Life is Short. (Don’t) Eat Dessert First.

Dessert is a worldwide phenomenon. Every culture has it, every kid wants it and everyone wants it now. Travel around the Americas and Europe, and you’ll find a more traditional experience, with the sugary-sweet treats and baked goods becoming staples. In some parts of the world, dessert appears as wine, cheese and fruit. In other countries, it’s lighter, less-sweet versions of European fair, such as what you’d find in Asian bakeries. Whatever form it takes, dessert is inescapable.

Once upon a time, someone said, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.” But did that person stop to consider that perhaps all the fun of eating dessert revolves around the fact that it doesn’t show up until the last course of a meal? There are many reasons why we eat dessert last, and they’re not all cultural. Over time, we humans have just sort of figured out that that’s where dessert belongs. So why is it a big deal?

Well, for one, as you’ve probably experienced once or twice, your body can’t handle a huge amount of fat and sugar on an empty stomach. If you wake up and eat one donut, you may be fine. Eat three and you’ll be in for trouble. If you’re starving, and ready to sit down at the table, you’re going to start groaning if you immediately begin shoving cake down your gullet. Have a full meal first, though, and you’re good to go. It’s highly likely that one of the world’s very first gourmands discovered this long ago, until enough people figured it out to develop some sort of cultural ritual.

At the end of the day, your body’s main goal is to get as many calories as possible, in the most efficient way possible. It may sound weird, and even a little unhealthy, but your body’s still operating on caveman time. It’s thinking that there’s no telling when you’ll run out of food, so you’d better start stocking up for the winter now.

Given this, you may think it would make more sense biologically if you ate dessert first. After all, your piece of pie with whipped topping probably has more calories than say, grilled chicken and vegetables. However, eating dessert first is going to make your insulin spike, slowing the overall eating process, and limiting the amount of dinner calories you can consume. Switch the process around and you avoid that insulin spike, ensuring you get all the calories in one meal, without missing out on a single bite.

One study says we eat dessert last simply because that’s what’s going to make us happiest in the long run. We typically eat dinner when we’re hungry, and dessert is better at pleasing our taste buds and pleasure sensors than it is at filling us up. Therefore, the savory dinner gives us the pleasure of satiating our hunger. Then, we’re free to enjoy dessert at our leisure, without the pangs of hunger, and focus on what it’s doing for our tongues, not our empty stomachs.

Plus, it’s generally thought that our appetites reappear again, on a smaller scale, in time for dessert. You may gorge yourself at Thanksgiving, and not think you can hold another forkful, but then someone brings out the pumpkin pie and all bets are off. You gladly help yourself to a slice (or two). Even if we are a little too full to handle it, our brains want the pleasure that comes from eating dessert, more than it wants to avoid the displeasure of over-satiation.

Whatever the reason, research shows time and time again that, though it may be tempting to eat dessert first, it’s always more satisfying to hold off, and save the best for last.