Do We Need Dessert?

When you’re trying to eat more nutritious foods, one of the first things you might do is cut out desserts. After all, most dessert-like things – ice cream, cookies, cake, brownies, etc. – would be hard-pressed to fall into the “nutritious” category.

And certainly, you don’t technically need desserts. If you reduce or cut out sugar, you won’t be losing out on any necessary nutrients.

But there’s also the fact that, for many of us, dessert and sweets may bring us joy and happiness, and making those foods for others may be a way of showing affection. From that perspective, do we need dessert?

Dessert as happiness?

I recognize that dessert does not necessarily bring happiness to everyone. It can even be a source of angst and despair for those who feel out of control around sweet foods.

I also know that some people aren’t particularly food-focused, that they view food only as fuel necessary to survive. (I have a hard time wrapping my mind around this concept, but it’s probably equally as hard for those people to understand that food means a lot more to some others.)

And as noted above, considered purely as a matter of sustenance, of course we don’t need dessert. We can get whatever fuel we need from other foods.

What qualifies as a need?

Then again, if we think of food only as fuel, we don’t strictly need a lot of the things we eat, including non-dessert foods. Mac and cheese? Mashed potatoes? Pizza? Lobster? Or how about any fancy dinner, where the meal has multiple courses and is served on beautiful dishes? Our bodies would get by on fairly simple fare, and yet many of us don’t choose that, at least not all the time.

That brings us back to the question of joy and happiness, and for me, the difference is between survival and living. For survival, we may not need happiness. But to truly live, I believe we do.

This doesn’t mean enjoyment has to come from dessert, but for many of us, it can be a source of great pleasure and delight. From that perspective, it is, in a way, necessary. It makes me think of the phrase (and song) “bread and roses,” with its reminder that we need more than the bare requirements of subsistence.

It’s all about balance

Dessert may not be a necessity in terms of getting what we need to physically live, but it can bring us joy. That being said, only eating dessert probably won’t bring joy – it would mostly just bring a stomachache.

That’s why I think it comes down to balance – balancing food we need to survive with food we want for enjoyment. To me, both are necessary. Which is why I will continue to look for joy in my life, including with dessert.