For many Americans, there's nothing quite like biting into a warm, hot-off-the-grease doughnut. Yet whether they're frosted or sprinkled, sugar-glazed or plain, one truth remains: Doughnuts' lack of nutritional quality makes most nutritionists wince.

What makes doughnuts so damaging to your health? For starters, they're packed with:

• Trans fats
• Artificial flavorings
• Refined sugar and flour

... all the "goodies" that contribute to a massive, health-harming outcome. (Even the typical glazed blueberry doughnut from Krispy Kreme contains artificial fruit made from sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn cereal and other assorted chemicals.)

USDA Dietary Contradiction

So, while most dietitians believe people should aim for an ideal diet--eliminating foods that have been stripped of many nutrients, packed with potentially detrimental ingredients like the unhealthy kinds of fats or both--the 2005 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) dietary recommendations veer Americans in a slightly different direction.

In fact, the USDA's new flawed food pyramid gives Americans the perfect excuse to indulge their sweet cravings by allowing for "discretionary calories" obtained from high-fat foods such as doughnuts. However, this junk food allowance is only risk-free if a person is not trying to lose weight and has met all other nutritional requirements according to the guidelines. It also assumes people will have the will-power to eat in moderation.

Doughnuts on the Brain

Tasty, feel-good foods like doughnuts are not only difficult to resist, they can actually lead to addiction for people who have stronger than normal genetic tendencies to enjoy foods that are especially high in fat and sugar.

Moreover, brain scan research found that high-carbohydrate foods like doughnuts--with their appealing texture and high sugar and fat content--artificially raise serotonin (linked to mood) and dopamine (associated with pleasurable sensations) levels in the brain, fueling addiction.

New York Times May 3, 2005 (Registration Required)

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

While doughnuts made the top of my list of the five absolute worst foods you can eat, it's good to see conventional experts agree with my assessment. Even though eating a single doughnut is unlikely to seriously harm you, doing so can prevent you from eating more nutritionally dense, whole foods by not only filling you up with empty calories, but the calories they do have are full of brain-busting trans-fats that can devastate your health. Also, please remember that, as long as you continue to eat foods like doughnuts, there is a strong likelihood you will continue to crave them. One of the best ways to stop these cravings is to stop eating these foods altogether. The hormones insulin and leptin are likely a large part of the physical reasons for your cravings, especially for high-carbohydrate foods. But, the emotional connection to cravings may actually be more powerful for most than the physical connection. One of the most profound methods I know of for diminishing the effects of food cravings is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT is the psychological acupressure technique I routinely use in my practice to help people reduce their cravings. EFT is based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for over 5,000 years, but without the invasiveness of needles. Simple tapping with the fingertips is used to input kinetic energy onto certain meridians on your head and chest while you think about your specific craving. Thankfully, it seems many of you are beginning to understand just how devastating doughnuts can be to your health. Krispy Kreme is probably a good barometer of the public's interest in doughnuts, and their stock is currently down more than 80 percent from 2004. Related Articles: Why Junk Food is so Tempting, And How to Beat Your Temptation Trans-Fat: What Exactly is it, and Why is it so Dangerous? High-Flying Doughnut Maker Krispy Kreme Hit by Low-Carb Craze