Benefits of Dessert: What Happens When You Eat It Daily, According to a Registered Dietitian

The benefits of dessert may surprise you. When people learn I am a registered dietitian, they automatically assume that I must eat a very specific way. They think I must not enjoy diet culture’s latest nutrient victims, namely carbs, and certainly not anything sweet, soft and gooey (the way I like my chocolate chip cookies).

I love the surprise on their faces when I share I eat everything, including an abundance of carbs (it’s our body’s preferred fuel source, after all) and dessert on the regular. In fact, I recommend my clients and others do the same. The benefits of eating dessert are often overlooked in a culture that demonizes food pleasure and fears eating sugar. So, here are my top five health benefits of dessert and eating it regularly:

You can take your power back.

Full permission to eat all foods — including dessert — helps us take our power back from diet culture and develop more trusting relationships to our bodies and selves. Diet culture is an oppressive system that wants to keep us small and disconnected in every way. Consider how much space there would be for more meaningful conversations, ideas, and endeavors if no one was concerned about their body size or rigid food rules or constantly questioning a meal or snack.

So, one way to take our power back and connect to yourself is to grant permission to eat all foods, which includes desserts, sweets, cake, chocolate, and anything you consider a treat or sweet treat (except if you are allergic or truly do not prefer something). This is a large part of understanding the broader benefits of dessert in a balanced life. “Diet culture sets you up to blame yourself for enjoying a simple pleasure in life; you lose confidence around your food choices and what you could and should be having,” says dietitian Patricia Kolesa, MS, RDN. “Giving yourself permission to enjoy all foods allows for a more mindful approach and more flexibility in your food choices.”

If we are following food rules set by external forces like diet plans, food lists, or “lifestyle” plans, we are not able to hear our body’s cues and signals about eating and health. Often, we end up feeling overly restricted around sweets and sugar, or going overboard with sweets when we finally allow them. Some of my clients think about eating and desserts as something “off-limits,” but when they explore the benefits of eating dessert, they often find more balance in their eating patterns and eating habits.

Your stress levels may improve.

Food rules, including dessert rules, create stress in our bodies and minds, and chronic stress is linked to health conditions and mental health concerns. “If white knuckling your way through that post-dinner dessert time is causing you to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and more restricted, you may actually benefit from allowing yourself to eat the dessert instead,” says Caroline Thomason, RD, CDCES. Putting rigid conditions on eating desserts is a form of disordered eating, which can increase food preoccupation, anxiety, and reduce overall healthy eating patterns. The health benefits of dessert include improved psychological flexibility around food and reduced stress at meal time.

Dessert rules can also backfire when we choose “healthy” alternatives and end up eating more portion sizes than our body needs in one sitting. “Some people might find themselves eating more of the dessert alternative thinking that it isn't as ‘bad’ for them,” Kolesa shares. Eating dessert can also help normalize truly healthy eating behaviors and reduce obsession with sugar, sweets, and food rules.. Additionally, sugar-free sweets often include sugar alcohols, which may affect digestion and overall health comfort in some individuals.

Your body and brain will revceive nutrients.

Desserts typically include essential nutrients from a range of food groups. All desserts offer some nutritional value. From a health perspective, the health benefits of dessert include:

• Essential macronutrients like carbohydrates, fats, and sometimes protein.

• Chocolate, cake, and other sweets can contain antioxidants, minerals, and energy-supporting compounds that contribute to overall health when eaten in portion and balance. In fact, a 2022 randomized controlled trial found that eating dark chocolate daily was linked to improved mood and changes in gut microbiome diversity, suggesting cocoa may support emotional well-being in everyday life.

• Pairing dessert with food like milk or nuts can support healthy nutrient intake, including calcium and protein.

Personally, one of my favorite desserts is cake and fruit-based desserts, which provide both sweetness and nourishment. Eating and enjoying food in this way supports healthy eating patterns and satisfaction at meal time.

You might feel less shame.

Eating dessert regularly normalizes them and takes them down from their diet culture-built pedestal. One of the key benefits of eating dessert first or regularly is normalization. When we stop labeling food as good or bad, we reduce guilt and shame around food choices.

Plus, restricting desserts often increases desire for sweets, chocolate, cake, and other foods we label as treats. “By giving yourself permission to eat dessert regularly, you take these foods off of the ‘bad’ list,” says Thomason. This supports both physical and emotional health, and improves long-term eating patterns and overall food freedom. Food gets to be just food. A cookie gets to be a cookie. Nothing more. This mindset shift is part of the benefits of dessert and eating it regularly that supports mental well-being and healthier relationships with eating and food.

You'll likely experience pleasure.

Eating a delicious dessert is one way to experience pleasure in life — food is nourishment on physical and emotional levels. In my opinion, one of the often-overlooked benefits of eating dessert is pleasure. Eating is not just physical nourishment — it is emotional and social nourishment as well. We are not bad for enjoying sweets, chocolate, or dessert — we are human. “Food is so much more than just calories and macronutrients,” says Ruth. “It is also connection with others.” Enjoying a sweet treat, whether cake or chocolate, can support emotional well-being and healthy relationships with food.

Benefits of Desserts: FAQs Section

Now, I'm sharing answers to some of the most common questions we get from clients, friends, and family members when it comes to benefits of eating dessert often:

How much dessert can I eat a day?

There's no set amount of dessert that's recommended you eat on a daily basis. First, it's best to make sure you're eating regular meals throughout the day from a variety of food groups and including all three macronutrients (carbs, fats, and proteins). Then, check in with your body's cues and what sounds good to you—ask yourself if dessert sound good right now and check in to see how what your body is needing. Learn more about intuitive eating to understand how to navigate dessert portion sizes.

Does dessert help you sleep?

I love this question. Eating dessert after dinner can potentially help with sleep, especially if it helps you feel comfortably full, more satisfied, and brings you pleasure. Going to sleep after eating a complete, nourishing dinner—which can include dessert—is one way to support sustained and high-quality sleep.

What happens if you eat dessert everyday?

Eating dessert everyday can help normalize sweets and dessert foods after they've been demonized and restricted. Eating dessert daily, if it's desired and an empowered choice, can be beneficial to your health mentally and emotionally—and even physically.

Can dessert be healthy?

Dessert foods often provide essential macronutrients and sometimes other vitamins and minerals. For example, many desserts include fruits which are rich with fiber and vitamins and minerals like potassium and vitamin C.

Why are desserts important in a meal?

Desserts can be an important part of meal, because it provides complete satisfaction and pleasure, typically following lunch or dinner. Making and eating desserts can also be fun activities to share with loved ones.

Reach out if you need support.

If it feels hard to wrap your head around the idea of eating desserts and other foods often demonized by diet culture, but you'd like to experience food freedom, it may be time to reach out for professional hlep. Feel free to explore our nutrition counseling, body image counseling, and eating disorder counseling services. If it feels right, get in touch with us via our contact page—we'd love to support you.

In true health, 

Caroline