February’s Letter

We have officially made it onto the other side friends. We have lasted through the first week of refreshed motivation in the spirit of starting the New Year, the slog of #DryJanuary, the inevitable moment we broke our New Year’s resolution(s), and the dreaded ‘Blue Monday’. Shifting from “holiday-brain” back into 5th gear can be hard and tiring, especially as January is the only month of the year that seems to last 101 days and the date until payday seems to last 102...but hey, it hasn’t all been bad. Who saw that awesome full moon January 10th and turned into a werewolf? No one?…ok.

Well, regardless of January being the most Monday feeling month ever, there is still a lot of be grateful for and to look forward to. It has only been 31 days and already we have discovered a rare, circumbinary planet called TOI 1338-b, apparently. If we can discover a new planet only 1 month into the year, you can discover some reasons to be a little bit more grateful. It is easy to feel as if life is filled with all kinds of gloom and doom, but there is actually an endless pot of potential ready for us to stick our hands into and claim what’s ours! Therefore, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to do a little stock check and start gearing up for spring.

As we enter the last month of winter, what have you achieved and are proud of? and what is your next goal as we enter the following season? Mine is to decide on giving up something for lent. I am not religious per say, but I am always open to challenging myself and to give up something for the greater good. Therefore this month I am getting lent started a little early and am claiming this month as Februdairy - the month of consuming absolutely no dairy products. Now, as some of you may know, ‘The Room –Psy’ is not just a page all about psychology and mental health, it is also about promoting wellbeing, mindfulness, environmentalism, and veganism.

However, I have a confession to make…

I have not been 100% vegan and that is because I find it hard. I am only human and I make mistakes – greedy, over-indulging, pizza-eating mistakes. But NO MORE! I adore eating plant-based and do so 95% of the time, however, sometimes I do slip and cave to the cheese demon – and it is just that, a demon – because dairy is scary.

 

Hear me out…

 

Tens and tens and tens of research studies have now confidently and significantly established that when you consume dairy you massively spike the likelihood of developing all kinds of incredibly serious, life threatening cancers. The most common being prostate, ovarian, and breast. Cow’s milk protein has also been found to trigger type 1 diabetes through a process called molecular mimicry. It has been found across countries now also that populations that consume more dairy have higher rates of multiple sclerosis, giant increases in cholesteryl rates, acne, bloating, reproductive issues and higher death rates.

The research out there is real and scary. So why do we crave cheese so much?!

It turns out that cheese contains something called casein as well as casein fragments called casomorphins, a casein-derived morphine-like compound. These dairy proteins have opioid molecules built into them, therefore when eaten, these fragments attach to the same brain receptors the same way that heroin and morphine does, causing intense “feel-good” feelings and sometimes also putting you into a mild happy dazed and sleepy feeling. The power of the opioids are so strong that they actually make you want to continue eating and eating and eating them and can actually cause addiction! This would be harmless if it didn’t cause severe delayed-onset health problems and rapid weight gain.

The health nightmares are only the tip of the iceberg. Did you know that 1 in 6 dairy cows suffer from clinical mastitis and that consequently the milk becomes infected with pus from the cow, due to their udders being so massively swollen? Yes you read that right. There is pus in your milk. But don’t worry, it is classed as “safe” because the milk is boiled before being packaged up.

 

Seriously, ew.

 

Moreover, animal agriculture is responsible for 32,000 million tons of CO2 per year – that’s 51% of all greenhouse gas emissions, worldwide. Animal agriculture water consumption also ranges between 34-76 trillion gallons annually and is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption.

 

It gets worse…

 

Did you know 1,000 gallons of water is required to produce just 1 gallon of milk? That livestock and the land used to grow food to feed the livestock takes up 1/3 of the Earth’s entire land surface, whilst the animals themselves take up 45% of the Earth’s total land surface? That animal agriculture has been exposed as being the lead cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction. Moreover, as much as 2-5 acres of land is used per cow, with 1/3 of the planet having been desertified due to raising and slaughtering of livestock?

So why is this knowledge not widely known? Well according to the documentary Cowspiracy, allegedly, the dairy industry acts a lot like a Mob and has legislation that makes it illegal to interfere with their ability to make profit (AKA share information that is the truth). There have also been cases (allegedly, as detailed in Cowspiracy) that those who have protested against the dairy industry in Brazil, have wound up missing or murdered.

