Casein, The Cheese Protein Wonder Drug

Now I know why I can't stop with just one bite of cheese when it's sitting on a cheese board...

When we eat cheese, we also ingest and break down casein, the most prolific protein in cheese. Part of the casein is converted to casomorphin (yes, in the same family as morphine) to produce a 'feel good' effect that probably contributes to that indulgent 'oh, let's just chill out on the couch for a bit and slice off a few more chunks' phenomenon. (Source: Saxelbycheese.blogspot.com)

Thank you, my dear blog friend, for explaining this uncontrollable urge to the struggling few of us out there with an addiction to cheese. :P

On a more serious note though, the regular consumption of cheese is being increasingly found to bring balance and sustained health to bodies depleted from ordinary stresses over time. See here and here. Could cheese be the ticket to wellbeing and well-thinking?

Could Cheese Be a Superfood?

Not only can an ounce of cheese a day keep the doctor away thwarting the age-related deterioration of the immune system known as immunosenescene but cheese, not unlike milk, can speed up the metabolism because of the conjugated linoleic acid that it contains. CLA has been found to be a fat-fighting superhero-- not only increasing metabolism but also decreasing cholesterol and triglyceride levels, insulin levels, and food-induced allergies. Sounds to good to be true? Read further here.

Dr. Michael Pariza and his crew at the University of Wisconsin Madison, found that CLA found in dairy products such as cheese can have a significant health benefit bringing balance, order and stability to our central operating systems: the thyroid, the immune, the endocrine and the circulatory frameworks that our bodies run on an unconscious basis.

These findings combined with the fact that cheese provides our daily need for calcium, an important underrated building block in the maintenance of our health infrastructure, makes cheese look more and more like some miraculous panacea.

Many Americans do not ingest recommended amounts of calcium from food. Approximately 44% of boys and 58% of girls aged 6–11 fell short in 1994–1996, as did 64% of boys and 87% of girls aged 12–19 years and 55% of men and 78% of women aged 20 years or older, according to the nationwide Continuing Survey of Food Intakes of Individuals (National Institutes of Health).

There's no question about it, cheese is delicious. And somehow we know intuitively that cheese is a good for you food, with its short list of ingredients and its natural, unadulterated origins. But the more research that's done the more we realize what people across all borders have known for a millenia, it's the cheese.

Eating Cheese Shown to Increase Immune Response in the Elderly

According to Science Daily, a remarkable study in Finland has demonstrated that the intake of cheese has immuno-enhancing powers on the elderly, and can actually thwart the effects of aging on the immune system.

A group of volunteers were asked to consume a slice of Gouda cheese-- laced with probiotic bacteria for four weeks. Probiotic bacteria in yogurt has been well documented to help mitigate a variety of problems ranging from yeast infections to other gastrointestinal ills. For two weeks prior, volunteers were given a control cheese and then again, for four weeks following as well. Through blood tests, Dr. Fandi Ibrahim and his team discovered that the phagocytic properties of NK cells, the warrior cells that kill off renegade abnormal cells, increased with the intake of cheese in the diet of these elderly individuals.

This study suggests that Immunosenescene, the deterioration of the body's inherent programming to fight off the bad guys, can be decelerated with daily consumption of cheese. Even with the control cheese, these findings were true. This dramatic discovery gives credence to cheese being not only a good food choice but perhaps puts it in the running for being a superfood and an important component in longevity and health.

Source: Wiley - Blackwell (2010, May 13). Cheese -- acting as 'carrier' for probiotic bacteria -- found to improve immune response of elderly. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 14, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/05/100513071957.htm