Ice cream, a real fast food product

It’s ice cream time and even the most calculated people, who usually defeat their cravings, give in to temptation.

But how many of us know that ice cream usually contains up to 9 E’s, that it can include carmine (which we know from manicures) and that, finally, we can compare an ice cream, in terms of the effect on the body, with a fast food product?

What it contains and what it should actually include, how we choose the least harmful assortment, whether or not the price is our ally in this choice told us in an interview Ziare.com Mihaela Costin, nutritionist and NLP Practitioner NutriShape.

Ice cream is the pampering of many in summer. But is the trade one healthy?

Cold and extremely pleasant, brands that remind you of childhood or that entice you with the most delicious combinations … Beyond the colorful facade and extremely attractive to the eye (the fact that we eat primarily with our eyes is not excluded even when we are talking about ice cream), there are some aspects that could raise some questions.

It is enough to read the list of ingredients on any type of packaged ice cream and you will surely run into some ingredients that do not sound familiar to you (most likely E’s). The healthiest principle in this case would be: if you do not know what it means, it is most likely not healthy.

In order not to completely eliminate the pleasure of consuming, hopefully moderately, ice cream during the summer, choose unpackaged options (contain fewer preservatives) and less colorful (the less uncoloured, the less chemical dyes were used).

What does ice cream usually contain? What are the most dangerous ingredients and why?

In general, a packaged ice cream will contain powdered milk (skimmed or semi-skimmed), vegetable fat, artificial sugar or sweeteners, salt, artificial flavors, flour and oils, dyes (for example, in ice cream fruits carmine is used in the forest – exactly the same product you have heard several times at the manicure salon), stabilizers, concentrated juices and, of course, E’s.

Feel like an ice cream? Find out how many E’s you swallow to cool off

Either we are talking about E412 (guar gum, used as a thickening agent, which causes malformations, contains dioxin, and some countries have banned its use due to harmful effects on digestive function) or E410 (carob gum, with effects in lowering cholesterol , but also possibly laxative and allergenic factor), additives are found in large numbers in an ice cream, the impact of their combination and consumption being extremely harmful (especially for children, pregnant women, people suffering from obesity or diabetics).

What could you compare it to in terms of its effects on the body?

Taking into account the caloric content of an ice cream (between 150-350 kcal, depending on the brand and ingredients) could be compared to a product of fast food (burger or spicy wings).

In the medium and long term, excessive consumption of ice cream could have extremely negative effects on the body, especially in people prone to diabetes, due to excessive sugar content.

If we take into account that in addition to an excess of sugar, with an ice cream we ingest a multitude of famous E’s and we have an intake of CARBOHYDRATE, fats saturated and proteins in the same spoon or on the same stick, ice cream is definitely an inappropriate escape on a hot day and the long-term price is much too high.

But what should homemade ice cream contain?

Unlike “commercial” ice cream, home-made ice cream contains far fewer ingredients (about a quarter), ingredients that are certainly very carefully selected. From the start, any preservatives, sweeteners and artificial colors are eliminated.

Homemade ice cream will contain milk (we can replace traditional milk with almond milk), raw sugar (besides the fact that it is much healthier, it will give it a very pleasant appearance), sour cream, vanilla (pods, not flavors) and any seasonal fruits we want or nuts.

Are there assortments on the market that can be consumed safely? Should the price help us choose them?

The price is primarily influenced by the season and the ongoing marketing campaigns, so it has no real connection with the ingredients used. Sometimes we pay for the brand, other times we pay for the ingredients promoted as “organic” used. Numerous analyzes were made on the existing brands on the Romanian market and all contain from 2 to 9 E’s, if we consider only this aspect.

If we can consider that the one that contains only two E’s is the healthiest, then we can consume it in relative safety. The best option, however, remains homemade ice cream.

But there are also many places where we can really find homemade products. These brands promote and support a style of life healthy, the products are made at home, have a low shelf life, which supports the idea that no additives have been used, the list of ingredients is accessible and, even if the products are not packaged, gives us the opportunity to know exactly what we consume.

A recent control of the Association for Consumer Protection concluded that the situation is really serious, the specialists likening the ice cream on the market to saorma. Moreover, ice cream is consumed especially by children. Should it be banned? What is the maximum amount that can be consumed by a child and by an adult?

Moderation is the key word when it comes to adult nutrition. An adult organism has already formed the defense mechanisms, it will secrete much faster the substances necessary to deal with the negative elements, and against some of them, it will have already developed resistance. Moreover, the adult knows his intolerances and possibilities allergies, so you will consciously choose the right product.

Regarding the body in formation of a child, it would be ideal to be protected from ingesting dyes and other toxic ingredients contained in ice cream. Moderate to very little, homemade ice cream (which can be made simple from yogurt combined with mashed or whole fruits) is the best alternative. Parents should pay close attention to their children’s health (the high sugar content of ice cream has an impact not only on teeth and weight, but also on the risk of developing diabetes).

Forbidden? Probably not, but only controlled ingredients, eliminated harmful ones and greater collaboration with specialists, to ensure that we do not affect the future of young generations for material gains at the expense of a healthy society. Or we can simply rely on parents’ reasoning and their ability to make the right choices for their children.

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