Why eat dessert?

vsauder729
vsauder729 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Or, more incisively, why eat sugary candies and desserts when there are healthier sweet treats, like fruit or yogurt? Traditionally, in places like Japan, dessert was for special occasions, or limited to some fruit. This means it isn't unnatural for a society to eat little to no sweets. There isn't any nutritional value in cakes, donuts, candies, etc., but there is in fruit, which tastes just as good, in my opinion. This means eating little to no dessert would effect our health in a neutral or positive way.

Which leads into the one main reason why I still currently eat desserts: social reasons. Almost everyone eats sweets, and they're much more heavily marketed than produce. But, why conform? Conformity may be instinctual, but that doesn't make it advantageous. Besides, vegetarians and vegans choose not to eat something that does, arguably, have nutritional value. So, choosing not to eat a nutritionally devoid food seems to make just as much, if not possibly more sense, from a health standpoint.

The other reason why people eat sweets is just because it tastes good and they've habitually eaten them for as long as they can remember. So it seems to come down to a choice between habit and temporary, superficial pleasure, and long-term health benefits and a different lifestyle. The latter seems more important to me, unless sweets bring someone genuine, lasting joy (which I totally respect!)

So, should I/you/we eat dessert? Under what conditions? Why? I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts you have, especially something from the opposing viewpoint. Please be respectful. Thanks so much!

P.S. I'm not sure if this is a mini essay or a rant. Oops. Sorry, I've spent a lot of time pondering this!
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Replies

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Hahaha! Sorry - it's just my taste buds! My daily sodium intake is atrocious, however, and I seriously need to work on that.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Why?
    Taste.
    Because i want to.
    etc.

    Same. To me, fruit isn't dessert. Delicious, yes, but I prefer it with a meal or as a snack. But I budget some calories in my day for a bit of chocolate or ice cream. If I were to cut it out, I'd end up bingeing on something.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    There is no way I could eat fruit after a meal. The gas and discomfort would kill me. But cake or ice cream... Any time of the day is ok for that.
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    Well I am biased because I am a baker and I enjoy baking desserts because you are able to incorporate different flavors and textures into one bite. Desserts aren't just sugar-many other components go into them and often components you are eating somewhere else in your diet, so why not eat them if they are in combination?
    I made a cake that was 100% paleo for a bride 2 weeks ago. Sure it was high sugar, but the sugar was from honey and fruit.
    Also I don't believe fruit and yogurt are as good or satisfying as sweets. A lot of yogurts have a bunch of added sugar in them anyway and if it isn't as satisfying why would I bother?
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with eating sweets, whether socially or by habit and long as you don't over eat them.

    Personally, I don't care for sweets. I never eat birthday cake or wedding cake or whatever the event is simply due to my tastes. Eating something just because others traditionally eat it means nothing to me. I only pay attention to myself. Don't care what other people eat. Then again, my personal motto from a very young age was "never conform".

    I am the same. I would rather something savory over sweets.

    same, I'm all about a nice salad followed by a dessert T-bone
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Why?
    Taste.
    Because i want to.
    etc.

    Same. To me, fruit isn't dessert. Delicious, yes, but I prefer it with a meal or as a snack. But I budget some calories in my day for a bit of chocolate or ice cream. If I were to cut it out, I'd end up bingeing on something.

    +1 to both of these. For me, I prefer dessert as an ending to a meal. When I eat fruit last or it's the only thing I eat as a snack, I end up hungrier (similar to what plenty of people feel with "junk" foods aka "traditional" desserts). I plan desserts into my calories.

    OP, you don't want to eat a "traditional" dessert, don't eat one. All I ask is you don't poop on me for eating a mini Baby Ruth.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Maybe it's a French thing. I always had dessert when I grew up. Heck if you eat out in France they give you a square of chocolate with your coffee. When my family visits, they ALWAYS ask for something sweet after dinner. Often it was yogurt or pudding (so many kinds of puddings there. Gosh I miss it). But servings are smaller. In restaurants, desserts will be 300-400 calories tops... not those 1200 calories monstrosities that you find here.

    If you ask me, in the US there is much less of a dessert culture than in France though! Lots of restaurants don't have dessert (in France even Asian restaurants do, here, not so much), it's almost never on their online menus (which irks me, actually), and more often than not when eating out with people, they don't order dessert (which totally baffles me, as it's the best part of the meal).

    I totally agree that without dessert I would probably have been at my goal weight for a year, but what can you do... I'm a foodie. I get great pleasure from good food. A good meal will make my day better, and a bad meal will make my day worse. It is what it is... and I have a sweet tooth and, given the choice, would always pick something sweet versus something savory, so dessert makes me happy (unless it's not great dessert, then it makes me sad).

    I guess in the end it comes down to taste though, I just can't for the life of me think of any French person who didn't love desserts.

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited June 2016
    malibu927 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Why?
    Taste.
    Because i want to.
    etc.

    Same. To me, fruit isn't dessert. Delicious, yes, but I prefer it with a meal or as a snack. But I budget some calories in my day for a bit of chocolate or ice cream. If I were to cut it out, I'd end up bingeing on something.

    This exactly. Having a small sweet treat after dinner keeps me from freaking out and eating ALL THE FOODZ in the long run. I plan and budget my calories to allow around 300 calories of 'dessert' a day.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Maybe it's a French thing. I always had dessert when I grew up. Heck if you eat out in France they give you a square of chocolate with your coffee. When my family visits, they ALWAYS ask for something sweet after dinner. Often it was yogurt or pudding (so many kinds of puddings there. Gosh I miss it). But servings are smaller. In restaurants, desserts will be 300-400 calories tops... not those 1200 calories monstrosities that you find here.

