thanks Pippa, that was really interesting. As a vegetarian I am only too aware of the multitude of food groups that offer calcium, iron etc etc that are not mainstream or not heavily promoted. I hadn't done much reading about cheese though so that was interesting to read about the opiates. Do all cheeses have them? As in, is it an essential component in making cheese? Would be interested to know if you bought a non mass produced cheese whether they would be the same.
It is not added in cheese making, it occurs during the process of separating the whey from the casein. This concentrates the opiate that is (I think) in milk as well, into casomorphin. So cheese made in your own kitchen with nothing but milk and rennet, will produce the same thing. Really really interesting stuff. I LOVE dairy, hence the withdrawal symptoms when I went cold turkey.
