Feature Articles: Eating Well
When You Scream for Ice Cream, Make it Low-fat
Tammy Roberts, MS, RD, LD
Nutrition and Health Education Specialist in Barton County
University of Missouri Extension
Summer is the perfect time to cool yourself with a refreshing bowl of ice cream. Ice cream is cold and can be soothing after a day in the sun but be aware you can be eating more calories and fat in that little bowl of ice cream than you had imagined.
An average American adult should consume 2,000 calories per day. If you follow the recommendation and get only 30% of your calories from fat and no more than 10% of your calories from saturated fat you would consume no more than 67 total grams of fat of which no more than 22 grams should be saturated.
Use the food label to make the best choice for you. Federal regulations stipulate that ice cream must have 10% milkfat. Gourmet or premium ice cream must have at least 12% milkfat but may have as much as16%-18% milkfat. Low fat ice cream can have no more than three grams of fat per ½ cup serving. Those milkfat percentages make a big difference in the fat and calories of the dessert you choose.
I took a trip to the grocery store to do my own comparison of calories and fat in the frozen desserts aisle of the store. The first specialty ice cream I looked at contained 310 calories, 23 grams of fat and 11 grams of saturated fat in one half cup! I would venture to guess most of us would not stop at ½ or even one cup of ice cream. The realistic amount most people would eat would be at least 1 ½ cups. That would add 930 calories, 69 grams of fat and 33 grams of saturated fat to your intake for the day. In that small bowl of ice cream, you would have consumed half your total calories, all of your fat and saturated fat for one day and half of the saturated fat for tomorrow.
There are better choices. One-half cup of regular vanilla ice cream contained 140 calories with 8 grams of fat and 4.5 grams of saturated fat. It sounds much better but keep in mind that if you ate 1 ½ cups you would have consumed around two-thirds of your total saturated fat allowance for the day. Light ice cream had 100 calories per ½ cup with 3 grams of total fat and 2 grams of saturated fat. The frozen yogurt I looked at had 100 calories but no fat in each ½ cup serving.
The reason ice cream tastes so good is that it has both fat and sugar. The taste of those two flavors together on your tongue actually cause your body to release endorphins which gives you the feeling of pleasure and makes you want more. Too much fat and sugar can contribute to weight gain. Ice cream is a soothing and refreshing treat in the summer. Use the label of the frozen dessert you buy to help determine the best choice for you.
Last update: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
 |
Site Administrator: |
|
|
|
