A recent study concluded that Oreo cookies can be as addictive as cocaine.
Researchers at Connecticut College found in a study of lab rats that the snack cookie was as addictive as cocaine or even morphine.
Research leader Joseph Schroeder said, "Our research supports the theory that high-fat/high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do. It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them."
The LA Times reported:
The experiment results were compared with previous tests done on rats that were given shots of morphine or cocaine on one side of a maze and shots of saline on the other. The Oreo study showed that the rats eating the Oreos spent as much time on that side of the maze as those given the drugs.
Sources
- Oreo cookies can be as addictive as cocaine (Jenn Harris, LA Times: October 16, 2013)
- Oreos as 'addictive' as cocaine in lab rat study (Jacque Wilson, CNN: October 16, 2013)
