I’ve pretty much been a cheese addict all of my life: as a child in the 70s my family nicknamed me The Dairylea Kid. In student days I’d blow my budget on a packet of Roule and scoff it in one hit. On a Christmas visit home from a dairy free year in Japan I gorged on Gorgonzola to the point of making myself violently ill. Okay, my addiction didn’t stretch to a fetish for wearing cheese dresses (yeah it’s a thing, Google it), but it was safe to say that fromage et moi had a very disfunctional relationship.
Then when I hit 40, I noticed that my body was reacting pretty badly to dairy: I was finding it harder to shift the weight despite my active job, cellulite was creeping in, I had acne breakouts and my digestive system wasn’t happy. With peri menopause kicking in I knew I had to do something.
So first I cut out cheese, butter and cow’s milk to check that it was dairy causing my problems. In came nut butter and almond milk.
I filled up on tasty clean healthy food and included calcium rich food such as leafy greens and sardines. I also ate more food earlier in the day: for breakfast I’d have a vegetable soup I’d batch cooked beforehand to save time. For lunch I’d have smoked salmon with poached eggs and spinach, for an afternoon snack blueberries with almonds and a green tea.
After 30 days I reintroduced dairy into my diet and hey presto – my skin broke out again, my digestion became more sluggish and I generally felt a bit rubbish.
Now I’ve cut out most dairy (except cow’s milk in my cuppa) my skin is better, my tummy is happier, and I’m less likely to put on those extra pounds. As a result I am less hungry when my son comes home from school and I’m preparing dinner – my trigger point for cheese feastage. Instead of cheese and biccies I have some hummus and veggies in front of me in the kitchen, but to be honest, I’m now less hungry, so don’t feel the need to munch as much. Best of all, my symptoms have disappeared.
I’m not saying I’ve completely kicked the habit: at dinner parties, my husband can still be heard muttering ‘LET GO Julia’ as I hold onto that cheeseboard a little bit longer than is socially normal. But even the small changes I’ve made have made a big difference to how I feel. For me, giving up cheese was Edam good thing.