Hello My Name Is Jeff-- And I am an Addict!

One of the happiest days of my life occurred in December 1997 when the most wonderful cookie in the world (IMHO) the Oreo cookie was given its Kosher certification. Sadly 16 years later I have learned the entire process was just a trick to get me hooked! According to researchers at Connecticut College, the Oreo is as addictive as morphine and cocaine.

In a study designed to shed light on the potential addictiveness of high-fat/ high-sugar foods, Joseph Schroeder, associate professor of psychology and director of the behavioral neuroscience program, and his students found rats formed an equally strong association between the pleasurable effects of eating Oreos and a specific environment as they did between cocaine or morphine and a specific environment. They also found that eating cookies activated more neurons in the brain’s “pleasure center” than exposure to drugs of abuse.

“Our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do,” Schroeder said. “It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them.”

The way they ran the test was in a maze where rats had the choice on feeding on Oreos or rice cakes and the rats spent more time with the delicious Oreos (would anyone blame them? I know people who would rather starve then eat a rice cake). Then they compared those results to a maze where Rats had a choice of a shot of morphine or a shot of saline)

The research showed the rats conditioned with Oreos spent as much time on the “drug” side of the maze as the rats conditioned with cocaine or morphine.

Interestingly when the rats did eat the Oreos they went after the delicious creamy middle first.

Now it's very clear and I must rise and state:

Hello My Name Is Jeff And I am an Addict!

Sometimes I hate science.