Sugar Free Ice Cream: is It Good or Bad for You?

Ice cream, as a dessert, is common among people of all ages. Ice cream is a rich source of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates explaining the nutritional value of it. Sugar-free ice cream is quite appealing for diabetic patients to satisfy their cravings for sweets. Some people think that sugar-free ice cream will be tasteless. But that’s not true. It is as sweet as regular ice cream.

Ice cream is usually enjoyed in the summer. People on a diet and diabetic patients prefer sugar-free ice cream to satisfy their appetite without disturbing their regular balanced diet. This article explores everything about sugar-free ice cream to confirm whether it is good to use or not.

What was the purpose of providing sugar free ice cream?

The manufacturer provided such an alternative to serve the following features.

• To improve the health of the consumer
• A better option for the diabetic patients
• It uses natural ingredients to provide a healthy snack for the consumer.

Calorie count

Every product delivers some calories to fulfill the body’s needs. Excessive calorie intake may cause weight gain and ultimately obesity with multiple problems. Sugar-free ice creams are not calorie-free items. These ice creams usually contain 25% lower calories than regular ice cream. It is a good option to consume for fitness freak people but excess of everything is bad for your health.

Two scoops of sugar-free vanilla-flavored ice cream deliver about 200 calories. This amount is more than a single scoop of regular ice cream that delivers 130 calories.

What is the recipe to prepare sugar-free ice cream?

The recipe for sugar-free ice cream 8s is quite simple.

• You need to take a liter of 4.5% fat milk.
• Start boiling the milk on medium flame.
• Add a mixture of cardamom powder, jaggery powder, and your choice of ingredients in powder form.
• Continue boiling until a thick mixture forms.
• Switch off the flame and add some butter to enhance flavor.
• Cool this mixture at room temperature.
• Then blend this mixture with cream and freeze it to attain the final ice cream form.
• You can also add flavors like vanilla or chocolate according to your choice.

Also, read The Effects of Spicy Foods on Digestion

Is it healthy to consume sugar free ice cream?

Sugar-free ice cream is also packed with calories. These ice creams are usually lower in calories than regular ice creams. Excessive use of this ice cream will surely breach your calorie limit. Therefore, it is important to maintain a proper check and balance over the daily calorie count. A healthy diet with proper exercise is key to healthy weight loss. There are also multiple variants of ice creams to consume to maintain healthy body weight. One of them is as follows:

Low-Carb or keto ice cream

Carbohydrates add a lot of calories to increase body weight. People consciously trying to lose weight go for low-carb or keto diets to lower their daily calories. To serve the same purpose, some manufacturers developed low-carb and keto ice creams to satisfy the cravings for ice cream within the calorie limit.

Low-Carb ice cream usually contains not more than 15 grams of carbohydrates. These are usually based on zero-calorie sweeteners, utilizing stevia or artificial sweeteners. Every low-carb ice cream has different amounts of carbohydrates and varying calorie counts. You must check and properly consume low-carb ice cream according to your requirements.

What are the side effects of using sugar-free ice cream?

Sugar-free ice cream is tasty and healthy for a variety of the population. But, some people prefer using regular ice cream over regular ice cream for several reasons. These are as follows:

Allergic reaction

Sugar-free ice cream uses an alternative for sugar like aspartame. Some people are allergic to aspartame because of abnormal metabolism. It is stated that 1 in every 20,000 children are born with the inability to metabolize phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is the by-product of aspartame metabolism. Phenylalanine continues to pile up in the body tissues and cells, reaching the toxicity level. A buildup of phenylalanine in the brain is extremely harmful to the growth of children.

Taste variation

Sugar in the form of glucose is the main ingredient to induce sweetness in any substance. Sugar alternatives usually mimic the sugar taste in every product. But, sugar-free or low-calorie ice cream leaves a bitter aftertaste with no creamy texture like normal. This bitter taste is enhanced by chocolate-flavored sugar-free ice cream. It leaves an unpleasant taste sensation among the consumer.

High fat content

Sugar-free ice cream usually contains a high amount of saturated fats to fulfill the contents of ice creams. Saturated fats increase the body’s limit of low-density lipids that are considered bad cholesterol. It usually increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Gastrointestinal problems

Some sugar substitutes contain sugar alcohol and may be used in sugar-free ice cream to induce sweetness. Consuming such sugar-free ice cream may induce flatulence, diarrhea, and discomfort if used in excessive amounts.

Conclusion

Regular ice creams are usually high in calories because of increased carbohydrate and fat content. People who want to lose weight prefer using low-carb or low-calorie food items. For this reason, they prefer sugar-free ice cream to satisfy their cravings for ice cream. Moreover, people with diabetes can also use this sugar-free ice cream to fulfill their craving for ice cream.

Sugar-free ice cream is a good deal to serve the cravings but it also contains calories. Excess consumption of this ice cream is unhealthy and dangerous for diabetic patients. Better to follow the protocols and utilize this ice cream properly according to your body’s requirements.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)