Dairy and high fat foods are like morphine?!

Ok, now that I got your attention...lol

I was wondering the other day why, despite eating healthy and feeling full, I was craving, HAD TO HAVE, something else. What did I need? Something fattening, full of dairy or cheese! I HAD to have it. I couldn't concentrate on anything else!! If I didn't have it, I wouldn't get anything else done, plus, I'm under a lot of stress right now, and I knew it would make me feel good (at least instantly, although not for the long term!)

I started thinking...I'm acting like an addict! I suppose I'm more sensitive to this issue of drug addiction lately, since my friend who passed away died of a heroin overdose. As long as I had known her she struggled with this habit, but could not stop it. It was so sad to watch. She would get better, and then relapse. When she moved out of state, I felt helpless. I couldn't be a good influence on her anymore.

Man, I told myself I was going to make this short because I'm running behind on things today...that is not working!

Ok, long story short, I did a ton of research on dairy and found out that it has casein in it. Casein is a protein that when digested, (and especially if the food it is in has lots of fat and sugar, and it's processed-hey, sounds like fast food, cheese, and dairy? Remember, fat and sugar and processed junk is key here, becuase plenty of people can eat non-processed, healthy cheese and not gain lots of weight or even get addicted. I think what is important is the quality and combo of ingredients in the cheese,dairy,or any food you crave...or if u are like me,and have an allergy to whey and are probably lacking the enzymes to digest dairy naturally)

Ok, so this isn't going to be a short blog. I need to just accept that :)

So, back to casein-this turns into casomorphins, which have an opiate or morphine like effect! (heroin is an opiate also)

This is some strong stuff!

I was wondering, ok, it can't be THAT addictive though, right? How could something so harmless as food be that? Well, but it makes sense that it would be VERY addictive. Sure, it won't kill you quickly if you have too much dairy like heroin will, but it is a very strong urge! This addictive chemical is in dairy because when we are young, we need to WANT to drink milk. Babies need it to survive. Therefore it's addictive. Wow, this is so simple! How did I not see this before? This is why dairy is so harmful! It was only meant for when we are younger! I'm not saying dairy here and there when you are an adult is going to kill you BUT it was never meant to be processed, and combined with so much fat and sugar, and not to mention, plenty of people don't have the digestive enzymes when they get older (therefore, it's easier to have problems and addiction)

Dairy was never really meant for the adult body. It has some good qualities in it, but you stopped eating baby food when you got older right? So, why do we continue to eat dairy? And from an animal, no less?! Why do we continue to eat fast food or junk food when we know it's bad?

Because we get addicted!!

So it's not my lack of will power that I can't stick to a vegan or raw food diet!!


Ok, maybe not. I could just stop eating it and deal with the withdrawal symptoms!

But I don't want to! I LIKE the quick feeling of calm it gives me. Let's face it. We are a busy society. We are a stressed society. Bad food (i.e. calming foods) are a quick fix! And I like that darn it. lol It's not hurting anyone else like second hand smoke, or alcohol and getting in a car accident..so it's tough for me to want to stop it.

It's such a quick fix, even if I feel bad later. I can't help but think the people who are the right weight have just found foods that create a similar calming effect-at least the skinny ones who are HAPPY anyways. I'm sure there are plenty who are skinny, but miserable by their food choices!

I thought, why not find a food that does the same thing, but that isn't fattening or bad for you?!

I remembered seeing a product called L-Theanine when I was trying to learn about all of the many products at Zerbos. lol

It is a mood enhances and calms you down. And when I researched it I found it was in green tea! Which is great for you!!

So, my theory goes like this...when I'm stressed,and have a craving for calming dairy or junk food...I should replace it with Green tea!

I don't have time to make green tea all the time, so I just got the extract and put in water.

So, far, I have noticed a huge reduction in cravings. It really seems to be working!

I'm also drinking more water, which of course, helps keep me full.

I originally wanted green tea gum, but couldn't find any here. I think that would be even easier and less obvious than carrying a water bottle everywhere.

People might say, ok, well every time you get a craving and you drink water, you fill yourself up with water and you don't want to eat dairy because you are full. Maybe that is partly true, but I used to drink at least 32 ounces of water a day, and still craved dairy. So, I do think the green tea is just giving me an extra boost on my cravings.

I'm sure plenty of people will say, I had no problem giving up dairy and don't miss it at all. How come I didn't get addicted? Or people (probably because they are addicted and terrified of losing their dairy!) will get angry and say there is nothing wrong with dairy! Ok, well maybe you didn't get addicted because you didn't eat as much fattening dairy products, or a lot of cheese? Remember, addictions take time. Also, you may be one of the lucky ones (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) who have a lot of the enzymes to digest dairy. So, you are less likely to have issues with dairy in the first place.

It's been shown though, that even people who have no problem giving up dairy still get strong cravings for cheese. Why is this? Well, cheese has the MOST casomorphins in it. Way more than milk. Draw your own conclusions!
There are a lot of articles, so I apologize for not posting all my references...the only scientific study I could find was from University of Michigan on the effects of the opiate drug blocker Naxolene on subjects eating habits, and a book called,"Breaking the Food Seduction." Have fun researching!