My cheese obsession is not a trendy “foodie” obsession where you know how cheese ages or what type of cheese goes best with what wine. I can’t tell you a cheese name beyond cheddar, mozzarella and swiss. It’s just, “MMMM cheese… must have it now!!”

I’ve savoured my relationship with cheese for a long time, but alas, it’s time to part ways with my vice, and I’ll tell you why.

Two months ago I read a book called Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey out of Depression by James S. Gordon.

One of the first stages in this book examines the food you eat because if you have a food sensitivity, it can put your physical body in an agitated state.  It’s a lot easier to work out your “issues” if you have a calm mind, so it’s very important to not be stuffing your face with a food that agitates you. This was one of the chapters I was tempted to skip, but I’m glad I didn’t.

There are some foods that are known agitators – they set some people off physically.  For example, he describes a teenage girl who is acting out, always agitated and upset and her parents don’t know what to do with her. It turned out that simply getting her off of dairy allowed her to have a sense of calm so she could actually listen and stop being a nightmare. As I read it I was thinking, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard… I’m sure I’m not affected.

However, I followed his plan and started an elimination diet that had me cut out the major mood offenders: wheat, dairy, sugar, citrus and caffeine (yeah was a horrible few weeks). One by one, I added foods back into my diet and noticed the effect they had on my mood.

I learned I’m physically sensitive to tomatoes. The top of my mouth swells and my eyes puff, but I didn’t have a mood reaction to them. I get jumpy with caffeine (which I already knew), but I’m fine with wheat and sugar.

However, dairy has just blown me away. A single slice of cheese on a cheeseburger is enough to put me in a big stinking snit about all the ways my life sucks.

Never in my wildest dreams would have guessed that dairy could affect my mood, and as much as I HATE learning this because of my deep love for all things cheese… the sense of calm is so worth it.