No Wonder I Love Potato Chips!

A researcher from UC-Irvine has been studying the effects of endocannabinoids and fatty foods. Cannabinoids are a class of chemicals found in plants (such as cannabis) and in the nervous and immune systems of animals (termed endocannabinoids.) Endocannabinoids are believed to be involved in the regulation of hunger, pain, anxiety and stress. They are closely related to the active ingredients of the cannabis plant.

The UC-Irvine research found that the fats in foods such as potato chips and french fries trigger the production of endocannabinoids. The production of endocannabinoids actually begins when the fatty food first touches the tongue. For some people this experience is not unlike getting high from smoking marijuana, although perhaps not as pronounced. Also, marijuana smoking is famous for producing the side effect of ‘the munchies’ which is exactly what the fatty foods study describes: eating them produces the desirable feeling that induces even more eating.

Not all endocannabinoids are bad though. They have been shown by other research studies to be associated with vigorous cardiovascular exercise. I have certainly experienced the sensation of a mini high after hard exercise and we've all heard of a 'runners high', not that I've ever experienced runners high. I can definitely vouch for the "potato chip high" though!!

Let me just say that after I read about this I had to go to the store. As I walked by those enticing bags of potato chips I literally had to lean, to angle my body away from the display and increase my walking speed. For the first time I understood my addiction in scientific terms.