs are from chickens that are cramped in a cage all day and usually fed corn. Even nationally commercial organic eggs (usually fed organic corn) are not as good as local cage-free eggs. Compare the yolks for yourself. Think about it — healthier, happier chickens produce healthier eggs!

Why Did Eggs Get An Overall “Bad” Reputation?

In short, it was the cereal industry (go figure). Back in the 1950’s, the cereal industry wanted people to eat more cereal. So they conducted a study on eggs and why people should not eat them. Their study, however, was not done on fresh eggs, but rather on powdered egg yolk. Why should that make a difference? Well, if a yolk is exposed to oxygen and high heat, it becomes oxidized which makes it toxic to our blood and raises blood serum cholesterol in a bad way. Powdered egg yolk is exactly that — oxidized. That’s when eggs are “bad.” BUT, a fresh egg that is cooked so the yolk is not exposed to high heat and oxygen does not have a detrimental effect on the blood and arteries, and therefore does not raise cholesterol like that of an oxidized egg yolk.

The foods typically eaten with eggs at breakfast are the culprits for raising bad cholesterol — not the eggs.

Eggs are typically eaten with unhealthy items that are high in saturated fat (bacon, sausage, butter, etc.) or are refined carbs (biscuits, pancakes, white bread, etc.), which raise bad cholesterol levels. The association of eggs with these items may contribute to their bad reputation (they’re “hanging out with the wrong crowd”). The company that eggs keep are the culprits of high serum cholesterol, not the eggs themselves.

The Healthiest Ways to Eat or Cook Eggs (when yolks are not exposed to oxygen at high heat)

• Poached
• Boiled (hard or soft)
• Fried, yolk intact (use a good fat such as expeller pressed canola oil which is monounsaturated. a.k.a. good cholesterol)

The Unhealthiest Ways to Eat or Cook Eggs (when yolks are oxidized by exposure to oxygen at high heat)

• Scrambled (this is why using just egg whites in omelets is beneficial)
• Powdered
• In processed foods

The Basic Nutrition of Eggs – What’s Good About Eggs?

Eggs are a germinative food. That means it has everything needed to create life, just like nuts and seeds (makes sense). They are a very good source of quality protein that is easily digestible and absorbed (albumen) which makes them great if you want to build muscle. They are nutrient dense with vitamins A, B’s (especially b12), D, E, and K; minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, iodine, and trace minerals; as well as essential fatty acids. The white is mostly protein and most of the nutrients are found in the yolk. Again, the amount of nutrients and fat depends on what the chicken was fed and how it was raised. The calories found in an egg varies on its size, of course. One large egg is approximately 80 calories, give or take.

Personally – Do I Eat Eggs?

Yes! I eat eggs (1 or 2) a few times a week. I don’t try to limit my intake, that’s just how often I want them. I love a good runny yolk over wheat toast! I also love to eat them with a side of sautéed veggies (either á la Mexican style with fajita seasoning, or French style with tomatoes, basil and spinach.) I always feel good and satiated after I eat eggs and my energy remains steady, if not elevated. For me, cheese is the “bad guy” and that’s what I usually avoid. More on the detriments of cheese coming soon.

I was excited when I first saw the trailer to the new network television series about healthy school lunch programs, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. “Yes!” I thought, as I’m an advocate for healthy school lunches. “Now Americans can see how much of a positive difference can be made by changing school lunches!” But after watching the first episode, I was kind of disappointed.

The Reality Is, It’s Reality TV.

Here we have a witty Brit going into a town in West Virginia in the middle of the school year to try to change things over night. It’s hard enough for anyone to go to small-town American and instigate change, let alone be a foreigner and do it over night. Next, trying to change anything while in mid-stream is much more challenging than starting from the beginning. It’s common sense. I’m thinking that the network wanted some drama and figured there would be some nice dramatic resistance to film (and there is). And finally, giving grade-school children a choice between the junk food they know and like and healthy food is a set-up for failure. No matter how delicious and nutritious the healthy food choice, kids will pick pizza over it. Be real.

Junk Food Shouldn’t Be An Option

The USDA considers french fries as a vegetable choice in school lunch programs. It's wrong.

The bottom line is this: children should not even have junk food as a choice. We are the adults. We are responsible for what they eat and should be making that decision. The “powers that be,” whether the school or the government, should make a healthy school lunch program available for our children. If you provide them with only fresh nutritious food, they will eat it. Give them green beans that are bright green, not grey. Give them fresh ripe fruit; not some syrupy, overcooked, cubed, mystery fruit  that comes in a cup. Give them brightly colored lightly cooked or fresh vegetables. Give them real unprocessed food — and they will eat it — eventually. If they don’t like it at first, they will grow to like it within a few weeks. I guarantee it.

