{"id":773336,"date":"2026-07-20T05:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/773336\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T05:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:48:16","slug":"the-ice-cream-paradox-of-how-the-treat-can-be-good-for-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/773336\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018ice cream paradox\u2019 of how the treat can be good for your health"},"content":{"rendered":"

I scream, you scream, we all scream for the surprising benefits of ice cream.<\/p>\n

With Sunday marking National Ice Cream Day<\/a>, plenty of chains are offering up freebies, including one beloved franchise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And experts are giving the scoop on how the sweet summer treat can actually be good for your health.<\/p>\n

\"ThreeA fan favorite for summer, ice cream is often seen as an unhealthy food, but it could prove beneficial in surprising ways.<\/p>\n

Widely regarded as the epitome of an unhealthy food, ice cream contains a high amount of sugar, fat and calories.<\/p>\n

Consuming too many foods with added sugars and unhealthy fats increases the risk of diabetes<\/a> and heart disease, though pulling out a pint of Ben & Jerry\u2019s might do the opposite.<\/p>\n

In what researchers have dubbed the \u201cice cream paradox,\u201d it appears that those who regularly ate roughly half a cup of ice cream each day had a lower risk of metabolic disease<\/a>, despite the added fat and sugar.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, several large observational studies<\/a> have found a link between regular ice cream consumption and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

While the exact cause is unknown, the link may be explained by whey protein in dairy that benefits glucose or blood sugar regulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But before you head to the freezer, it\u2019s not the sugar and fat in ice cream that\u2019s preventing diabetes.<\/p>\n

\"ALarge observational studies have shown a connection between regularly eating ice cream and lowered risk of diabetes. EdNurg \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Rather, scientists believe that people who enjoy an occasional treat like ice cream as part of an otherwise disciplined, active lifestyle may be healthier overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get what\u2019s called reverse causation, where \u2026 people who are less well and worried about their glucose tend to avoid ice cream, and so that could be why ice cream seems protective,\u201d Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food and Medicine Institute at Tufts University, told ABC Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scientists also note that observational studies don\u2019t show that ice cream has a protective effect on health, only that there\u2019s an association between the two.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s a large amount of research showing the opposite effect \u2014 that eating ice cream has a negative effect on health.<\/p>\n

The mixed findings simply show that nutrition research often varies depending on the people studied and the context.<\/p>\n

When it comes to diet, balance and moderation matter most.<\/p>\n

Generally, people should fill up their plates<\/a> with half fruits and vegetables, a quarter lean proteins and a quarter of whole grains.<\/p>\n

Including an occasional sweet treat<\/a> while following a nutritious meal plan could reduce cravings and help boost weight loss.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t even have to look far for \u201chealthier\u201d ice cream options, with brands like Halo Top offering fewer calories and sugar and more protein.<\/p>\n

And consumers\u00a0looking for foods\u00a0they can enjoy without the guilt is not a new concept, as seen before with the frozen yogurt trend serving up a better-for-you frozen treat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I scream, you scream, we all scream for the surprising benefits of ice cream. With Sunday marking National…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[329943,168127,985,97,1492,19376,269,3284,3458],"class_list":["post-773336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ben-jerrys","tag-desserts","tag-diabetes","tag-health","tag-heart-disease","tag-ice-cream","tag-nutrition","tag-study-says","tag-weight-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}