Pros and Cons of Eating Ice Cream

The onset of summer brings a humongous boost in the demand for everyone’s favourite dessert – ice cream. The perfect blend of cream, flavours and ice makes it a cool and refreshing option on various occasions and this makes it the most loved dessert across the world. The cold, creamy and sweet dessert is consumed by people of all ages and even a person who dislikes eating sweet cannot resist a single scoop of ice cream. Made by churning and chilling a mix of heavy cream, artificial flavours, stabilisers, emulsifiers and glucose based sweeteners, ice cream is basically known as a high fat dessert that has invited several arguments as to what are the effects of eating ice cream on health.

Here are a few pros and cons of eating ice cream that can help you decide the right way of indulging in your favourite all time dessert:

Pros of Eating Ice Cream

1. Provides Instant Energy

Ice cream is an energy boosting dessert and even though the nutritional content of this frozen dessert varies with brands and types, they are rich in carbohydrates, protein and fat. As per a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one half cup serving of vanilla ice cream can provide 137 kilo calories of energy, which is twice the amount of energy provided by one glass of full fat milk. So if you are looking for some instant energy, go for a small cup of ice cream.  

2. Great Source Of Vitamins

Not everyone is aware that ice cream is actually a rich source of essential vitamins. This frozen dessert is a substantial source of vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, D and E. With reasonable amounts of vitamin K, ice cream provide an essential nutrient that helps in thinning out the blood and preventing blood clotting. Being rich in antioxidants like thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, etc., ice cream can also help in preventing cancer causing free radical effect from the body. These vital nutrients play a crucial role in strengthening the immune system while improving nerve and organ functions.

3. Rich In Minerals

Effects of eating ice cream on health can be varied but no one would have ever thought about getting various essential minerals while indulging in a cup of their favourite ice cream. Loaded with calcium and phosphorus, eating ice cream can be beneficial for making bones and teeth strong while promoting healthy cardiovascular system and kidney functions. Medical studies have stated that for calcium absorption in the body, intake of foods containing phosphorus is extremely essential. Since ice cream contain phosphorus too, your joints remain healthy and it prevents PMS.

4. Effectively Handles Mood Swings

A compound in ice cream is known to trigger the production of thrombopoietin, a hormone that uplifts mood and helps in preventing mood swings. Eating ice cream also lowers cortisol levels, thus reducing stress. In addition, since milk contains L-tryptophan which is a natural sedative, your nervous system will get relaxed and this prevents insomnia. So the next time you feel low or stressed, just grab a bowl of ice cream and you will be in complete bliss.

Cons of Eating Ice Cream

1. Loaded With Fat

Generally made from whole fat milk, ice cream are rich in saturated fats. Though the fat in ice cream provides instant energy, protects the organs from adverse affects of stress and stimulates the production of various kinds of enzymes, the saturated fats can be a major determinant for cardiovascular disorders and obesity, which can invite a host of other lifestyle diseases. You can therefore, consider having ice cream once a while or have small cups of low fat ice cream that are easily available in the markets.

2. High Cholesterol Content

One of the major effects of eating ice cream on health is that it contains high levels of bad cholesterol. It has been researched that only half a cup of vanilla ice cream comprises of 25 mg of cholesterol and having this frozen dessert on frequent basis can put your heart’s health at great risk.

3. Excessive Sugar

Ice cream contains enormous amounts of sugar which can lead to weight gain, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases. Just a single serving of vanilla ice cream contains 40 calories from sugar, which makes for 40 percent of the total quantity of sugar recommended by the American Heart Association to be consumed per day.

4. Hard To Digest

Medical researchers have found that ice cream is made from hard to digest dairy and it gets even harder to digest because of its frozen state. Ayurveda has explained that anything cold when put inside the digestive system, puts off the digestive fire, which is extremely essential for effective digestive functioning and assimilation of nutrients. This is why Ayurveda says that consuming frozen desserts can lead to digestive disorders.

5. Not Suitable For Lactose Intolerant

As per a study conducted by a popular tabloid, around 30 million Americans are intolerant to lactose. Ice cream is a dairy based product and is loaded with lactose, a milk sugar which can be broken down and digested only through the presence of lactase enzyme in the stomach. Lack of this enzyme can lead to serious digestive problems and hence, people who are lactose intolerant should refrain from having ice cream.

Despite these disadvantages of eating ice cream, you can still enjoy eating this wonderful dessert by buying the low sugar options or the ones made with natural ingredients or non-dairy milk such as rice, cashew, almonds or coconut.

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