Good Intentions, But Wrong Execution

Don’t get me wrong. I think Jamie Oliver has good intentions and really wants to make a difference.  And because of all the publicity, I think he will (hey, I’m talking about him, right?). But I think the network got in the way of something that could have been really great. The good thing is, even if this experiment doesn’t go as well as it could (I know it doesn’t because I know of the outcome.), at least the masses can get a good look at the crud that is being served in the majority of the schools and maybe start being proactive in making a change themselves, either at their local school or even at their own dinner table. French fries should not count as a vegetable.

Make A Difference: The Child Nutrition Bill

The Child Nutrition Bill is up for a vote with the Senate in mid-to-late April. Many organizations are petitioning. For more information see the Time for Lunch campaign at www.slowfoodusa.org, Chef Ann Cooper’s Lunch Box “One More Dollar A Day For Healthy School Food” campaign to our elected officials, or sign Jamie Oliver’s petition to save cooking skills and improve school food.

BTW, The Revolution Began Over A Decade Ago

There have already been successful changes to school lunch programs in certain areas of the country. One such place is in Wisconsin at the Appleton School District, which started back in 1997. Chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. The Renegade Lunch Lady, has made some great strides in improving school lunches in several schools as well. Two Angry Moms is another group that is making a change. I guess the food revolution is just “new” to the masses. And bringing it to the masses is where Jamie Oliver succeeds.

I was flipping through a “health” magazine today just to check it out. I put health in quotes because even though it appeared to be about health, I found much of its contents misleading, wrong, and not so healthy.

The Picture Shows One Thing, The Words Say Another.

I will use just one article as an example of misleading information. The photo showed bowls of whole grains. I thought, “Great! People need to know more about whole grains, what they are, why they are good, and how to prepare them.” But once I started reading the article, it fell flat of my expectations, and that’s putting it lightly. It gave a few benefits of eating whole grains, and then went into giving supposedly “healthy” “whole grain” recipes. The article didn’t even name any whole grains — not even labeling the bowls of whole grains in their photo. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if the author didn’t even know what they were! The article didn’t give examples of whole grains, where to buy them nor how to prepare them. What it did give were some weird recipes using processed products, such as stale bread and toaster waffles which were supposed to be the “whole grains” in the recipes. To be blunt, in my opinion that’s pretty lame. The crazy thing is, some of the ingredients in their recipes actually contribute to the ailments that they insinuated whole grains prevented. Plus, the ingredients that they combined actually hinders digestion, which causes fatigue, contributes to other health issues, and slows metabolism.

It’s About Making Money, Not Health.

As far as the magazine went, it seemed it was all about weight loss, vanity, fear (reducing it or building confidence) and pain reduction, plus unrelated stuff such as entertainment and celebrities. “Ingenious!” I thought. “What a great way to make money!” If you look at the number of people that want to lose weight, look good, get over fear, rid themselves of pain, and lose themselves in someone else’s life, it’s enormous! So basically, they are just tapping into a huge market. The problem is, the info they are giving isn’t always on the mark. And in some cases, it’s just downright wrong. It makes me wonder… Do they really even care about health?

How to Check the Integrity of a Health Magazine.

• Look at the advertisers and how many ads are in the magazine. Are the ads for healthy products? Are the products even health related? In this magazine, 54 of the 150 pages were for advertising. That doesn’t count the articles on products that the magazine was promoting. You can add a few more pages for those. That’s a lot of ads! Of those 54 pages, only 14 of the ads were health related. What’s worse is some of the ads promoted blatantly unhealthy products, such as processed food, alcohol, and junk food. The funny thing I noticed is that some of the ads that were for non-health related products, disguised their ads with healthy imagery — such as someone doing yoga — in a car ad.
• How healthy are the articles? Are they about health or vanity (for example, weight loss)? Are they even health related? Are they about eating processed foods full of artificial sweeteners and/or preservatives just for the sake of cutting calories? Who is writing the article? What’s his/her background or qualifications? If the magazine contains articles about flat abs, good sex, losing weight and celebrity diets, be skeptical of its integrity.
• What is the magazine’s price? You may not have thought about it, but like most things, you get what you pay for. If the cost is pretty low, most likely content is influenced by the advertisers.

I Leave You with This:

Weight loss doesn’t always equal good health (Obviously, you can look at cancer patients, drug addicts, the malnutritioned, and those with eating disorders to know this). Looking good doesn’t always equal good health (Why do seemingly healthy top athletes get diseases such as cancer?). Not having pain does not always equal good health (you can take a pain medication and be free of pain) — and so on. BUT, it does work the other way around — if you are healthy, those things I just listed, and then some, usually fall into place. Start thinking about getting healthy so you live a good, long, energetic life. Think about what you are eating and where it comes from, rather than how many calories it contains. Everybody is different, but we all need nutritious whole food, clean water and exercise to be healthy.

“Huh?” You may ask, “what does that mean? It sounds like a contradiction.” Simply put, if you are going to eat something that is deemed “bad” for you (I’ll leave you to decide who is doing the deeming), at least make sure you are eating real, high quality ingredients, free of anything artificial. If possible, use whole foods, rather than processed ingredients.

