Looking For A Sugar High?

By Amanda Bernocco
Managing Editor

Everyone eats Oreos differently: some twist the cookie to eat the inside first, some dunk them in milk, while others prefer to eat the cookie whole. Oreos, also known as “Milk’s Favorite Cookie,” come in various shapes and sizes to appease different palates.

This beloved cookie, in all of its shapes and sizes, has been proven to be just as addictive as cocaine, according to a recent study by Connecticut College.

Joseph Schroder, associate professor of Psychology and director of the Behavioral Neuroscience program at Connecticut College, tested the addictiveness of Oreos compared to rice cakes with some of his students by using rats in a maze.

At the same time, they issued another test, injecting some of the rats with cocaine, and the others with saline. The results of both tests were measured by the reaction of the cells in the rats’ “pleasure center” of the brain.

The researchers compared the reactions of the rats’ brain cells on Oreos and cocaine. “Our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do,” Schroeder said in a press release from Connecticut College. “It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them.”

This study doesn’t surprise many LIU Post students, and they believe junk food can be addictive. “My dad is diabetic, but he can’t stop eating sugar,” said Aaron Mann, a freshman studying Biology and Pre-med.

Ayaka Yonezawa, a junior Broadcast major, claims that people eat junk food because it’s cheap and fast to get. “[People who eat foods with high sugar/fat] should know how dangerous it is to eat junk food,” Yonezawa said.

Although students understand the risks of junk food, they still consume it. “Sugar helps me wake up,” said Soloman Hedmere, a junior Engineering major.

Yonezawa believes that students continue to consume food they know is bad for them because they are “just used to it.”