Why desserts are bad for you

The stuff you buy at the store is typically overloaded with sweet stuff and chemicals. But if you bake your own treats at home, you can substitute healthier oils, remove much of the sugar and toss in healthy additions like nuts. Contact us at letters time. By Markham Heid. Related Stories. America Needs to Get Back to Facts. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. Need help? While some all-natural desserts are sweetened with dates or other fruit pastes in place of sweeteners, the finished products are typically far more concentrated in sugar than a piece of whole, fresh fruit.

Desserts with a health angle are often made with other high-cal ingredients, including nuts and nut flours, dried fruits, oils, grass-fed butter, and coconut milk. Energy balls, bars, and similar treats can be incredibly dense, which means they pack hundreds of calories into a few small bites.

That may be fine if you're training for a marathon or dedicating a few hours to CrossFit every day, but if you're watching your weight, these treats can easily bring the scale to a standstill. Portion control is absolutely key. While cookies and cakes containing nuts , seeds, dried fruit, and other healthful ingredients are an improvement over old-fashioned recipes made with white flour, sugar, and butter or margarine, they should still be treated as indulgences.

It's fine to enjoy a small treat occasionally, or even daily if appropriately sized, but it's easy to go overboard if you're making batch after batch of homemade sweets, despite your best intentions to eat just one tiny piece. It's much easier to overeat almond cookies and date brownies than whole nuts and fruit.

No matter what diet philosophy you subscribe to, it's important to be sensible about desserts. Treats with labels like raw, organic, vegan, and paleo aren't freebies, and they can be deceptively high in added sugars, so be selective about when you splurge. But that's not all. Another thing that's not so sweet about dessert?

According to the AAD, spikes in blood sugar increase inflammation and the production of sebum an oily substance found on the skin , two contributing factors that lead to zits. Your shut-eye could be compromised if you go heavy on the sweet stuff. People with a high-glycemic diet spend a shorter time in slow-wave sleep, which is key for memory consolidation, cognitive function and growth hormone secretion, according to the American Sleep Association.

And remember that some types of dessert, like chocolate, also contain caffeine, which further disturbs your zzzs. You don't have to cut out sugar entirely, but you can be more strategic about how and when you eat it. These tips can all help lessen sugar's negative effects. He suggests mashing up one to two dates or dried apricots per dessert serving. Mashed bananas or frozen cherries also work well. One yummy idea to try? Fuhrman's "vanilla ice cream:" blend a frozen banana with vanilla bean powder and soaked walnuts.

We hate to leave a bad taste in your mouth, but if your daily treat is pushing your sugar intake past the healthy range, then it could be taking a serious toll on your health. But here's a silver lining: If you follow the guidelines above, you can satisfy your sugar cravings while still being sweet to your body. By Molly Triffin September 18, Molly Triffin.

Molly Triffin is a freelance writer and editor based in Stowe, Vermont. She is the former features director of Cosmopolitan and current editor-in-chief of Spruce Life, a Vermont-based lifestyle magazine. A treat here or there is no big deal, but eating dessert every day could hinder your health and weight-loss goals.