Are Vegan Desserts Healthy? A Balanced Look at Pros and Cons (2024)

FAQs

Are Vegan Desserts Healthy? A Balanced Look at Pros and Cons? ›

Vegan desserts offer several health and environmental benefits, mainly nutrient-rich ingredients and a lower environmental impact. It's important to be mindful of their sugar content, calorie count, and the potential use of processed ingredients.

Vegan Bakes are Nutrient-Rich

Vegan baking may not be considered 'healthy,' but it is more nutritious than your standard non-vegan dessert. Vegan recipes rarely call for many processed ingredients or saturated fats.

They feature a short list of wholefood ingredients, making them a more nutritious alternative. As they are generally made without wheat, dairy, eggs or refined sugars, they also tend to be suitable for a coeliac or dairy free diet.

Some vegan desserts and cheeses are made with coconut oil, palm oil, or partially hydrogenated oils, which are all known to increase cholesterol. Refined carbohydrate intake: A diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugars can also lead to elevated cholesterol.

Vegan candies are full of nutrients

Most vegan candies contain whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds, in addition to whole grains. Instead of the excessive sugar content of typical candy, chomping on them helps you enhance your regular intake of vital vitamins and minerals.

Some health benefits of choosing vegan cakes over regular cakes include: Plant-based products are healthier. Animal fats are definitely unhealthy and responsible for diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, etc. Plant-based fats have no cholesterol which is much healthier for you.

A raw vegan diet may improve heart health due to its focus on fruits and vegetables — both of which are consistently linked to lower blood pressures and a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke ( 2 , 3 ). This way of eating also includes plenty of nuts, seeds, sprouted whole grains and legumes.

A vegan diet can be very nutritious, but there are some potential risks. Avoiding animal foods can shortchange you on a few nutrients, like protein, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. You need protein to power all the chemical reactions in your body.

What vegan foods are bad for cholesterol? ›

Which foods raise cholesterol in a vegan diet? A vegan diet is a plant-based diet that is typically low in cholesterol. However, several vegan processed foods like faux meats and vegan cheeses are high in saturated fat from coconut or palm oil and sodium that can raise cholesterol levels.

Focus on Fruit

"Try a baked apple, poached pear, a bowl of sorbet topped with diced mango," recommends Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, author of "Eat Your Way to Happiness" (Harlequin, 2009). She also suggests snacking on frozen blueberries or dunking fresh strawberries in a little fat-free dark chocolate syrup.

Whole-fat milk bases are often used in dairy ice cream. When combined with high sugar content, they become a potential contributor to health issues. Vegan ice cream removes the cholesterol issue and usually offers lower saturated fat levels. However, the sugar content tends to remain high.

Vegan diets have also been shown to help in the treatment of type 2 diabetes by lowering total and LDL cholesterol and by controlling lipid levels, for example by reducing triglycerides, a type of fat that is also associated with a greater risk of heart disease (Jenkins et al.

Reduced Saturated Fats: Traditional cakes often rely on butter, a source of saturated fats. Excessive saturated fat consumption can lead to health issues like obesity and cardiovascular disease. Vegan cakes utilise healthier fats like coconut oil, reducing saturated fat intake and promoting better heart health.

Depending on the recipe, and more specifically how much refined sugars they contain vegan cookies probably aren't the healthiest option when it comes to a sweet treat. Opting for a recipe that uses natural fruit-sugars to sweeten them could be the healthiest option.

Berries and Cream

It's a classic combo. Berries are sweet, juicy, and low in calories. They also have many heart-healthy nutrients, like antioxidants and fiber. Dress a cup of them up with a dollop of whipped cream or low-fat sour cream -- it adds 20 to 50 calories, but little to no sugar.