Is your “drug of choice” processed foods?

A new study by the University of Michigan confirms what you may have suspected all along...

Highly-processed foods, or foods with added fat or refined carbohydrates such as white flour and sugar, are addictive.

The study points out that due to the "concentrated dose and rapid rate of absorption" some elements in highly-processed foods react similar in people's bodies to drug abuse.

Co-author Nicole Avena, who is also assistant professor of pharmacology and systems therapeutics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, had this to say about the study...

"This is a first step towards identifying specific foods, and properties of foods, which can trigger this addictive response.  This could help change the way we approach obesity treatment. It may not be a simple matter of 'cutting back' on certain foods, but rather, adopting methods used to curtail smoking, drinking and drug use."

Among the most addictive foods on the list were chocolate, pizza and French fries.  On the flip side unprocessed foods, with no added fat or refined carbohydrates such as brown rice and salmon were found not to be associated with addictive-like eating behavior.

Quote:

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." - Yogi Berra