Donuts are one of the most popular sweets in the world, and one of the hardest temptations to resist – just the mental image of having a bite of a fresh glazed donut is enough to water at the mouth. But what is it about donuts that makes them so delicious? And are they really that bad for you?
There are several factors that make donuts the ultimate temptations, and they have to do with our genetics, our culture, and a few tricks of the food industry:

Evolution

Until recently, our ancestors didn’t have the luxury to plan their meals and have a balanced nutrition – they had to pack as much calories into their system as possible in order to survive. The hungrier you were, the less likely you were to catch something because of low energy levels. Over millions of years, this concept became embedded in our genes – to eat high-calorie foods whenever they are available. This is where donuts come in to scratch that innate itch. Because of their high content of sugar, fatty acids, and other high-calorie ingredients, our taste buds recognize them as a good fuel for our body, which creates a craving for them in the long run. If only we could tell our genes that’s not necessary anymore!

Artificial sweeteners

The food industry uses a few tricks to make the products such as donuts even more delicious and irresistible. Instead of using sugar or honey, the big food chains often use artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, which taste several times sweeter than natural sugar (ever wondered why your donuts never taste as good as those from Dunkin’ Donuts?). Regularly eating food with artificial sweeteners dulls our taste receptors so that natural types of sugar don’t taste sweet enough. Many people report that staying away from artificial sweeteners and processed sugars for a month will reset your taste buds and allow you to enjoy the taste of sugars such as fructose, while artificial sweeteners will taste much stronger.

Conditioning

If you live in the Western world, you can recognize the unique smell of fresh donuts from across the street and start negotiating with yourself about buying one. The reason why the smell has such a strong effect is because of years of conditioning – we’ve associated the satisfying feeling of eating a delicious donut with their rich smell. The sense of smell is directly connected with the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for our emotions, which is why this feedback loop is so easily created, and why so many people can’t go past the donut stand on the beach without buying one.
Despite their deliciousness, donuts are notorious for being bad for us. But what is it about donuts that gives them such a bad reputation?

There are a number of reasons:

#Trans-fats: Donuts contain trans-fats, which are made by pumping hydrogen into vegetable oil and are solid at room temperature. These types of fats give a better texture and taste and a longer shelf life to donuts, but they are proven to increase the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

High calorie count: An average donut has about 300 calories. While one donut isn’t a big deal, having a donut-eating habit will most likely result in gaining several pounds of weight a year, since those extra calories are stored in the body as fat.
High amount of #sugar: A glazed donut contains around 15 grams of sugar, which is more than half of the maximum daily sugar intake for women. Consuming too much sugar can over time cause liver damage as well as various metabolic disorders, which is by itself is a good warning to all donut enthusiasts.
White flour: Donuts are made from highly processed white flour, which is stripped of fiber, vitamins and other nutrients that are essential for a healthy diet.

While eating donuts on a daily basis can potentially be harmful to your health, eating a few each month probably won’t have a lasting effect, since our bodies can handle the occasional sugar spike (especially if it’s followed by physical activity). We should be aware of the factors that make us crave donuts, as well as their possible effects on our bodies. But giving into their temptation once in a while only means we’re human – after all, we have their deliciousness, the food industry trickery and even our own bodies against us!

You might be interested in these previous articles of mine:

• How to get your shit together
• 10 ways to break bad habits
• Trip to Heaven in Australia
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