Cheese Is Addictive Like Drugs So I Guess I'm a Junkie

A valuable study has found that cheese is actually as addictive as drugs, and now I think I owe a lot of my family members some reconciliatory phone calls. Because it happened to me: my cheese addiction ruined my relationships.

The L.A. Times writes:

The study, published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, examines why certain foods are more addictive than others. Researchers identified addictive foods from about 500 students who completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale, designed to measure if someone has a food addiction…

The study found certain foods are addictive because of the way they are processed. The more processed and fatty the food, the more it was associated with addictive eating behaviors.

The study ultimately found that the foods most associated with addiction shared traits with the most addictive drugs: they were highly processed and had high doses and rapid rates of absorption.

Cheese in particular is so addictive because it contains a protein called casein which, when digested releases actual opiates called casomorphins. The property has led Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, to call cheese “dairy crack.”

So, I guess I’d like to say…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the missed birthdays, for the broken plans, for the missed soccer games, and the failed relationships. I’ve lost too many nights covered in cracker crumbs, bent over the toilet with a boulder of dairy in my stomach. I have been at the mercy of my addiction and while I know I am not to blame, I am at fault.