Cookies come in so many different flavors that you likely have one that you enjoy a great deal. While an occasional cookie can be part of your nutritious eating plan, regularly consuming cookies might harm your overall health. Learn more about the nutrition information for your favorite cookie flavors so you can make a plan to include them in your diet without damaging your health.
Calories
Cookies contain a great deal of calories for the small amount of food you get. Just one cookie can contribute a significant number of calories to your daily caloric intake. Butter cookies are your lowest calorie choice, with 23 per cookie. Chocolate chip cookies contain 58 calories each, chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling have 54 each and oatmeal cookies each contain 81 calories. Peanut butter and sugar cookies each have 72 calories.
Saturated Fat
The fat content of your cookie is another consideration, particularly if your dessert contains a great deal of saturated fat. Saturated fats raise your risk of various health conditions, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Chocolate chip cookies are the worst offenders, with 1.214 g of saturated fat per cookie. Butter cookies have the least saturated fat, with 0.5 g per cookie. A chocolate sandwich cookie with creme filling contains 0.73 g of saturated fat, a peanut butter cookie contains 0.67 g, and both sugar and oatmeal cookies contain 0.81 g per cookie.
Sugar
Another negative nutritional aspect of cookies is their sugar content. Most cookies contain a large amount of sugar, which adds excess calories to your diet. If your diet includes too much sugar, you might gain an unhealthy amount of weight. You might also be more likely to develop tooth decay. Sugar cookies are the highest in sugar, with 5.66 g per cookie. An oatmeal cookie contains 4.44 g, a chocolate chip cookie has 4.29 g, a chocolate cookie with creme filling contains 4.72 g and a peanut butter cookie has 4.77 g. Your best bet is a butter cookie, but just one still contains 1.01 g of sugar.
Considerations
An occasional cookie is unlikely to damage your overall health, but you should factor your desserts into your daily eating plan to ensure you reserve some calories, fat and sugar so you do not consume too much of any of these. Purchase single servings of cookies to help reduce temptation, or split a large cookie with a friend or relative. Read food labels to help you choose the best cookie for your health.
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