Why We Should All Eat Dessert
Dessert is amazing. The only problem is that we act like it is bad food. I hope to change your mind about delicious treats.
Strawberries with whipped cream, eclairs, cookies, brownies — these are all the things I love.
Some people have decided that avoiding dessert is the only way to stay healthy. This seems absurd to me as I am a strong believer that moderation is key, and that desserts should be enjoyed by everyone. That is why I am here to tell you the benefits of dessert and why you should stop being afraid of them.
The more you have, the less you overindulge
I am a strong supporter of intuitive eating, mostly because there is a considerable amount of research about it can have as well as help people and have read positive research that has been done. Intuitive eating is a way of eating without a ‘diet’. It is all about listening to hunger signals and using those signals to fuel the body. Here are the main principles of Intuitive Eating:
- Reject diet mentality
- Honor your hunger
- Make peace with food
- Challenge the food police — no good and bad foods
- Discover the satisfaction factor
- Feel fullness
- Cope with emotions kindly
- Respect your body
- Movement — feel the difference when you exercise instead of doing it for weight loss.
- Honor your health — fruits and veggies are still healthy for you
This type of eating is immensely freeing. I know a lot of people might be worried that they will eat too many snacks and then be sick to their stomach. This might be the case at first, but after a while, you learn to enjoy the food you have and you will stop binge eating cookies. The thing is, when you stop seeing cookies as bad foods, you stop craving them as much. I used to eat 3 cookies at a time, now I eat about half a cookie and leave the rest for the next day. It works! Trust me.
For those of you worried about weight loss, don’t worry, I've got you covered. A 2019 study found that the weight loss between someone on a restricting diet versus someone doing Intuitive Eating is about the same.¹ So, instead of saying no to cookies, say yes to cookies and lose the same amount of weight!
Chocolate can help with bone health
We all love chocolate (well, at least anyone who matters) and we have all heard that there are health benefits to chocolate, so here it is.
A 2019 study found that cocoa powder and dark chocolate have a correlation to supporting bone health.The study also stated that chocolate is an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant.²
“unsweetened cocoa powder appeared to be the best option followed by dark chocolate with higher cocoa content in terms of supporting and preserving bone health” — Stephanie A
This is great news. It means that you are free to eat all the chocolate you like and if anyone shames you, you can say that you are supporting bone health and send them the link to the study. No shame in eating a chocolate bar now!
Life is short
There is not any real reason to deprive yourself of dessert. There have been countless times in the past where people indulged in worse things than cakes and cookies. Do yourself a favor and stop feeling shame over dessert.
Dessert is also a great way to socialize as well as de-stress. It is a double whammy. You bake some cookies and relax in the kitchen and then get to socialize with friends while everyone raves about the amazing dessert you made. So please don’t deprive yourself of this. Enjoy your dessert and remember that it is OK to have something sweet in your life.
