And the Glorious Cheese Experiment Is Over
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how my cravings for cheese had started to consume me (read here). I stopped eating dairy over 18 months ago in an effort to address the terrible PMS I started experiencing in my mid-30's. It helped a lot, but then I read that it might be the casein protein in cow's milk that was the main problem, rather than the hormones.
My Experiment with Cheese
Armed with that ray of hope, and motivated by my hunger for cheese, I decided to try integrating sheep's milk cheese into my diet. I probably went through 1.5 pounds of Manchego and 0.75 pounds of Trader Joe's Basque cheese. It was glorious ... it was as good as I remembered. And I thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted, for about 2 weeks.
Problems with Lactose
Although the Manchego was mostly fine, the Basque aggravated my lactose intolerance. I suspect this was due to how long each cheese was aged, since aging helps to reduce the amount of lactose in the cheese. The Manchego I bought was aged for 6 months to 1 year, and the Basque was only aged for 2-3 months.
In Closing
Sadly, I noticed a worsening of my PMS symptoms this month. I was crankier than usual, for longer than usual, and there was one day that I had absolutely no energy and would have liked nothing better than to lay on the couch all day. It's not the end of the world, but it's bad enough that I will go back to abstaining from cheese completely. My renewed relationship with cheese sure was great while it lasted though.
My Experiment with Cheese
Armed with that ray of hope, and motivated by my hunger for cheese, I decided to try integrating sheep's milk cheese into my diet. I probably went through 1.5 pounds of Manchego and 0.75 pounds of Trader Joe's Basque cheese. It was glorious ... it was as good as I remembered. And I thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted, for about 2 weeks.
Problems with Lactose
Although the Manchego was mostly fine, the Basque aggravated my lactose intolerance. I suspect this was due to how long each cheese was aged, since aging helps to reduce the amount of lactose in the cheese. The Manchego I bought was aged for 6 months to 1 year, and the Basque was only aged for 2-3 months.
In Closing
Sadly, I noticed a worsening of my PMS symptoms this month. I was crankier than usual, for longer than usual, and there was one day that I had absolutely no energy and would have liked nothing better than to lay on the couch all day. It's not the end of the world, but it's bad enough that I will go back to abstaining from cheese completely. My renewed relationship with cheese sure was great while it lasted though.
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