Day 15- Makes the Cheese Monster Cry and Say Goodbye

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my nickname used to be “The Cheese Monster.” At parties, my mom would hide the cheese plate from me or it was in danger of disappearing in minutes. My sister and I could polish off an entire 24 pack of Kraft singles in two days. Judging by the fact that I was at a hefty 140 pounds in 5th grade, it was probably more me than my sister… When I was diagnosed with dairy allergies in 6th grade, I listened to the doctor and stopped eating dairy products for 6 months. I was twelve and lost 30 pounds!

Unfortunately, after about a year, I rediscovered my love of cheese and suffered from constant sinus infections, headaches, never being able to breathe through my nose, and…well…a constantly uncomfortable tummy. I thought it was normal.

Dairy is NOT normal. We are the only species that drinks milk after infancy and the only species that drinks the milk of other species. And why did we pick cows? Cows produce the largest quantity of milk and it’s more economic to house them than elephants. (“Lucky elephants!” say the cows.)

“Cows’ milk, by design, grows a 90 –pound calf into a 2,000 pound cow over the course of two years. It allows calves to double their birth weight in forty-seven days and leaves their four stomachs feeling full. Sounds more fattening than human milk, right?  It is.”  Skinny Bitch

According to Freston, “So-called ‘2 percent’ milk may be 2 percent fat by volume, but it’s about 33 percent by calories, which is what actually matters.”

Remember all those nasty pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and steroids that you know are in the meat? By eating dairy products, it is just as bad as though you ate the meat directly. As a matter of fact, Eggs have 10 times the hormone content of meat and dairy, along with a hefty dose of cholesterol and very possibly, salmonella.

I just finished watching the documentary Veducated and was crying as I watched the male chicks either thrown into a grinder or simply tossed into the garbage to starve and die since they won't lay eggs. Though places that claim "grass fed" and "free range" can be certified organic, there is still no agency that governs how the animals are actually treated. No one checks on the word "humane." I feel like this really changes things for me. Here I was, feeling good about my organic eggs, picturing those happy cows on the organic farms, smugly wondering how "those other people" can eat commercial eggs and meat. Now I find out that the treatment of the animals is basically no different.

Dairy products have been linked to osteoporosis, allergies, acne, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, fibromyalgia, headaches, heartburn, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, joint pain, poor immune function, ear infections, colic, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, autism, Crohn’s disease, breast and prostate cancers, and ovarian cancer.

Why do I have to keep re-learning this lesson? I swear off cheese, feel better, almost start to breathe and then...I dive face-first into cheesecake, "have to" eat the pizza, lose my mind in ice cream (pictured above.) Can I just say it wasn't my fault? That I was drugged?

Actually, yes. Casein, present in cheese, eventually breaks down through digestion to become casomorphins. Yeah, like “morphine.” So casein is an opiate, sending pleasure to your brain, soothing you and making you want more. You had no choice but to equate cheese with love. Not only are you drugged, but casein and milk proteins have been shown to “dramatically increase blood cholesterol and its associated lesion that leads to heart disease.” Not bad enough for you? It also promotes cancer development.

T. Colin Campbell is responsible for the China Study, one of the most significant studies on the pitfalls of animal products and their link to cancer and other diseases. After one of his clinical experiments, he wrote, “Even when huge doses of cancer-causing toxins were given to study subjects, tumors grew only when they were fed casein.”

The American Cancer Society recommends eating mostly plant sources and to limit high-fat foods, especially from animal sources, if you want to reduce the risk of cancer.

I was very surprised to learn that milk actually leaches calcium from the body! Where are the lowest incidences of osteoporosis on earth? Surely America, since we drink all that milk, right? WRONG. Dairy –free countries. “The more milk a population consumes, the weaker its bones get.” Yes, milk has calcium, but at the same time it also releases even more of it.  According to The Kind Diet, “Meat and dairy are the chief causes of osteoporosis, not the cures.”

So how to get your calcium? Eat fortified grains, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, kelp, seaweed, watercress, chickpeas, broccoli, red beans, soybeans, tofu, seeds, and nuts.

Calcium Milligrams per 100-gram serving:

Butter
20
Whole Milk
118
Chickpeas
150
Collard greens
203
Parsley
203
Soybeans
226
Almonds
234
Sesame seeds
1160

“The Chinese, throughout their long and complicated history, have never included milk or cheese in their diets. It’s only in the very recent past that dairy has been introduced as a daily food, and with it has come a rapid rise in health problems like obesity and breast cancer.” – The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone

Where women consume high-fat, animal-based diets, the American Dietic Association reports incidences of breast cancer at the highest.

In fact, “in countries where dairy is not consumed the incidence of breast cancer is so low as to be almost nonexistent. Once women in those countries begin eating Western diets, however, their breast cancer rates increased eightfold.” – Kind Diet

So if you drop all animal products, these are the long-term benefits:
1.  More energy – Liver and kidneys work harder to digest animal products – you are testing this right now!  Do you feel lighter?
2.  Clearer skin – Animal meat contains hormones
3.  Alleviation of chronic conditions, like arthritis – “80 percent of milk protein comes from casein, and casein is believed to aggravate arthritis.” –Freston
(I can already feel a significant reduction in my chronic back pain and it's only been two weeks.)

Not to mention, much lower risk of all the other diseases listed above.

When sugar is back on the menu and you're ready for a treat, check out SoDelicious ice “cream” bars. They are made with coconut milk and they are, well, SO DELICIOUS! My favorite ice "cream" is by the Coconut Bliss brand- they have chocolate brownie and caramel fudge flavors that are incredible. I make “Tofutti” cheese sandwiches (best if you combine with veggies – the taste isn’t exactly cheese) and pizza with Daiya "mozzarella" shreds. Tofu can act like scrambled eggs, but be sure it's organic.


To be completely honest, I'm feeling upset with myself right now. I convinced myself for a year that I "needed" to be more flexible with my diet. It was a slippery slope into horrible health, weight gain, energy loss, and carelessly contributing to the demise of our precious environment. In our society where eating meat and cheese is a central part of the culture, it is very difficult to hang onto your principles, to choose tofu when cheese covered bacon is sitting next to it. To be constantly asked why, even openly challenged by loved ones and teased at gatherings. I was tired of being teased. I was tired of being "picky" and "annoying." But I'm more tired of being fat, sluggish, and achy. I'm more annoyed at how heartlessly animals are being treated. I'm feeling picky about the shape I want our earth to be in for my niece, for her children, and their children. I'm ready to stop whining, stop making excuses, and start protecting my health, saving precious lives, and preserving the environment with my consistent, daily choices.

Encouragement from the Quantum Wellness Cleanse:

Yes, this is a lot of information, “but with awareness comes resolve. The more aware you are of why it’s so important to change the way you eat, the better you will be able to stick with the program. With this knowledge under your belt, the cleanse will feel less like a restriction and more like the upgrade that it is. And should you decide to maintain these upgrades after the completion of the cleanse, you will do so with the awareness that you have made a profound lifestyle choice with far-ranging, life-long positive benefits.”


More fabulous recipes tomorrow!