Led by the University of Florida, scientists tested salted caramel on 150 lucky participants and found that when we scoff something sweet, salty or fatty, the brain releases heroin-like chemicals called endogenous opioids.

Opioid dependence poses significant public health risks arising from associated morbidity and mortality caused by accidents, infectious disease, and social ramifications of crime and unemployment, among other complications. Opioid use, acute and chronic, is also associated with weight gain, glycemic dysregulation, and dental pathology. The literature supporting the connection between opiate use and development of preference for sweet tastes is reviewed, and further association with dental pathology, weight gain, and loss of glycemic control are considered. We discuss the impact of sweet tastes on the endogenous opioid system as well as clinical implications for analgesia and treating the opiate-dependent patient.

Researchers agree that high-sugar foods can stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs … Science has shown that high salt foods may be addictive as well. Foods like pizza and chips may stimulate opiate and dopamine receptors in the brain’s reward and pleasure center, … Salted caramel ice cream