Ice Cream is Good for You!

Ice Cream is not only good, it’s good for you too! But don’t overdo!

Ice Cream in the Food Pyramid

Dietary guidelines from the Food Pyramid tell us to include 2-3 portions of milk, yogurt or cheese in our diet everyday. USDA says okay to Ice Cream.

Fat in Ice Cream

Recently, food scientists have discovered there is good fat and bad fat. Everyone needs some good fat in their diet. Fat is an important part of a healthy diet, because it helps our bodies and brains stay healthy.

Fat is used by the brain and the nervous system. Toddlers and young children need a good amount of fat because their brains are developing so quickly. Kids from 6-8 years old should eat 50-60 grams daily. Kids from 9-12 years old should have 60-75 grams in their diet each day. If you have a balanced diet, about 30% of calories should come from fat.

Food labels list the fat content per serving size, so it isn’t too hard to figure out if you are getting enough fat in your diet.

For example:
On average, Peanut Butter contains 16 grams of fat in a 2 Tablespoon serving. Compare that with Ice Cream that contains 14 grams of fat in one serving.

Good Facts About Fat

Fat helps fuel the body. Energy comes from burning fat. Fat helps vitamins travel in the body to where they are used to build healthy cells. Fats are necessary to make hormones. And it takes fat to create tissue for the nervous system. Without fat we wouldn’t think clearly or move as quickly.

What is Ice Cream?

According to Canada’s Food and Drug Act Ice Cream is mostly air. In fact, only 36% of Ice Cream is solid, that leaves 64% puffed air. Out of the 36% solid, only 8% of Ice Cream is milk/fat, 2% is flavor, syrup, fruit or nuts.

What’s your favorite Ice Cream?

A survey by the International Dairy Foods Association reported Vanilla as the most popular Ice Cream flavor. Here’s the breakdown:

1. 29% Vanilla
2. 12% Chocolate
3. 11% Nuts
4. 8% Neapolitan
5. 7% Cookies/Baked Flavors
6. 5% Fruit
7. 4% Candy Flavor
8. 3% Strawberry
9. 3% Chocolate Chip
10. 3% Mint Chocolate Chip
11. 2% Coffee
12. 2% Fudge/Marble
13. 11% Miscellaneous /Everything else

Vanilla sells the most because it’s the main ingredient in milk shakes, Ice Cream cakes, banana splits and it’s great on Apple Pie!

The Right Amount

Wise people tell us that Moderation is the Key to Good Health Habits. What that means is too much is not a good thing but too little probably isn’t very good either. There is a balance that is correct. So when it comes to Ice Cream how do you know what’s right? Simply, you don’t want to eat lots of it in one sitting , and you don’t want to eat it every day.

Keep Ice Cream special and you won’t eat too much. Eat Ice Cream on special occasions or just once in a while. Ice Cream was designed as a dessert treat for Kings. It adds sweet fun after a meal. It adds delicious delight to Birthday Celebrations.

Remember, a portion of Ice Cream is just one scoop.

Follow the guidelines and you won’t overdo. You can Eat Ice Cream and Enjoy it too!