INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO):  Ever wonder why you can't eat just one potato chip? Turns out there's science behind it. 

While many of us are still digesting the news that some comfort and convenience foods like bacon and lunch meat could cause cancer – according to the World Health Organization – some experts also say processed foods can play a role in addiction. After studying nutrition and addiction for 30 years, Keith Kantor has observed a diet high in processed foods can contribute to substance abuse or relapses for recovering addicts:

“All we really did was transfer the addiction from the drugs or the alcohol to something else like sugar or caffeine, which gives them the same highs and lows that they give from the drug by raising and lowering in most cases their sugar level.”

Kantor says processed foods can trigger the same opiate receptors in the brains of people who are not addicts. In those cases, grabbing a handful of candy corn or other simple carbohydrates can trigger the brain to demand more of the “sugar high” that comes from eating those foods.