Science Proves Pizza Is the Most Addictive Food
Scientists have proven yet another thing we all know to be true in our bones. A recent study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine has topped pizza as the most addictive food out there. The study surveyed 120 undergrads and 400 more adults using the Yale Food Addiction Scale to determine what drives people insane in the culinary sense, reports Food and Wine.
Of the 35 foods listed, the top ten are (unsurprisingly) dominated by food with high fat and salt content. "The authors wrote that these qualities could make foods more difficult to stop eating in a similar way as drugs that are highly concentrated and rapidly absorbed into the body are more addictive," says one of the report's authors. We're not saying that eating pizza every day is akin to being a crack head, but I'd rather not publicly admit what I would do for a slice of piping-hot pizza.
The addictiveness of cheese, though, isn't just in your head -- at least, not in the conventional sense -- the stuff is really addictive! Cheese actually contains massive concentrations of fat and salt, which our brains love. Alongside all the delicious salty fat, there are also protein fragments called casomorphins, which "can attach to the opiate receptors in your brain," says Dr. Neal Barnard, founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
CNN goes on to say that this high-fat, high-salt manufacturing is actually closer to the manufacturing of drugs than we think! Erica Schulte, graduate student of psychology at the University of Michigan belives so, too. "In a similar manner that drugs are processed to increase their addictive potential, this study provides insight that highly processed foods may be intentionally manufactured to be particularly rewarding through the addition of fat and refined carbohydrates."
Yowza. For what it's worth, you can check out the rest of the list -- notice how all the healthy stuff is dead last.
1. Pizza
2. Chocolate
3. Chips
4. Cookie
5. Ice Cream
6. French Fries
7. Cheeseburger
8. Non-Diet Soda
9. Cake
10. Cheese
11. Bacon
12. Fried Chicken
13. Rolls
14. Buttered Popcorn
15. Cereal
16. Gummies
17. Steak
18. Muffins
19. Nuts
20. Eggs
21. Chicken Breast
22. Pretzels
23. Plain Crackers
24. Water
25. Granola Bar
26. Strawberries
27. Corn (without butter or salt)
28. Salmon
29. Banana
30. Broccoli
31. Plain Brown Rice
32. Apple
33. Beans
34. Carrots
35. Cucumbers
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Jeremy Glass is Thrillist's celebrated News Writer and hopes to eat every single one of these 35 foods at the same time soon.