Is ice cream the main character of summer food really junk food?

　　How many people can resist the temptation of ice cream in the hot summer?

However, there are also many people who struggle with eating ice cream and think it is a kind of junk food.

To be fair, in high-quality ice cream, milk, milk powder, whey powder, eggs and many other ingredients with high nutritional value are added, so it is the one with the highest nutritional value among cold drinks.

Among them are vitamin A and vitamin D, as well as vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12. The protein and calcium content of some products can even reach the level of yogurt.

　　The protein and calcium content of ice cream is comparable to yogurt

　　But the calories are much higher

　　According to the data on the food composition table of our country, 100 grams of ice cream contains 126 mg of calcium and 2.4% of protein.

It is a bit unreasonable to say that it is junk food.

But is it really fair to compare ice cream to yogurt?

　　The fact that cannot be ignored is: Compared with drinking yogurt, the difference between protein and calcium may not be large, but there is a fact that cannot be ignored: the calories of ice cream are much higher!

I randomly found three ice creams with low to high calorie values ​​in the supermarket.

Their nutritional content table data is as follows (calculated based on the net weight of 100 grams of product):

　　Product A: The heat is 892 kJ, which is equivalent to 213 kcal.

It is more than twice as much as 100 grams of plain yogurt (the average calorie of full-fat yogurt is about 90 kcal/100 grams); the protein content is 2.0 grams.

Compared with 100g of plain yogurt, it is one-third lower (according to the national standard, the protein content of pure yogurt should not be less than 2.9g/100g); the fat content is 15.0g (approximately equivalent to 5 times that of full-fat yogurt); The compound content is 17.8 grams (approximately 1.5 times that of ordinary full-fat yogurt, based on the carbohydrate content of sweet yogurt 12.0 grams).

　　Product B: calories 1232 kilojoules, equivalent to 295 kilocalories (more than 3 times that of 100 grams of plain yogurt); protein content of 3.1 grams, equivalent to or slightly higher than 100 grams of plain yogurt (according to the national standard, the protein content of pure yogurt should not be Less than 2.9 g/100 g); fat content 20.3 g (approximately 7 times that of full-fat yogurt); carbohydrate content 28.7 g (approximately 2.4 times that of ordinary full-fat yogurt).

　　Product C: calories 1522 kJ, equivalent to 364 kcal (about 4 times that of 100 g plain yogurt); protein content 2.4 g, less than 100 g plain yogurt, but equivalent to flavored yogurt (according to the national standard, flavored yogurt protein The content should not be less than 2.3 g/100 g); the fat content is 29.6 g (approximately 10 times that of full-fat yogurt); the carbohydrate content is 22.7 g (approximately 1.9 times that of ordinary full-fat yogurt).

　　Ice cream with many milk ingredients

　　Relatively good

　　Why is the difference in calories between the three products relatively large?

This is because they are of different types.

Product A is milk fat ice cream, containing at least 40% raw milk. Product B and Product C both contain crispy crust, cones, etc. The proportion of milk ingredients is relatively low, but it contains vegetable oil, white sugar, wheat flour or starch, etc. ingredient.

There is no doubt that the nutritional value of product A is relatively high.

　　According to my country's relevant standards (GBT 31114-2014 frozen beverage ice cream), ice cream is divided into three types: full milk fat, half milk fat, and non-dairy fat.

Each type is divided into two types: "clear type" and "combined type".

Whole milk fat contains more cream.

Non-dairy cream is made with vegetable oil without cream.

Half-milk fat is in between.

The so-called "clear type" means that there is only ice cream, no crispy skin, cones, cakes, etc. in it.

　　The protein content of the clear product cannot be less than 2.5%, and the combined product cannot be less than 2.2%.

The fat content of whole milk fat products cannot be less than 8.0%.

The clear type of the galvanized fat and non-dairy fat type cannot be less than 6.0%, and the combined type cannot be less than 5.0%.

　　In short, for ice cream, raw materials such as milk, milk powder, and whey powder will not increase the caloric value of the product.

The nutritional value of ice cream, including protein, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, and a variety of B vitamins, is derived from these ingredients, so ice cream with more milk ingredients is better.

　　"Chocolate Crispy" and "Egg Roll Bucket"

　　Nutritional value is not high

　　The so-called "chocolate crisps" have low nutritional value, mainly sugar + saturated fat.

Crispy cone, the main ingredient is starch + sugar + fat.

The larger the proportion of these things, the lower the content of protein, calcium and various vitamins.

　　The more ingredients such as cream, vegetable fat, sugar and starch are added, the lower the nutrient density will be.

Of course, these ingredients are not meaningless, because they provide a delicious feel to the ice cream.

　　In addition, there are emulsifiers, thickeners, phosphates and other ingredients, which add delicate texture, smooth taste, soft and porous structure, and not easy to melt.

Flavors and pigments add beautiful aromas and pleasant colors.

　　As long as they are used legally in accordance with national standards, these additives are harmless and to a large extent necessary.

Without them, the sensory enjoyment of ice cream will be greatly reduced.

　　Therefore, eating ice cream is to eat a sweet food with certain nutritional value.

However, if it is to supplement nutrition, ice cream is definitely not preferred.

If you are afraid of fat, when choosing ice cream, you can choose a small box, such as 50 grams, so that one serving will not have that high calorie.

　　By the way, ice cream also has food safety issues.

Especially if you buy ice cream stocks, you must clean up the freezer compartment, and store ice cream, ice cream, cooked food and other foods separately from raw fish, raw meat, frozen raw fruits and vegetables, etc., to avoid cross-contamination.

After all, many bacteria and viruses survive for a long time under freezing conditions, and ice cream cannot be eaten after pasteurization.

　　Text/Fan Zhihong (Member of Chinese Nutrition Society, Chief Expert of Science Communication Appointed by Chinese Association for Science and Technology)