BLOG 132 DONUTS

BLOG 132 DONUTS
Are donuts the breakfast of champions or breakfast of convenience and taste?? It’s human nature to like sugar and big chains like Dunkin Donuts or even mom and pop stores taunt us on every corner. The smell from Mr. Donut by the studio teases from time to time. When I was a girl, it was routine to have donuts the next morning after a sleep over or on a Saturday after practice. Sugar digested a little differently back then. But believe it or not, donuts are still a popular start to the day. There’s even a National Donut Day.

It’s no secret that donuts aren’t good for us. In fact, a single donut can be worse than having a bag of chips. Check this out: “If you add a doughnut a day to your regular diet and don’t exercise the calories off or cut down on calories elsewhere, you will gain about one extra pound every 10 days” (http://www.livestrong.com/article/471877-health-effects-of-doughnuts/). They’re packed with saturated and trans-fat, so your heart is not happy when you eat one. Here’s a scary concept: “According to a 2008 report published by the Hong Kong Consumer Council, doughnuts have more trans fats than chocolate, peanut butter chocolate bars and even chips. A single doughnut will meet your maximum allowance for trans fats for the whole day, and the truth is that people rarely eat just one doughnut. Trans fats can increase your cholesterol and triglycerides, and increase your risk of heart disease” (http://www.livestrong.com/article/471877-health-effects-of-doughnuts/). I’m not sure I can list any good nutrients in a donut ?

A donut is sugar and sugar can be like a drug. When I grab a coffee at the donut shop, I see the same people every day eating there. Having a strawberry filled donut isn’t exactly having fruit for breakfast. Let’s face it: “Doughnuts contain lots of sugar. Even the plain doughnuts are high in sugar, but if you choose one with glazing, cream or jam, the fat, sugar and calorie numbers soar. A chocolate glazed cake doughnut contains 5 tsp. of sugar. According to the American Heart Association, women should eat a maximum of 6 tsp. of sugar a day, so a single doughnut will almost meet that number” (http://www.livestrong.com/article/471877-health-effects-of-doughnuts/). Sounds like a good scare tactic.

Coffee does taste good with a donut. The breakroom is filled with them. I get it. In fact, “ Last year, convenience stores sold some 391 million doughnuts (on an annualized basis) for sales of about $580 million, according to the latest IRI data” (https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/03/dollars-to-doughnuts-us-eats-half-a-billion-worth.html) . But come on now, we know they are not good for us.

At least now you will think of me every time you have a donut now. What would Megan do????