Let’s take lasagna as an example meal — meat lasagna. The reason I specify meat lasagna is that I want to acknowledge that it is different from a veggie lasagna. I could say substitute a veggie lasagna as a healthier lasagna choice. But honestly, it’s different. A veggie lasagna does not taste like a meat lasagna. I’m not speaking of a vegetarian or vegan version of a meat lasagna. I’m speaking of a lasagna made with vegetables, such as spinach, mushrooms and other veggies. So back to what I was saying…

Use High Quality Ingredients

Make your own sauce, or at least buy an organic sauce. In fact, use all organic ingredients if you can. Stay away from canned tomato products, as the liner has BPA that leaches into the sauce. Instead, use jarred tomato products. Use grass-fed beef, which is high in essential fatty acids (omega-3’s) and free from hormones and antibiotics. Use high quality cheese. If you don’t use organic ingredients, at least make sure you are not consuming anything artificial or may contain herbicides, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or genetically modified ingredients.

The same goes with any “once-in-awhile” food choice that is not exactly the healthiest.

Remember, food is to be enjoyed, but not over-consumed. If you are, for the most part, healthy and not suffering from a major disease, it’s OK to indulge once-in-awhile. It’s good for a sense of well-being. Since you may not eat this “bad” food very often, make it really good. I always say, if it doesn’t taste really good, then it is not worth it (“it” could be my stomach space, or extra calories, sugar, fat, etc.). Another example is popcorn. Pop it on the stove in high quality oil and put real butter and sea salt on it. Don’t eat that microwave garbage that’s over-salted and contains artificial stuff that your body doesn’t know what to do with. You’ll be amazed at how much better it tastes! If you want a dessert, don’t eat cake made with gmo high frutose corn syrup, transfat and artificial crap. Make your own cake with real, whole ingredients. Or, have an organic blueberry pie, or a hot-fudge sundae made with organic vanilla bean ice cream, organic hot fudge, and organic whipped cream.

We’re all human and we want to indulge. So at least do it right.

Go Do It

Now go give yourself a treat and be “bad.” Indulge without guilt. You deserve it. Just do it right with REAL, whole, good tasting, ingredients. And as I said earlier in so many words, eat good “bad” stuff.

After educating myself on the detrimental effects of genetically modified (gm or gmo) food and where these gmo’s are hiding in my kitchen, I started replacing the bad with the good… one item at a time. Granted, I initially wanted to comb through and toss anything that could possibly contain gm ingredients. But it seemed a bit overwhelming to do it that way. However, if you have the time and resources to take action in such a bold manner, I salute you.

Start with Your Next Shopping Trip

To begin your vigilant change to non-gmo food, stop buying anything that could contain gm ingredients. It’s easiest just to buy organic for the sake of easy label reading (anything labeled USDA Certified Organic or the ingredients are specified as organic, contain no gm ingredients) or products labeled “non-gmo,” or simply avoid processed packaged foods. But sometimes organic isn’t an option, and we want to get some cereal or crackers (processed food). That’s where you may have to take extra time to read labels of non-organic processed foods.

Where You Shop Can Make This Easier

If you shop the large grocery store chains, finding non-gmo and/or organic foods can sometimes be a challenge. In fact, I recently read that certain large grocery store chains in Canada went out of their way to make this task even harder for consumers by boycotting any food that had a “non-gmo” label! Can you believe that? I’m serious. Look it up and get angry. I did. But on the contrary, some large chains are embracing the organic movement, thankfully, and are now carrying more organic and non-gmo items. Ask the manager to start buying more of these products. The more people ask, they more they are likely to meet their customers’ requests (you know, “supply and demand”).

Then there are smaller grocery store chains, specialty stores, local farmer’s markets, and independent stores and co-ops. These stores usually specialize in “healthier” foods (organic, non-gmo, “natural,” hormone-free, pesticide free, sustainable farming, etc.). If you’re not shopping at one of these types of places, maybe that should be your next “search” item in your area. These places make it much easier to purchase non-gmo food. And for fresh produce, there are also CSA’s (community supported agriculture. A CSA is where you pay an upfront fee and get a weekly box of locally grown produce).

My First Item to Replace

My first item I replaced was my cooking oil, which happened to be canola oil… one of the “big four” gm ingredients (corn, soy, canola, cotton). Since I couldn’t find organic canola oil where I was shopping, (it’s available, in fact, Spectrum make one.) I bought grapeseed oil to replace it. I figured since I use oil often in cooking, that would be a good item to start with. I’m actually glad the organic canola oil was not available, because I discovered that the flavor of the grapeseed oil is really nice.

What’s Your First Item Going to Be?

As I said, if you just try to replace one item at a time, you won’t get overwhelmed or over burdened. So today, choose a gm item that is in your kitchen and replace it with a non-gm version. Then move onto the next item. Before you know it, you’ll (hopefully) have a non-gmo kitchen! Good luck and get going!