Dessert Anyone?

November 8, 2015 – 

Imagine yourself at dinner alone or with friends and before you even get to decide on your dinner, the desert cart rolls right past you. Not only did your eyes just bulge out but your nose got a good whiff and you think “Oh my gosh, I’m definitely getting that!”. You order your pre-dinner treats and feast on chips or bread, appetizer(s), cocktail(s), and now its time to order your entre (that could feed 4 people based on current portions offered in most restaurants). Routinely, you order and once again clean your plate like ‘Mom made you’. Yes, I do the same thing … over-ate again! Worst of all, you missed the dessert, because you were full.

When you were a child, did you look at your dessert longingly – and wish you could eat it before the nasty broccoli and spinach? Of course, my Mom was adamantly against eating dessert first. In this case, Mom may have been wrong. Devouring an entire dessert before you eat your main course plus veggies isn’t a good idea since you’ll eat less of the foods that are good for you if you’re too full. However, there are some good reasons to eat dessert first – or at least a few bites. Here’s why.

Whether it’s cheesecake or coconut pie, most desserts have a fair amount of fat. Too much fat isn’t good for you, but a little fat with a meal serves a few useful purposes – it helps you absorb fat-soluble vitamin and nutrients better. Fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin A, D, E, and K, can’ t do their jobs if they aren’t adequately absorbed from the digestive tract. Other nutrients such as the carotenoids in green, leafy vegetables and sweet potatoes also need fat for best absorption. That’s where eating dessert first comes in. Taking a few bites of dessert before eating your vegetables can help you absorb vitamins and nutrients better – and that’s a good thing when it comes to your health.

Another advantage of eating dessert first is it delays gastric emptying. This causes you to feel fuller quicker – so you’ll eat less. There are other ways to slow down gastric emptying and help your body absorb more fat-soluble vitamins/nutrients. Eating a few spoonful’s of a cream-based soup just before a meal – or eating a salad with olive oil dressing will do the same thing. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) is the healthiest choice of all since it contains heart-healthy fats.

But if you’re going to eat dessert anyway, eat a few bites before eating your veggies. Don’t worry, your Mom will never know.

In good health,

Bob

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans. ”
― Ronald Reagan