Ice cream: An ideal dessert with pros and cons

Ice cream is a good way to complete the diet of children and the elderly in summer for its pleasant taste and easy consumption, and because they provide nutrients such as calcium or fruit juices (popsicles and sorbets).

The consumption of ice cream increases significantly in summer with the rise in temperatures and, although they are caloric foods, can be offered to children and the elderly occasionally as a dessert or snack, they can complete the diet very nice way for them, providing them with nutrients like milk in the case of milk – based, or juices fruit if it is poles or sorbets.

Milk-based ice creams are usually made up of skimmed milk, sugars and fats, while popsicles and sorbets contain mostly water, fruit juices and sugars. The texture of these foods makes them easy to chew, and their sweet flavor makes them a good alternative for children and seniors snack when the heat tightens and they have less appetite.

Benefits of eating ice cream

Eating ice cream is an adventure, thousands of flavors and colors ready to enchant your palate. It’s time for you to learn about some benefits of eating ice cream:

Increase energy

Eating ice cream increases energy. Ice cream is a food rich in carbohydrates: a serving of half a cup of ice cream contains about 15 grams of carbohydrates.

In addition, that same portion contains about 7 grams of fat and 2 grams of protein, so it is food with high energy density. Ice cream is a good option if the goal is to increase energy or gain weight. You can even reduce stress by eating ice cream.

Contribution of calcium

The contribution of calcium of some ice cream reaches 30% of the recommended daily amount, which is a great advantage for the elderly, who have a tendency to undergo decalcification and need to ingest a minimum of 800 milligrams of this mineral daily to maintain healthy bones.

In the case of children, calcium is essential for the development of the bone system. The poles and sorbets, in addition, also contribute to maintain proper hydration.

Source of vitamins and minerals

Believe it or not, ice cream is a dietary source of several minerals that have transcendence in the body. Not only is it rich in calcium and phosphorus, but it also provides important values of vitamin A , C, D and E, as well as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid. Although in smaller amount than the previous vitamins, the ice cream also contains vitamin K determinant for the health of the blood.

Hydration

An ice cream contains a lot of water, so it can be ideal to quench thirst. It can satisfy basic needs such as thirst, appetite, refresh the mouth and throat.

Related topics: delicious alternatives of ice cream

Health Risks of eating ice cream

Of course not everything is pink. What makes ice cream so delicious has its negative side, especially if they are consumed in excess.

Rich in fat and sugars

This type of food is rich in fat and more than 10 percent of its content is only fat from milk, even some ice cream can reach 16 percent figures. They are usually saturated fats that are consumed in significant doses represents a danger to the increase of cholesterol.

People who suffer from high cholesterol should forget about ice cream because it is likely that under those conditions the risks of heart disease and cardiovascular accidents will occur. In addition, the use of ice cream in moderation is recommended because its high content of sugar can worsen the conditions of diabetes.

High lactose content

For the type of people suffering from lactose intolerance, eating ice cream can be a torment because it can cause digestive problems and unbearable discomforts, at least that is what a series of investigations discovered that also revealed that at least 30 per cent of the population of the United States is intolerable for lactose. It is best that these people to replace the ice cream with an ice cream made with dairy products such as soybeans.

Conclusion

The most important thing is to choose homemade ice cream when possible, or those packaged in whose elaboration the nutritional values have been taken into account (with a good contribution of fruit juice or calcium), and the amount of sugar and saturated fats has been limited to reduce the number of calories. In desserts and snacks, in addition, you can combine the consumer’s favorite ice cream with fruits such as bananas, peaches or strawberries.