Are you addicted to pumpkin spice?
If you love pumpkin spice so much you think you're addicted, you may be right! Apparently pumpkin spice addiction is a real thing.
LSU psychologist Dr. Michelle Moore tells the station; "(Pumpkin spice) Usually reminds you of something happy, or pleasurable. So for some people, pumpkin spice is associated with fall, and makes other associations to happy memories. The addiction or obsession is also just from social media, and people seeing that so many others are excited about it, that they want to be a part of that. Because they know that something that that everyone is paying attention to, it's on people's minds. And people will buy most anything just because it says pumpkin spice."
By the way, most pumpkin spice mixtures don't involve an actual pumpkin. Typically it contains ground cinnamon, nutmeg, dry ginger and clove or allspice mixed together. When food companies use a pumpkin spice flavor, they often develop a synthetic version with various compounds and aromas designed to trick your brain into thinking you actually consumed a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices that mimic the aroma of butter browning with sugar, which creates the illusion of the smell of a freshly baked pumpkin pie.