Is ice cream really harmful to health: What will happen if you eat it every day

Is it bad to eat ice cream every day

Tamar Samuels, a registered dietitian and co-founder of Culina Health, hesitates to label any food (or frequency of eating it) as "good" or "bad." According to her, this could potentially lead to unhealthy relationships with food.

Furthermore, everyone has their own dietary needs, which can vary greatly from person to person.

Registered dietitian Maggie Michalczyk shares a similar opinion.

"I don’t like classifying one type of food as ‘bad’ or that you are ‘bad’ if you eat XYZ, but as we know, there are more nutritious foods and less nutritious foods out there. Ice cream is a calorie-dense, high-sugar, high-fat food that can be enjoyed in moderation in a healthy diet," noted the expert.

What are the benefits of ice cream

Unlike many other sweets, ice cream does have some health advantages.

"The protein and fat found in ice cream can help slow the absorption of sugar, which is better from a blood sugar standpoint than something like gummy bears, which are almost exclusively all sugar and will spike your blood sugar more. You are also getting a little bit of protein and calcium when you eat ice cream," said dietitian Michaczyk.

Additionally, milk and cream are good sources of vitamin A, an essential nutrient for eye health and immune function support.

These dairy products also contain choline, which plays a vital role in early brain development and metabolism.

The higher fat content in ice cream can also contribute to greater satiety compared to other desserts that are mainly sugar and refined carbohydrates. Of course, it all depends on the fat content and source of the dairy products in the ice cream you buy.

High-quality ice cream is a decent product. (Photo: freepik.com)

Recent studies also show that despite the high content of saturated fats, consuming dairy products from whole milk does not increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, it's worth noting that research on this topic mostly examined dairy products from unpasteurized milk, which are considered slightly healthier than ice cream, for example, milk, cheese, and yogurt.

Size matters

Regardless of whether you opt for dairy-free or traditional ice cream, all dietitians emphasize that if you're going to eat ice cream every day, the most important thing to remember is portion size.

"A single serving, (which is often a) half-cup, per day is the maximum I recommend for most. However, there are certain situations where more than that can be helpful ― for example, when someone needs to put on weight or has extremely high-calorie needs," says the expert.

It's also important to look at your overall diet. If you're consuming a lot of sugar throughout the day, adding ice cream to that mix probably isn't the best idea.

Also, read about what you need to eat to be healthy.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.