Eager to get your health in check and start eating a more balanced diet but having a tough time giving up the junk food? Data from a recent study is shedding some light on why so many people have trouble parting from unhealthy food... it is as addictive as heroin!

Cookies, chips, burgers, fries, bacon.... they all taste like heaven. Or at least that's what your brain is telling you, according to research. The more of these high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt foods you eat, the more your brain is programmed to crave more of them. As time goes on, your body becomes dependent on these to make you feel happy and lead to full on addictions.

Neuroscientist Dr Paul Kenny conducted the research about how dangerous these food items can be to our health. “You lose control. It’s the hallmark of addiction,” he said.

Though researchers have linked junk food to happy-hormones for years, this study is one of the first to suggest that brains may react to food the same way they do to drugs.

“This is the most complete evidence to date that suggests obesity and drug addiction have common neuro-biological foundations,” said Paul Johnson, Dr Kenny’s work colleague.

Dr Kenny began his research by dividing lab rats into three groups. The first group received normal amounts of healthy food to eat. The second was given restricted amounts of junk food, and the third was given unlimited amounts of junk that included cheesecake, fatty meat products, cheap sponge cakes and chocolate snacks.

The first two groups had no negative effects, but the rats who had a smorgasbord of goodies quickly became very fat and started binge eating.

Researchers also found that when they electronically stimulated the part of the brain that feels pleasure, the junk food rats required much larger doses to reach the same happy level as those on healthy diets.

This is quite an interesting study. So healthier not only means we can live longer, be less sick and look better, but we'll also be happier. Still want to reach for another doughnut?

via Telegraph