Food is an important part of a student’s life. Food gives energy and focus and is the difference between a good day and a bad day academic wise at school. Although food is the life fuel for everyone, the type of food and how much one eats can be just as deadly and addictive as illegal drugs. This is why the choices at the vending machines are so crucial for a student’s success at school.

Oreos, “milk’s favorite cookie”, could be given the new slogan “food addict’s cocaine” with the findings at Connecticut College. “Joseph Schroeder, associate professor of psychology” at Connecticut College and his students wanted to see if high fat and high sugar food is as addictive as cocaine and morphine in rats. The way they measure if something is addictive is by seeing how many brain neurons are stimulated in the “pleasure center of the brain” after ingestion of a substance. Results found that Oreos activated significantly more neurons than cocaine and morphine. In other words, Oreos can be more addicting than cocaine and morphine.

Believe it or not, food companies intentionally manufacture food to act the same way drugs affect the brain of an addict. Take the potato chip for example. Ever just have one? Impossible I know but the reason for this is when you eat that first chip. In an article entitled “3 Sinister Reasons You’re Addicted to Junk Food”, written by J.F. Sargent for cracked.com, Sargent breaks down why it’s impossible to eat only one potato chip.

“The coating of salt and fat light up the brain’s pleasure centers like a Christmas tree,” Sargent said. “The starch in the potato causes the same glucose spike as sugar, but is absorbed into the bloodstream much more quickly. That spike then immediately dips, making you want another potato chip”. It’s not just the junk food that’s being processed this way, look at some items you wouldn’t expect to have sugar in it. Things like bread, packaged fruit, and spaghetti sauce all have extra sugar put into them.

The food that you put in your body has a giant effect on concentration and school performance. According to a study on the “Effects of food snacks on cognitive performance in male college students” by The Department of Psychology at Tufts University, it was found that: A) a candy like snack in the afternoon is better than a non-caffeinated diet soda, and B) a healthy snack, like fruit yogurt, is going to help cognitive ability more in school than a candy like snack.

Being a student doesn’t always leave time for planning meals, and vending machines are so convenient for the on the go snack before class. We are already paying nearly double the normal selling price for these items and should have better choices for that cost. Talk to your student government and school administration about the food choices here and make skyline a healthier school.