Cheese is addictive as drugs, study finds

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Cheese is addictive as drugs, study finds

Research by University of Michigan finds love of pizza is largely because of cheese addiction

Cheese is addictive new study finds Photo: EPA

By David Millward, US Correspondent
4:33AM BST 23 Oct 2015

Cheese does not only taste good but, according to a study published by the US Library of Medicine, addictive.

Researchers at the University of Michigan asked 500 students to complete a questionnaire to identify food cravings.

It found that pizza was the most addictive food of all according to those who completed the survey, known as the Yale Food Addiction Scale.

The first batch of students identified foods higher in fat as the most addictive and the second came to the same conclusion about food which had been processed.

Cheese fondue Photo: Alamy

It led researchers to conclude that the more processed and fatty food was, the more likely it was to be associated with addictive eating behaviour.

The key to cheese addiction is an ingredient called casein which is found in cheese and releases opiates called casomorphins.

One expert, Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, even described cheese as “dairy crack”.

In fact pizza is irresistible because the brain is also aroused by the sugar in tomato sauce and the carbohydrates in the crust.

It is estimated that the average American eats 35 pounds of cheese a year.

Many restaurants and diners pile on cheese with almost anything from sandwiches and burgers to burritos.

At the other end of the scale, healthy foods, such as brown rice and salmon, were found not to be addictive.

However earlier this year a study by Aarhus University in Denmark said that cheese could be the secret of a faster metabolism and reduced obesity.