If you were to visualize the ultimate cookie, what would it be? Don’t tell me! Keep this cookie in your mind for 3 seconds. Three….Two…..One…. Was it the Oreo? Thank you and no I’m not a mind reader. You just happen to fall into a very large category of people who think the Oreo is the best cookie on earth. In fact, this cookie is so good that rats would even choose an Oreo over cocaine! This is no joke! Check out what the Huffington Post had to say about this.

A rat maze was created with two sides. Initially during research, Oreos were on one side of the maze and rice cakes were on the other side. The rats spent a significantly larger time on the side with the Oreos. No surprise there. I mean, wouldn’t you? Here is where the study got a bit more interesting. The Oreos were replaced with saline solution in the maze, and the rice cakes were replaced with morphine and cocaine. The rats spent close to the same amount of time in the morphine/cocaine section as they originally did in the Oreo section. Again, no surprise, but here is the interesting finding during this research study. The rats’ brain activity was monitored during these tests, and the Oreos activated significantly more neurons than morphine and cocaine! So, what does this mean for the Oreo?

No more than it means for most high fat, high sugar foods. What this research study was trying to prove is that certain foods have addictive, drug-like characteristics. Oreos happen to be one of these foods. This is why you develop cravings for them and can’t eat just one. Are they dangerous? Eating too much high fat, high sugar food is never a good idea, but if you eat them in moderation, there isn’t any harm. Just remember, if you have an addictive personality, it may be best to stay off the Oreos.

-Tom