A new study was conducted to see if Oreos had any of the same effects on the brain as highly addictive drugs have. The answer was YES.
A study using rats as subjects was done by some students at Connecticut College. Not only did they find out that rats like to eat the creamy center FIRST like us humans (haha) but they also found out that the rats responded similar when given cocaine as when given a high fat/high sugar treat.
“Our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do,” neuroscience assistant professor Joseph Schroeder says. “That may be one reason people have trouble staying away from them and it may be contributing to the obesity epidemic.” (Source)
I already knew that sugar had a serious effect on our brain and can be completely addicting, however this puts things in perspective to compare sugar to such an addictive drug.
“These findings suggest that high fat/sugar foods and drugs of abuse trigger brain addictive processes to the same degree and lend support to the hypothesis that maladaptive eating behaviors contributing to obesity can be compared to drug addiction,” Schroeder’s team writes in a statement describing the study, to be presented at the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego next month.
It really just speaks to the effects that high fat and high sugar foods and foods in general, can have on your body. The way they react in your brain, that was really surprising for me,” says Lauren Cameron, a student at Connecticut College who worked on the study.” (Source)
Next time someone asks me if I want an Oreo…I think I’ll have to pass!
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