The dangers of sweet desserts

Cakes cookies and pastries may be high on most people's list of favorite foods, but eating these high fat, high sugar foods regularly is not a healthy choice for anyone's diet. Here are some of the reasons you should walk past the pastry cart.

Most packaged crackers and baked goods are loaded with trans fats. These are man-made fats that contribute to heart disease. If you see the word "hydrogenated" on the nutrition label, the food contains trans fats. Anyone who wants to avoid gaining weight should minimize consumption of these foods.

Refined flour, sugar, fat, eggs and milk or cream are the basic ingredients in most cakes, cookies and pastries. Solid and highly saturated fats, such as vegetable shortening, lard, butter and palm and coconut oils, are generally more suitable for baking than liquid vegetable oils and reduced-fat margarines. Thus, the fats found in most baked goods are the types that are most likely to raise the blood levels of the detrimental low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

The high sugar content can promote tooth decay and may pose a problem for some people with diabetes. Recent studies show, however, most diabetics can tolerate moderate amounts of sweet foods.

Carrot cakes, zucchini and banana breads and other such commercially baked goods are often promoted as healthy alternatives. In fact, most of these contain only negligible amounts of the fruit or vegetable, are still high in fat and sugar, and are often topped with butter frosting. However, these can be made healthier by using low-fat substitutes for some ingredients.

Cakes and pastries are delicious, but the trans fats, saturated fats and sugar content make them disastrous for your body. Staying away from these foods will make it easier to drop those extra pounds and stay healthy.