A recent study from Connecticut College suggests and adds to the growing evidence that food can be addictive. And one these foods, is our beloved Oreo.
Anyone that has eaten an Oreo knows that they cannot stop at one. Study designer, Jamie Honohan said "even though we associate significant health hazards in taking drugs like cocaine and morphine, high-fat, high-sugar foods may present even more danger because of their accessibility and affordability". The researcher used a two-sided maze and conducted the research on rats. On one side of the maze the researchers gave the rats Oreos and on the other side, rice cakes. The rats could then choose which side they wanted to explore. The rats were left alone and the researchers recorded the amount of time the rats spent on each side of the maze.
The same experiment was conducted on the rats but this time they were injected with cocaine or morphine on one side of the maze and were given a placibo on the other - a shot of saline. Finally, the researchers looked at the effect Oreos' had on the rats' brains by examining the number of neurons in the brain's pleasure centre, or the nucleus accumbens, that were active when consuming the Oreos.
The results?
The rats that were given Oreos spent just as much time as the rats that were given cocaine on the maze and the cookie-eating rats experienced more pleasure than the cocaine-injected rats. This shows that Oreos may in fact, be as addictive as the drug cocaine and helps us understand why people have trouble controlling their food intake, especially junk food, or food with high amounts of fats and sugars.
Yet, the validity of the study is still unknown. Results from lab rats cannot be generalized to humans and the labs rats, did not show the traditional "signs of addiction", but showed great amounts of pleasure in consuming the cookies.
P.S - I'm not asking you to go cold turkey on Oreos, just eat everything in moderation - it ain't gonna do any harm then!
Sources: CNN: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/16/oreos-as-addictive-as-cocaine-in-lab-rat-study/?hpt=he_t5
Your Foodista
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