Broken Secrets

Vanilla is an Addictive Stimulant

December 12, 2012 at 2:00 am Chad Upton 5 comments

By Chad Upton | Editor

Vanilla is often associated with plain, boring and ordinary; however, vanilla is anything but vanilla.

Now, it’s hardly the kind of thing you’d find shady characters dealing on a dark street corner. In fact, it’s not the kind of thing you’d likely find anywhere — I mean, good luck finding Grade A Tahitian Vanilla Beans in most cities. If you do find them, you’re looking at $5 or more for a single bean.

Beans of such high quality are typically sought by epicureans, but there’s more to vanilla than its taste.

According to the British Medical Journal, “vanilla is highly addictive.” The active ingredient is linked to epinephrine and norepinephrine, also known as adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones are related to your natural fight or flight response, triggering an increase in heart rate and oxygen supplied to your brain. It’s the same type of reaction people seek to trigger with skydiving and other extreme sports.

So, if you really like vanilla, you’re kind of an adrenaline junkie and there’s nothing plain or boring about that.

Broken Secrets | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Kindle

photo: Mike Chaput (cc)

sources: British Medical Journal, wikipedia (epinephrine, norepinephrine)

Entry filed under: Food and Drink. Tags: addictive, adrenaline, bean, epinephrine, madagascar, seeds, tahiti, tahitian, vanila, vanilla.