Julieanna Hever is a plant-based dietician who has been a nationally recognized lecturer on nutrition, wellness, fitness, and health since 2008. She has also been a nutrition columnist for VegNews since 2011.  Hever explained in an interview that, “there is a compound in dairy cheese that creates a morphine like effect in the brain, so it is quite addictive and is one of the hardest things that people have giving up when they are trying to transition to a fully vegan diet.  So, a product like Miyoko’s is like a transition food.  You get all the flavor and all the deliciousness without those hormones and those things that cause that addictive response.”  

According to an article on Forbes, “It turns out there’s a reason behind our cravings.  Cheese contains casein.  It also contains casein fragments called casomorphins, a casein-derived morphine-like compound.  Basically, dairy protein has opiate molecules built in.  When consumed, these fragments attach to the same brain receptors that heroin and other narcotics attach to.” 

Sahra Pak, co-creator of a lifestyle medicine intervention program in the U.S. Air Force explained that “a significant benefit of switching to dairy-free cheese, and other plant-based products, is clearer skin, as it reduces the risk of developing acne and eczema according to an article on livekindly.co.  Pak also explained that “when athletes eat plants and avoid animal-based foods and ingredients, they improve their performance and recovery due to the increase in blood flow, tissue oxygenation, reduced oxidative stress, and less inflammation.”  

Miyoko’s cheese has all the great cheese flavor but doesn’t create any chemical addiction in the brain.  It also doesn’t contain any of the growth hormones found in dairy cheese that are designed to make a baby cow grow very quickly.  Miyoko’s is the obvious choice for anyone who is lactose intolerant as well as athletes who are looking for higher performance without the side effects of dairy cheese.

In an article on foodandwine.com, Miyoko Schinner explained that, “We inoculate that cream with lactic acid bacteria, and we find the bacteria that feeds on dextrose, which can produce different flavor profiles.  Some can produce acidity, others can produce a creamy, buttery texture.  Getting to know your bacteria and how to utilize it well is how to produce the type of cheese you want.”  

By combining traditional cheese making techniques with plant-based ingredients, Miyoko’s makes a cheese that is equivalent in taste to the fanciest dairy cheeses without sacrificing health, the environment, or animals.