In a cone, in a cup, in a tray… These frozen delicacies are among the essential pleasures of summer.
The French swallow about six liters per person per year, including more than four liters between April and September according to the Association of Ice Cream Companies.
But if all are refreshing, many are very fatty and too sweet, believes Nathalie Négro, head of the nutritional center of the thermal baths of Brides-les-Bains (Savoie).
Between sorbet, ice cream and ice cream, which is the healthiest?
Nathalie Negro.
Sorbets are made from a mixture of water, sugar and 25% minimum fruit, except for acidic fruits such as lemon or blackcurrant (15%). They therefore provide some vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, such as beta-carotene for apricot sorbet for example. They are thus more interesting from a nutritional point of view than ice creams and ice creams. Although they contain almost no fiber, they can occasionally replace a fruit as long as it is limited to two scoops. “Full fruit” sorbets are the healthiest, insofar as the legislation requires them to have a minimum of 45% fruit. And contrary to what one might think, ice cream does not have to have more calories. They are certainly made from milk and cream,but their sugar content is sometimes lower than that of sorbets. Ice cream, on the other hand, is a real catch-all. They may contain gelatin, coconut oil, glucose syrup, soy lecithin, etc. You have to look at the list of their ingredients before buying them to avoid nutritional disasters. If the list is too long, these are ultra-processed foods that should be avoided.
Can ice cream replace dairy?
Ice creams must contain at least 5% milk fat.
But they contain much less calcium - 55 to 150 mg for two scoops depending on the brands and flavors - than yogurt or a portion of cheese.
To have fun, however, we can eat it from time to time, instead of a dairy product and a fruit, because the balance of the diet is not built over a single day, but over a week. at ten days.
In the ice cream department, what are the main traps to avoid?
Better to ban industrial American-style ice cream which combines coconut or palm oil, pieces of cookies, a bed of caramel, etc. And scoops of ice cream in cups are always better than ice cream cones, the wafer of which is often full of sugar. Also watch out for frozen chocolate bars which are not ice cream but high calorie confectionery! Also distrust of mini formats: their small size gives you a good conscience, but as they are hardly satiating, we tend to take two in a row. The ideal is to make your own granulated ice cream by mixing 200 g of frozen fruit with 50 g of cottage cheese and a level tablespoon maximum of sugar (for 2 people). And for children, just stick a stick in a fruit petit-suisse, then freeze it,for a delicious frozen dessert rich in calcium.
