Do you love cake? Are you looking for a way to justify your sweet tooth? Here are seven ways that you can! There are actually health benefits from baking and eating your favourite chocolate cake. This may not seem possible or realistic, but in fact, it is true that everything can be healthy and beneficial in moderation. Here seven benefits to baking and eating cakes and other sweet treats.

  • 1) Stress reduction; kneading the dough, sifting flour, measuring butter; all of these things may seem trivial, but the concentration that baking requires calms and quiets your mind, thereby reducing your stress, and improving your overall level of tranquillity.

  • 2) Heart benefits; baking with ingredients such as dark chocolate and cocoa can help your heart, (in small doses), as long as you make sure to balance your sugar intake elsewhere of course.
  • 3) Cognitive function; following a recipe and thoroughly measuring ingredients while multitasking help improves cognitive function. Baking is a science and requires a level of focus and attention, that can be transferred and applied elsewhere in your life.
  • 4) Protein and other nutrients; the beauty of baking, especially cakes, is that it allows you to substitute some of the less healthy ingredients such as butter for more healthy alternatives, including coconut oil or to substitute sugar for other sweet options such as honey.
  • 5) Social benefits; baking in groups, taking classes or getting together to cook is a great way to socialise, which is healthy physically and mentally!
  • 6) Better bodies; this one may seem far-fetched, but by indulging in sweet treats once or twice a week, you can maintain a healthy body, because it helps with self-control and willpower. Eat one piece of cake, and then feed the rest to your friends, so that the temptation isn’t there. By not depriving yourself, you create a sustainable lifestyle, and thereby a healthy weight.
  • 7) Sweets make you sweeter; desserts make you happier, and there is science to prove this! Sweets can brighten our sad days, and make our good days even better. It is vital to eat everything in moderation, but a tasty treat once in a while can genuinely make you happier overall.

Before eating too many sweets, or before substituting any ingredients, take care to consult with a physician to ensure that you don’t have food allergies or intolerances, and carefully monitor your sugar intake. Talk to your doctor about your weight, cholesterol and any potential symptoms of issues like diabetes associated with sugar intake and eating habits. Using an app to consult with a physician, or to track your food intake, ensures that you are getting enough nutrients and meeting, but not exceeding, calorific and nutrient requirements.