Oreos Addictive as Cocaine

     Professor Joseph Schroeder of Connecticut College conducted a study to consider the potential addictiveness of foods with a high fat an sugar content. He found Oreos activated significantly more neurons in the "pleasure center" of the brain than did cocaine or morphine. 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 study was the idea of Jamie Honohan, a student, who had run across research showing that rats liked Oreos. Honohan enjoyed eating Oreos prior to her research project but afterwards, knowing their addictiveness, could not even look at them. The researchers felt the addictiveness of some grocery store foods may partially explain the epidemic of obesity in lower socio-economic communities.
     It was no surprise to me that Oreos are addicting. Paul Stitt, a biochemist working in the food industry, wrote the following over 20 years ago, "Have you ever eaten just one Oreo cookie? Bet you can't either. They look so sweet an innocent! What you should realize is that the Nabisco Company sent millions developing that formula so that you can't eat jut one. It contains 23 different appetite stimulants and 11 artificial colors. I saw the recipe and I was aghast. It's not easy to make a cookie that will hook every last American. So next time you buy a package of Oreo cookies, be assured that you'll eat them all at one time and gain another pound."
Link to study on Oreos.

Reference:
Stitt, Paul, Beating the Food Giants, Manitowoc, WI: Natural Press, 1993, 120.