Food & Beverage

Cheese has 'morphine-like' qualities, can be addictive

If you're the type of person who can't stop eating cheese once you start, it may not be your fault. You may be addicted.

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That's the conclusion of a doctor and author who says that cheese has "morphine-like compounds" called casomorphins that attach to the brain's opiate receptors, making the food even harder to resist than its high levels of fat and salt already do on their own, according to a report in Thrillist, a website on food, drink and travel.

"In cheese, we get massive concentrations of fat and salt, which our highly evolved brains continue to love. Combine this with the opioid-like casomorphins, and cheese suddenly goes from 'very delicious' to 'obscenely tempting,'" the report said.

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Rather than recommend that people avoid eating cheese, however, the story says that "the dose makes the poison." The USDA now recommends that consumers limit themselves to 1 1/2 ounces of cheese a day.

For the full story, including an explanation on how casomorphins work, click here.