Whats in your ice cream?

The ingredients you will find in Ice cream has changed dramatically over the years. Ice cream used to consist of only sugar, eggs, cream, milk, and a natural flavouring. With large food manufacturers attempting to maximise products a lot of these ingredients have become synthetic and the ice cream you are now eating is truly Frankenstein food-

High fructose corn syrup: This has replaced regular sugar which in itself is not good if eaten to excess. High fructose corn syrup had become used widely in processed foods low cost and high level of sweetness. Use of high fructose corn syrup along with overconsumption of processed foods has been linked to the ever growing problem of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Diethylglycol: A cheap chemical used as an emulsifier instead of eggs is the same chemical used in antifreeze and in paint removers

Piperonal: Used in place of Vanilla flavour. This chemical is used to kill lice.

Aldehyde C-17: Used to flavour cherry ice cream. It is an inflammable liquid also used in aniline dyes, plastic and rubber

Ethyl Acetate: Used to give ice cream a pineapple flavour – and as a cleaner for leather and textiles; its vapours have been known to cause chronic lung, liver and heart damage.

Butyraldehyde: Used in nut flavoured ice cream. It is one of the ingredients in rubber cement.

Amyl Acetate: Used for its banana flavour. It is also used as an oil paint solvent.

Benzyl Acetate: Used for its strawberry flavour. It is a nitrate solvent.

Palm Oil: Introduced to ice creams to replace Trans Fats a 2006 study showed that ingestion of palm oil results in adverse changes in the blood concentrations of LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B just as trans fat does.

There are also often other E number, bulking agents and Polyols added futher water reduce the cost of producing the product.

Where does ice cream fit into a diet?

Ice cream due to its combination of high sugar and fat levels is not the ideal food to include in your diet if you are trying to loose weight. Eaten in moderation and infrequently Ice cream containing only natural ingredients can be a tasty addition to a person’s diet without too many negatives effects

Brands of ice cream that contain only natural ingredients include Mövenpick and Häagen-Dazs®.

There is also a new product which will be available in all major supermarkets from September that is an alternative to ice cream called worthenshaws. This is a dairy and sugar free alternative to ice cream that is low in calories and contains only natural ingredients. Its ingredients are Manuka Honey & Organic Coconut, Brown Rice Milk, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil and Echinacea. If you watch Dragons Den you would have seen this products.

To summarise on choosing the right products. Read you labels and if there are more than 5 or 6 ingredients in the don’t eat it