I don’t know whatever kind of creepy conspiracy is going on there, or how much of it is real (please don’t sue me dairy company!), all I know is that I no longer want to be a part of it. It makes my skin crawl and makes me fear for my health, so I am done with it. No more “cheat meals”, or lazy cooking. My body deserves better and so does yours. People all over the planet are waking up to the horrors of the dairy industry and consequently over the last year, a number of dairy farms have closed down. Veganism is winning and it is all for the best.

Plot twist – you don’t have to be a tree-hugging, bushy arm-pitted, annoying bully to be vegan. 99.9999% of vegans are just normal folk, looking for a more ethical lifestyle. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger is doing it. Don’t believe me? Watch ‘The Game Changers’ in Netflix.

So there you have it. Lent? No problem. This month is all about Februdairy, and I hope you guys will be joining me on this journey. Try it for a month and see how you do.

Not sure how to replace your favourite dairy items? I’ve got you covered.

 

Want to learn more about why #DitchingDairy is the way forward? Check out these really interesting YouTube videos:

 

References

Caffarelli C, Baldi F, Bendandi B, Calzone L, Marani M, Pasquinelli P. Cow’s milk protein allergy in children: a practical guide. Italian journal of pediatrics 2010;36:5.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret., 2014. [Documentary]. Directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. Los Angeles: Appian Way., A.U.M. Films., First Spark Media.

Dahl-Jorgensen K, Joner G, Hanssen KF. Relationship between cows’ milk consumption and incidence of IDDM in childhood. Diabetes Care 1991;14:1081-3.

Gardner CD, Messina M, Kiazand A, Morris JL, Franke AA. Effect of two types of soy milk and dairy milk on plasma lipids in hypercholesterolemic adults: a randomized trial. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2007;26:669-77.

Key TJ. Diet, insulin-like growth factor-1 and cancer risk. Proc Nutr Soc 2011:1-4.

Kritchevsky D. Dietary protein, cholesterol and atherosclerosis: a review of the early history. The Journal of nutrition 1995;125:589S-93S.

Lanou AJ. Should dairy be recommended as part of a healthy vegetarian diet? Counterpoint. The American journal of clinical nutrition 2009;89:1638S-42S.

Malosse D, Perron H, Sasco A, Seigneurin JM. Correlation between milk and dairy product consumption and multiple sclerosis prevalence: a worldwide study. Neuroepidemiology 1992;11:304-12.

Michaelsson K, Wolk A, Langenskiold S, et al. Milk intake and risk of mortality and fractures in women and men: cohort studies. Bmj 2014;349:g6015.

One Green Planet, 2016. Milk Life? How About Milk Destruction: The Shocking Truth About the Dairy Industry and the Environment. One Green Planet. [Viewed 31 January 2020]. Available from: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-dairy-industry-and-the-environment/

Rona RJ, Keil T, Summers C, et al. The prevalence of food allergy: a meta-analysis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007;120:638-46.

Rowland, M. P., 2017. This Is Your Brain On Cheese [online]. Forbes. [Viewed 31 January 2020]. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpellmanrowland/2017/06/26/cheese-addiction/#3a8d5d753583

Spencer EH, Ferdowsian HR, Barnard ND. Diet and acne: a review of the evidence. Int J Dermatol 2009;48:339-47.

Youngman LD, Campbell TC. Inhibition of aflatoxin B1-induced gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase positive (GGT+) hepatic preneoplastic foci and tumors by low protein diets: evidence that altered GGT+ foci indicate neoplastic potential. Carcinogenesis 1992;13:1607-13.

Samantha NewportJanuary, February, Letters from the editior, letter from the editor, new year, Dry January, Blue Monday, Greatful, Februdairy, dairy, dairy is scary, dairy industry, vegan, veganuary, wellbeing, mindfulness, health, cancer, type 1 diabetes, pizza, crave, cheese, milk, yoghurt, cowspiracy, farming, animal agriculture, opioid, casein, pus, cow, dairy cow, cows, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Game Changer, Netflix, Thrive Cuisine, Teba, Teba International Foods, Worthing, Brighton, West Sussex, Veg Kitchen, PETA, Urban Taste Bud, Ditching Dairy, High Carb Hannah, Freelee, Fully Raw Kristina