Letters

Snack addicts
The experiment outlined in “Junk food turns rats into addicts” (SN: 11/21/09,
p. 8) seems to have overlooked an ingredient list. The junk foods fed to the rats were junky, to be sure, but which foods were the most addictive? Many junk foods are filled with alarming amounts of things like mono­sodium glutamate. Were the rats more responsive to the MSG-laden foods? Did they crave salt over sugar? Fat over starch? This article left me hungry for specifics.