Here's Which Pumpkin Spice Doughnut You Should Get At Krispy Kreme, According To A Dietitian

In the immortal words of Joey Tribbiani from "Friends," "If you're going to do something wrong, do it right." Of course, that was just before he tried to convince his vegetarian pal, Phoebe Buffay, to eat T-bone steaks, which we're not recommending. Nor are we recommending that you go out and pound a few racks of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, for the record, and neither is Brookell White, MS, RD, and MyFitnessPal nutrition consultant. But again, if you're going to do it, we're here to help steer you in the "right" direction. Er, not that doughnuts are wrong. But you know. They're not exactly a kale salad.

In the delightful world of doughnuts, big news broke this week. And fans of Starbucks' famous PSL might be pleased. Word on the street is that Krispy Kreme brought its pumpkin spice doughnuts back for the autumnal season even sooner than usual. Uh, now, in fact. And if that news makes you want to hop in your too-hot car and pretend like summer is a distant memory via the sweet, gourd-ish taste of pumpkin spice doughnuts, well, let dietitian Brookell White take the wheel. She talked to Mashed about Krispy Kreme's fall flavor lineup and gave her two cents on the best option in their newest seasonal lineup.

Krispy Kreme deals in doughnuts of all shapes and sizes. Actually, for the most part, they're roughly the same shape and size. But what they lack in shape creativity, they apparently tried to make up for in flavors. Whether it's the classic Original Glazed, Glazed Chocolate Cake, or Oreos Cookies and Kreme, options abound. As you can imagine, a spectrum this disparate leaves a lot of room for caloric interpretation. The Oreo Cookies and Kreme doughnuts clock in at more than twice the calories as the Original Glazed, for example. But, as Brookell White points out, "The Old Fashioned, [the] Sugared Doughnut, and the Lemon Doughnut ... have some beneficial nutrients that [other doughnuts] are lacking, including 4 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber." And if your heart is set on pumpkin spice (and whose isn't?), there's a doughnut that rises above the rest, if you'll pardon the dough pun.

"The Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed Doughnut ... is the lowest in calories, total fat, sodium, carbohydrates, and sugar, and is tied for the highest in protein," White says, comparing the offering to the Pumpkin Spice Latte Swirl, Pumpkin Spice Cake, and the Pumpkin Spice Original Filled Cheesecake Doughnuts (again, duh.) White emphasized that the PSOGD (here's hoping that acronym catches on as well as PSL) can certainly still be part of a healthy lifestyle, as you balance all that fall-flavored sweetness with "a diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, protein, fiber, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates."