A new study revealed that the ingredients in chocolate chip cookies trigger the same response in your brain as cocaine, making it addictive.
The researchers from the University of Bordeaux found that the high sugar and fat content in chocolate chip cookies can trigger cravings similar to those induced by the addictive drug cocaine.
The study stated: "Overall, this research has revealed that sugar and sweet reward can not only substitute to addictive drugs, like cocaine, but can even be more rewarding and attractive."
It added: "At the neurobiological level, the neural substrates of sugar and sweet reward appear to be more robust than those of cocaine (i.e., more resistant to functional failures), possibly reflecting past selective evolutionary pressures for seeking and taking foods high in sugar and calories."
The researchers said that a regular chocolate chip cookie, with 2.5 grams of sugar, “induces some of the same responses as cocaine.” Taking into consideration that it contains chocolate, which “contains small amounts of a compound that trigger the same part of your brain as the addictive ingredient marijuana,” it makes for quite the heady blend.
There is a recent trend of adding salt or topping chocolate chip cookies with salt and according to the researchers, it adds to the already addictive quality of the cookies as salt consumption lights up the brain's reward centers.
The study shows that it's basically a natural human response if a person's cookie cravings compel them to act against their better judgement.
On the other hand, a 2006 research showed that chocolate chip cookies produced by Right Direction Foods lowered cholesterol and improved lipid subfraction profile, resulting to a lower risk of heart disease.
Currently, chocolate chip cookies compose around 20% of the global cookie market and this number is expected to further increase to become a $38 billion industry by 2022.
