Sugar more addictive than cocaine Background Refined sugars (e.g., sucrose, fructose) were absent in the diet of most people until very recently in human history. Today overconsumption of diets rich in sugars contributes together with other factors to drive the current obesity epidemic. Methodology/Principal findings Here we report that when rats were allowed to choose mutually-exclusively between water sweetened with saccharin–an intense calorie-free sweetener–and intravenous cocaine–a highly addictive and harmful substance–the large majority of animals (94%) preferred the sweet taste of saccharin. Conclusions Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. Figures Citation: Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH (2007) Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. Academic Editor: Bernhard Baune, James Cook University, Australia Received: April 24, 2007; Accepted: July 4, 2007; Published: August 1, 2007 Copyright: © 2007 Lenoir et al.
Team in Training Some time ago, when I became interested in running longer distances, I ran across an article that gave me a great process for building stamina. The idea being, run/walk in cycles. So, run 5 minutes and walk 1 minute over and over again. I tried it, but I hated having to look down at my watch all the time. Then I came across another article that discusses using iTunes to do this for you. You simply create a playlist and manually change the songs to stop when the next step begins. So now, I took it one step further and created a script that does this for you. Here's how to use it: Download the file.Unzip to your desktop.Add the "Ding.mp3" to iTunes.Create a playlist that you want to use.Inside the "iTunes Runners Playlist" double click the "CreateRunnersPlayList.vbs"Give it the name of the playlist you just created.Give it the pattern you desire (ex 5,1:30 = Five minute run and 90 second walk). Questions? jeff welch