Is fatty food your drug?

A new study shows that fatty foods may be as addictive as cocaine or heroin.

Yes its true, our favorite, delicious fattening foods may force us to keep coming back for more. The study in rats shows that overeating actually changes the brain the same way cocaine and heroin do. When the rats consumed enough of the high-fat, high-calorie food, they developed compulsive eating habits similar to drug addiction, reports CNN.

"People know intuitively that there's more to [overeating] than just willpower," says Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor of molecular therapeutics and principal author of the study. "There's a system in the brain that's been turned on or over-activated, and that's driving [overeating] at some subconscious level."

As with drug use, gorging on junk food overloads the "pleasure centers" of our brain. Eventually, feeling that same pleasure or even feeling normal takes increasing the amounts.

The study examined three groups of rats for 40 days. The first was fed regular rat food, the second was fed fattening foods for an hour a day, and the third pigged out on fatty foods for up to 23 hours a day. The researchers examined the rats' brains with implanted brain electrodes and found that those in the third group became obese and developed a tolerance for the pleasure. They had to eat more and more, and even continued through painful electric shock.

According to the study, the neurotransmitter dopamine is responsible for the rats' overeating behavior. Pigging out caused levels of a certain dopamine receptor to drop in the obese rats' brains. Low levels of this same receptor is seen in humans with obesity and drug addiction.

These findings can help us better understand the causes of overeating and may even lead to new treatments for obesity, Kenny told CNN.

"If we could develop therapeutics for drug addiction, those same drugs may be good for obesity as well," says Kenny.

More on the menu

Thanks to a clause in the health care bill, we’ll now know a little more about what we’re eating when we’re dining out. The clause will force chain restaurants to place nutritional and caloric information on their menus.

Programs like these have already been implemented in California and New York, and now the changes are going national. Restaurants with over 20 locations will be required to give us the nutritional 411 on all menu items, except for daily specials.

"The only way to ensure consumers get the nutrition information they want and need is for the federal government to establish a uniform national nutrition standard that requires chain restaurants to provide consistent, detailed nutrition information in writing in their restaurants," said the National Restaurant Association in a news release last year.

With added costs and fears of declining sales, restaurant owners can’t be too happy about this new requirement. But with more states considering these changes, they had to see it coming.

These facts will probably come as a shock to most of us. It'll break my heart to know how fatty my favorite meal is...probably still won't make me turn it down though. A study released last year showed that only 15 percent of customers used the info of the menu. But it also showed that they bought 106 fewer calories than those who didn't have access to the information.

Hopefully these changes will push us to all make some healthier choices.

Pringles got problems

Procter & Gamble Co. recalled two of their Pringles flavors, Cheeseburger and "Taco Night," because of suspected Salmonella contamination.

After recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration, P&G voluntarily recalled the salty snacks. A good move to ensure a bad thing doesn’t get worse. Luckily, no illnesses linked to these products have been reported so far.

"The safety of our products is P&G's top priority, and we follow rigorous food safety and ingredient testing standards. We are withdrawing these products out of an abundance of caution for consumer safety and in response to FDA's recommendation to the food industry," the company said in a statement today.

For those who already bought the potentially poisonous snacks, P&G is offering replacement coupons or refunds.

But they are just one of many to join in on this recalling. The list has grown to 94 food products that have been recalled, and it's only expected to grow. Flavor-enhancer hydrolyzed vegetable protein is said to be the culprit. It is manufactured by Basic Food Flavors Inc., who issued a recall after finding Salmonella on it's equipment.

Symptoms of Salmonella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Make sure you report any of these symptoms to your doc, and also be sure to check your kitchens for any recalled items.

Safe and happy eating!