For people who crave sweets, dessert is an essential part of life. And doctors eat dessert, too.
"I definitely have a sweet tooth and have realized that depriving myself of dessert doesn’t work," Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist treating breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, tells TODAY.com.
While nothing is completely off-limits for her, including dessert, "I definitely eat dessert in moderation and reserve really decadent dishes for special occasions," she says. At other times, she experiments with recipes that substitute ingredients to make healthier versions of classic treats, like cheesecake.
Dr. Jasmine Singh Sukumar, assistant professor of breast medical oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has a similar approach.
"While I try to limit added sugars in my food throughout the week, I do enjoy having dessert after dinner occasionally because it brings me joy, even if it is a small portion to curb my sweet tooth," she tells TODAY.com. "I’m of the opinion dessert shouldn’t necessarily be off limits. ... Instead, moderation and healthy portion sizes are key to enjoying your favorite sweet eats."
Whether it's a homemade treat incorporating seasonal fresh fruit or a sweet taste of nostalgia like frozen yogurt, doctors make a good case for not skimping on the desserts we crave.
What doctors eat for dessert:
Fruit-forward crumbles, tarts and pies
"I don't believe in a diet that restricts dessert," Dr. Stephanie L. Gold, a gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and an instructor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells TODAY.com. "It's a lot of recipes that we grew up with and tastes we're used to, and it's very comforting."
For her, that often means desserts that feature in-season fresh fruit, like apple crisps and pear crumbles in the fall.
"My mom is famous for making a plum tart with a sugar-crumble topping," Comen says. "There’s nothing healthy about it — maybe the plums, but it’s simply scrumptious."
Food doesn't always have to be nutritious to be valuable, she explains. "In so many families and cultures, food is love and love is food. Sometimes, especially around holiday time, indulging in dessert with the best of company is healing," Comen says.
Frozen yogurt topped with fruit and nuts
When Dr. Mona Bahouth is craving something sweet, she tells TODAY.com that she'll often reach for fresh fruit like berries or apples. But, occasionally, Bahouth will opt for frozen yogurt topped with those delicious fruits.
"I like to maximize the benefit of the frozen yogurt by adding a few nuts and a couple of strawberries," says Bahouth, associate professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Together, this tastes terrific, has lower sugar content, and fills me up quicker.
A small bowl of berries, nuts and chocolate
Cardiologist Dr. Helene Glassberg tells TODAY.com that she's a fan of chocolate — especially candy. And while she'll allow herself to have some candy occasionally during the Halloween season, she generally makes her own sweet and salty snack mix instead.
"I'm not really a dessert person, but I usually want something a little sweet like after I eat — and I'm a chocolate person," says Glassberg, director of the pre-operative cardiac clinic and associate professor of clinical medicine at Penn Medicine.
To satisfy her cravings, she mixes up a bowl of antioxidant-rich berries and salted almonds, pecans and peanuts. "Then I'll sprinkle in a couple pieces of chocolate," Glassberg says.
Similarly, Sukumar tells TODAY.com that she likes to have berries with dark chocolate as a sweet treat during the week. "Dark chocolate and fruit can have health benefits while tasting good too and introducing some natural sugars to satisfy that sweet craving," Sukumar explains.
Homemade fruit sorbet
Another favorite dessert in Gold's home are homemade fruit sorbets, also called "nice creams." These can be made with the addition of ingredients like plant-based milk, vanilla extract and other sweeteners, or with the frozen fruit on its own.
"You can essentially just take some frozen fruit and put it in a blender with a couple of other ingredients and make a homemade sorbet," Gold says. "It's a way to get a whole other serving of fruit into the diet and it's nice and refreshing — especially in the summer."
She's had success with sorbets featuring canteloupe, berries and plum — and she encourages people to get creative. "The sky's the limit," Gold says. "Anything that is ripe and delicious is fantastic."
Cheesecake, with substitutions
Comen enjoys experimenting with swaps in recipes for healthier ingredients, like using applesauce or yogurt instead of oil. There are a ton of recipes like this online, she explains, and there are ways to substitute ingredients that don't sacrifice on taste.
"For example, I recently made a cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and a Greek yogurt, low-fat cream cheese and non-fat sour cream filling," she says. "It was absolutely delicious!"
Grilled seasonal fruit
"I personally keep my grill going as late into the fall as I can, and my grill can be my friend for dessert," Glassberg says.
Oftentimes, she'll grill fruit, such as peaches or pineapple, in tin foil. "They get really sweet and almost caramelized when they're grilled," she explains. From there, she'll top the fruit with honey and cinnamon and eat it over plain Greek yogurt.
Ice cream
When it's time to go with a more indulgent dessert, a few of the doctors TODAY.com spoke to have a clear preference for classic ice cream.
"Ice cream has always been my guilty pleasure, so every once in a while I treat myself," Sukumar says, adding that she's a fan of Jeni's Ice Cream in particular.
Dr. Shari Lipner, an associate professor of clinical dermatology at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, tells TODAY.com that she's also a fan of ice cream and frozen yogurt.
She often goes to a local self-serve frozen yogurt parlor where she gets a chocolate and vanilla swirl with lots of toppings. "I'm their best customer; I'm there every single night," she laughs.
Desserts that doctors avoid:
Ultra-processed sweets
"The (foods) that I avoid are anything that could sit on the shelf for a long time," Glassberg says, because these foods tend to have preservatives and fats that she recommends avoiding.
In general, the experts TODAY.com spoke to prefer homemade desserts or those comprised mainly of whole foods — like fruit — over packaged, pre-made cookies, brownies, candy and other treats in the store.
"Some of those more processed cakes and treats I would avoid," Gold agrees. "I prefer to make them at home myself so that I have a little bit of control over what's going into them."