    If you ask me, in the US there is much less of a dessert culture than in France though! Lots of restaurants don't have dessert (in France even Asian restaurants do, here, not so much), it's almost never on their online menus (which irks me, actually), and more often than not when eating out with people, they don't order dessert (which totally baffles me, as it's the best part of the meal).

    I totally agree that without dessert I would probably have been at my goal weight for a year, but what can you do... I'm a foodie. I get great pleasure from good food. A good meal will make my day better, and a bad meal will make my day worse. It is what it is... and I have a sweet tooth and, given the choice, would always pick something sweet versus something savory, so dessert makes me happy (unless it's not great dessert, then it makes me sad).

    I guess in the end it comes down to taste though, I just can't for the life of me think of any French person who didn't love desserts.

    Your post made me think of the brownie sundae from Kona Grill that I had for dinner Saturday night (for dinner. Yep.). It could have easily served four people. I ate it as my meal, shared some with my friend and still couldn't finish it. It was freaking delicious, though! :D
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Respectfully I would take a different view on just about all your points, sorry!

    Japan has a particular culture and cuisine but there's also cultures where dessert and treats tend to be very sweet - India for example.

    I wouldn't say dessert is nutritionally "devoid" just because it's sweet - different macros/micros but not devoid. If you log the cakes and donuts you will see protein, fat and carbs.

    Having said that I rarely eat sweet desserts, purely because I tend to prefer savoury to sweet - maybe that's my personal non-conformity? My two favourite courses in a restaurant will always be starter and main course. At home dessert of any kind is a rarity, more likely as part of a social meal or special event.

    One of my favourite desserts is a really good fruit salad but there's also times a great homemade apple crumble and custard hits the pleasure spot. Ditto ice cream or a good cheesecake. I don't see pleasure as being fleeting and superficial, I enjoy all the varied food I eat, possibly with the exception of "race fuel" when I'm cycling long distance.

    As regards health I look as my diet as a whole not a collection of individual components that all have to be perfect.
  • MaybeLed
    MaybeLed Posts: 250 Member
    'Traditionally' is such a loaded word but I have never eaten as much sugar in my life as the fortnight I spent in Japan. Yes I ate local, Yes I travelled with a resident, but by god they don't have any sort of unsweetened drink. Their 'bitter' coffee has a 2/5 sugar scale, and just everything is so much sweeter than in the UK.

    I don't really like fruit, only berries, and most yoghurt makes me gag. I eat pudding (as I'm English) occasionally and enjoy it. The people around you make life worth living and it's great fun to share something special with them. Sugar is sugar, if it comes from a bee, an apple, or chocolate. But that's just what I think.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    vsauder729 wrote: »
    So, should I/you/we eat dessert? Under what conditions? Why? I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts you have, especially something from the opposing viewpoint. Please be respectful. Thanks so much!

    P.S. I'm not sure if this is a mini essay or a rant. Oops. Sorry, I've spent a lot of time pondering this!

    I didn't grow up eating dessert every day. I still don't eat it every day. I don't have a massive sweet tooth. I have never felt I had to eat dessert to fit in. If I want cake or pie I eat it though. If I want plain fruit I eat that but I don't consider plain fruit a dessert.
    For weight loss- if you want it make it fit your calorie goal.
    For nutrition- Use the bulk of your calories for nutritious foods. Then eat your dessert. You'll be okay.

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with eating sweets, whether socially or by habit and long as you don't over eat them.

    Personally, I don't care for sweets. I never eat birthday cake or wedding cake or whatever the event is simply due to my tastes. Eating something just because others traditionally eat it means nothing to me. I only pay attention to myself. Don't care what other people eat. Then again, my personal motto from a very young age was "never conform".

    Same. Always have, even skipped my own birthday cake every year since I was 5 and realized I could - didn't eat my wedding cake, etc.

    Give me a plate of chicken wings and I'm all about it ;)
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    It allows me to workout harder-longer- I love Calories!!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    vsauder729 wrote: »
    So, should I/you/we eat dessert? Under what conditions? Why? I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts you have, especially something from the opposing viewpoint. Please be respectful. Thanks so much!

    Should you eat dessert? I don't feel qualified to answer that.

    Should we eat dessert? I don't feel qualified to answer for everyone.

    Should I eat dessert? Hmm, I don't know that I'd say I should eat it, but I don't see any reason why I shouldn't eat it either. I've been eating it all my life without any health problems.

    I don't really consider candy a dessert though. Candy is just sweet treat. When I think dessert I think cake or pie or cobbler or something like that. And it often does contain fruit (and sugar, of course).
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    because they fit into my calorie and macro goal for the day, and they taste good..

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You assume that humans are 100% rational beings. Newsflash: We're not.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    My nutritional profile is pretty outstanding...having a little desert doesn't undo that; I have a little desert most nights...usually some dark chocolate but like last night, my wife made some chocolate chip cookies...they were delicious and IMO, pretty much neutral to my diet as a whole.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    I choose to eat dessert because I eat all the foodz that I like.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    Sorry, but why worry about what motivation other people have for doing or not doing something, or in your case, eating or not eating something? It's none of my business why you or anyone else decides they want to include or exclude something from their diet.

    Sometimes I go through phases where I'll eat a cookie every night, or have some ice cream, or even a nightly beer, and then I'll go through phases where I won't touch sweets or alcohol. My choice.

    One of my favorite new quotes: Don't worry about what I'm doing, worry about why you're worried about what I'm doing. Sorry, these threads that just randomly try to get into the minds of the masses grate on me. It's like the folks that eat sweets are being looked down on or that they are being painted as making bad choices. Who am I to judge? It's no one's business why someone pounds a box of Mallomars. Live and let live.

    Rant over. God Bless. Carry on.

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