Science proves: cheese is highly addictive
Certain substances in cheese stimulate the part of your brain that is also activated by an addiction. That appears to be scientific proof that cheese is addictive, just like alcohol or drugs. Can’t stay away from a cheese board ? Here’s the explanation!
Research at the University of Michigan proves that cheese contains a substance that works in the same way as nicotine, caffeine or even opiates such as cocaine and heroin. The researchers discovered that this substance stimulates the same parts of your brain as opiates. That explains the wonderful feeling when mature cheese crumbles in your mouth, or a soft piece of brie glides down your throat. Ah…
Like yoghurt, but better
The culprit: casein. It’s also found in milk and yoghurt, but in a much lower dose. Ten litres of milk are used to make one kilo of cheese, so the amount of casein in cheese is ten times higher than in your koffie-verkeerd or moon milk. Ten times as addictive too, then.
Pizza is irresistible
The research was conducted by asking five hundred students which foods they really couldn’t stay away from. Very high on that list: pizza. Pizzas that were dripping with cheese in particular were irresistible to the students. Other cheese snacks also scored very highly in the study.
Treat it like drug addiction
According to the researchers, this is a groundbreaking insight. ‘Perhaps we should deal with people who want to lose weight differently,’ says Nicole Avena. ‘It’s no use telling them: just stop eating. We should tackle it the same way we treat drug addiction.’ Her co-author Erica Schultz sees the research results as a reason to address the marketing surrounding cheese. ‘Other guidelines seem obvious,’ she says. ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t offer such addictive products to children, for example.’
Exporting addictive goods
Good to know: the average Dutch person eats 17 kilos of cheese per year. But other Europeans aren’t much better: in Sweden, 19 kilos of cheese are consumed per person, while in Italy they get through almost 22 kilos of cheese per person every year. Yes, no wonder: gorgonzola, ricotta, mozzarella, mascarpone—so delicious! We are champions when it comes to exporting our addictive speciality all over the world: on average, 650 million kilos of cheese leave the country.
Also read:
- Do you know your cheese quiz
- You’ve been grating your cheese incorrectly your whole life
- An ode to spreadable cheese
Source: Evening Standard
