But if the plant merely confuses the pests or disables their memory, it can defend itself against them overindulging. This happens with a lot of poisonous types of plants, as it does with pesticides. "Killing pests can be counterproductive, because they breed or select for resistance very quickly. Sniffing the plant is thought to stimulate the receptors in a cat's brain that respond to "happy" or pleasurable pheromones, while eating it can bring about mellow effects.įun fact: catnip is related to the cannabis plant in fact, author Michael Pollan wonders if both cannabis and Nepeta cataria both use their respective chemicals to "confuse" their pests as part of an evolutionary strategy: Oh, and about 66% of cats go crazy for it.Īn essential oil called nepetalactone that's found in the stems and leaves of the Nepeta plant can have powerful effects on kitties (and not just domesticated cats, but other species such as tigers, panthers, and leopards). Doug McLean/ShutterstockĬatnip, or Nepeta cataria from the genus Nepeta, is a species of plant that's commonly used in cooking and brewing herbal teas. So the next time you exclaim, "Man, I can't get enough of this cheese!", you could actually be talking about both the hybrid strain Cheese and the delicious cheese and charcuterie spread in front of you, but either way, you're probably experiencing similar feelings of happiness and euphoria. The casein separates from liquids and coagulates solid milk fats, resulting in a higher concentration of it in cheese and the potential for addictive eating. Casein provides your body with amino acids, carbohydrates, calcium, and phosphorus, and it can also trigger your brain's opioid receptors and deliver feelings of euphoria similar to those delivered by cannabis.Īlthough casein in milk provides only a tiny dose of the drug-like effects, to make a pound of cheese you need about 10lbs of milk. Well, actually a lot of processed food is associated with addictive-like eating behavior, but cheese in particular contains casein, a protein commonly found in mammal milk. Researchers from the University of Michigan have found that cheese contains a chemical that's also present in drugs. If you're more of a fromagerie fan than a chocolate addict, I have good news for you (or bad, depending on the severity of your affinity). And not only does running mimic the high you get from your favorite strain, it's healthy for you. That's right, your body has actually evolved into an efficient running machine.
#THEINE PHILADELPHIA SERIES#
As Christopher McDougall pointed out in Born to Run, his inspiring book about long-distance running, running is in our DNA, in how our bodies evolved to have an Achilles tendon and sweat glands and a series of other adaptations that make us all into potential marathoners." If we get a reward from working hard, our chances of running longer and faster are increased. Such prolonged runs are tiring and painful. "We evolved to hunt fast moving animals and to escape from equally fast predators. Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Marcelo Gleiser opines that this study makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint: (I'm not sure what that equates to in human miles, but as someone who's run a number of marathons and half marathons, I can tell you it definitely kicks in during longer-distance races.) Mice who ran more than three miles a day exhibited less anxious behavior. Additionally, the feeling of the runner's high only kicked in after a certain amount of mileage. However, when the scientists blocked the mice's endocannabinoid systems, the little Pre-furr-taines were just as anxious after their runs as they were before running, and they were also more sensitive to pain. Blocking endorphin receptors didn't change their behavior, and the mice still experienced the runner's high. The mice acted less anxious and were better able to tolerate pain. Researchers had some lab mice run on a wheel (hopefully outfitting them in tiny adorable running shoes and shorts) and noticed elevated levels of both endorphins and endocannabinoids after their run. The "runner's high" is an actual thing, and until recently it was commonly associated with the release of endorphins, hormones that essentially function as "pleasant painkillers." But scientists from the Central Institute of Mental Health at the University of Heidelberg medical school in Germany have linked the runner's high to the endocannabinoid system.
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