Is ice-cream Healthy? Facts about Ice-cream

 Is ice cream really junk food?
Health benefits of Ice-cream 

In the hot summer, how many people can resist the temptation of ice cream? However, there are also many people who struggle with ice cream, thinking it is a junk food. To be fair, many ingredients with high nutritional value, such as milk, milk powder, whey powder, and eggs, are added to high-quality ice cream, so it is the one with the highest nutritional value among cold drinks. Among them are vitamin A and vitamin D, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, and some products even have protein and calcium content that can reach the level of yogurt.

Ice cream rivals yogurt for protein and calcium but the heat is much higher. 

According to the data, 100 grams of ice cream contains 126 mg of calcium and 2.4% protein. To say it's junk food is an understatement. But is it really fair to compare ice cream to yogurt?

The fact that cannot be ignored is: 

Compared with drinking yogurt, the gap between protein and calcium may not be large, but there is a fact that cannot be ignored: 

 ice cream has much higher calories! 

  I randomly found three ice creams with low to high calorie value in the supermarket. Their nutrient composition table data is as follows (based on the net weight of 100 grams of product):

Product A: 

   The heat is 892 kilojoules, which is equivalent to 213 kilocalories. It is more than twice that of 100 grams of plain yogurt (the average calorie of full-fat yogurt is about 90 kcal/100 grams); the protein content is 2.0 grams. Compared with 100 grams of plain yogurt, it is one-third lower (according to the national standard, the protein content of pure yogurt should not be less than 2.9 grams per 100 grams); the fat content is 15.0 grams (about 5 times that of full-fat yogurt); carbohydrates The compound content is 17.8 grams (about 1.5 times that of ordinary full-fat yogurt, based on 12.0 grams of carbohydrates in sweet yogurt).

Product B: 

  Calorie 1232 kilojoules, which is equivalent to 295 kilocalories (more than three times that of 100 grams of pure yogurt); protein content is 3.1 grams, which is equivalent to or slightly higher than that of 100 grams of pure yogurt (according to national standards, the protein content of pure yogurt should not Less than 2.9 grams/100 grams); fat content 20.3 grams (about 7 times that of full-fat yogurt); carbohydrate content 28.7 grams (about 2.4 times that of ordinary full-fat yogurt).

Product C: 

 Calorie 1522 kJ, equivalent to 364 kcal (about 4 times that of 100 grams of pure yogurt); protein content of 2.4 grams, lower than 100 grams of pure yogurt, but equivalent to flavored yogurt (according to national standards, flavored yogurt protein The content should not be less than 2.3 grams/100 grams); the fat content is 29.6 grams (about 10 times that of full-fat yogurt); the carbohydrate content is 22.7 grams (about 1.9 times that of ordinary full-fat yogurt).

Ice cream with a lot of dairy ingredients relatively better. 

Why is there a big difference in the heat between the three products? This is because they are of different types. Product A is milk fat ice cream, which contains at least 40% raw milk. Both products B and C contain crispy skin, cones, etc. The proportion of milk ingredients is relatively low, but it contains vegetable oil, white sugar, wheat flour or starch, etc. There is no doubt that the nutritional value of product A is relatively high.

According to the relevant standards, ice cream is divided into three types: 

 1.full milk fat, 

2. half milk fat, and 

 3.non-dairy fat. 

   Each type is further divided into "clear type" and "combination type". Full milk has more cream. Non-dairy fat is made with vegetable oil, without cream. Half cream is in between. The so-called "clean type" means only ice cream, without crispy skin, cones, pastries and the like.

The protein content of clear-type products cannot be lower than 2.5%, and the protein content of combined-type products cannot be lower than 2.2%. The fat content of whole milk fat products should not be less than 8.0%. The clear type of semi-cream fat and non-dairy fat type should not be lower than 6.0%, and the combination type should not be lower than 5.0%.

In short, for ice cream, raw materials such as milk, milk powder, and whey powder will not increase the calorie value of the product. The nutritional value of ice cream, including protein, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, and various B vitamins, comes from these ingredients, so ice cream with more milk ingredients is relatively better. 

"Chocolate Crisp" and "Egg Roll Bucket"has low nutritional value

The so-called "chocolate crispy skin" has low nutritional value, mainly sugar + saturated fat. Crispy cone, the main ingredients are starch + sugar + fat. The greater the proportion of these things, the lower the content of protein, calcium and various vitamins.

The more ingredients you add, such as cream, vegetable fat, sugar, and starch, the less nutrient-dense it will be. Of course, these toppings are not for nothing, since they give the ice cream a savory feel.

In addition, there are ingredients such as emulsifiers, thickeners, phosphates, etc., which add a delicate texture, smooth mouthfeel, soft and porous structure, and the characteristics of not easy to melt to ice cream. Flavors and colors add a nice aroma and pleasant colour.

As long as they are legally used according to national standards, these additives are harmless and largely necessary. Without them, the sensuality of ice cream would be greatly reduced.

Therefore, eating ice cream is eating a sweet food with certain nutritional value. However, if it is for nutritional supplements, ice cream is definitely not preferred. If you are afraid of getting fat, when you choose ice cream, you can choose a small box, such as 50 grams, so that eating one serving will not have so many calories. 

By the way, ice cream also has food safety issues. Especially if you buy ice cream for stockpiling, be sure to clean the freezer and store ice cream, cooked food and other foods separately from raw fish, raw meat, frozen raw fruits and vegetables, etc. to avoid cross-contamination. After all, many bacteria and viruses survive for a long time under freezing conditions, and ice cream cannot be eaten after heat sterilization.

   By Dr Sher jahan
   General Physician at
     Government Hospital Chilas 
     Northern Areas Pakistan
    (Different Sources)