For those of us that have already made the switch to a whole-food, nutrient-dense, Starch-Smart® diet, I think we would mostly agree that cheese was the hardest food item to remove from our diets. It melts so nicely, and makes everything taste so much better, right? Remember how wonderfully satisfying it was, and how it made us feel like drifting off to sleep after eating it? Dr. Neal Barnard addresses these reactions and states, "Traces of morphine, along with codeine and other opiates, are apparently produced in cows' livers and can end up in their milk." Mammalian milk also "Contains a protein called casein that breaks apart during digestion to release a whole host of opiates called casomorphins. A cup of cow's milk contains about six grams of casein. Skim milk contains a bit more, and casein is very concentrated in the production of cheese."
Dr. Barnard goes to explain why these morphine chemicals are in mother's milk, saying, "It appears that the opiates from mother's milk produce a calming effect on the infant and, in fact, may be responsible for a good measure of the mother-infant bond. Mother's milk has a drug-like effect on the baby's brain that ensures that the baby will bond with Mom and continue to nurse and get the nutrients all babies need." Every mother who has nursed her baby has witnessed this fact. After nursing, the elated expression on their baby's face reflects their contentment, as they drift off to sleep.
This explains why cheese is so addicting and why it's so hard to wean ourselves off of it. When the water, whey proteins, and lactose from milk are removed, much higher concentrations of casomorphines and fat are left, which are highly concentrated in the production of cheese.
I speak in detail about this subject in my video "Why We Do What We Do?" available for purchase as a DVD at Veggievore.com or as Streaming Media.
(1) Dr. Neal Barnard's book, Breaking the Food Seduction
(2) Opiate-Like Chemicals in Cheese are Physically Addictive