5 Suprising Health Benefits of Ice Cream

We love ice cream! In fact, so does most of New Zealand. Did you know that New Zealand is the world’s largest consumer of ice cream per capita? It’s true. As Kiwis, we’re also lovers of the great outdoors and natural, wholesome food! After a long bike ride, hike or visit to the gym, it’s time to stop feeling guilty when you dig into a bowl of PURE New Zealand Ice Cream. Let’s look at some of the surprising health benefits of ice cream.

1. Loaded with vitamins and minerals

Ice cream’s main ingredient is milk. Milk and milk products contain a great balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates and are a good source of nutrients, including calcium, riboflavin, phosphorous, vitamins A and B12. Add to this the ingredients used to create the flavours and you often add more nutrition! For example, dark chocolate is loaded with iron, magnesium and zinc, especially if it contains over 70% cocoa, like the 72% dark chocolate used in PURE NZ Ice Cream. In fact, PURE NZ Ice Cream is packed with wholesome milk and our flavours are created using natural ingredients – that means no artificial additives and lots of pure vitamins and minerals.

2. Calcium helps strengthen your bones

Most of us know that calcium is good for our bones. Did you also know that the recommended daily intake of calcium for adults is 700mg. Calcium accounts for 1-2% of adult body weight and 99% of that is stored in our bones (the remaining 1% is found in our blood). Milk and milk products (including ice cream), along with green leafy vegetables and nuts, are great sources of calcium. By the way, to absorb calcium you also need vitamin D. We get most of our vitamin D from the action of the sun on our skin. What better excuse do you need for a bowl of ice cream on a warm sunny day?

There’s even better news about calcium. There is a growing body of research that suggests that calcium may help weight loss. A small study published in the Obesity Research Journal found that a calcium-rich diet enhances fat burning!

3. Stimulates the brain

A scientist at Kyorin University in Tokyo conducted a study to see whether an ice cream breakfast could stimulate the brain. The researcher compared a group of people who had ice cream with a group who had a glass of cold water first thing in the morning – the group who ate ice cream were much more alert. Ok, so there’s no information to say whether or not the water drinkers also had food to eat, so we should take this research with a pinch of salt… Having said that, according to a report by The Telegraph , Nutritional Psychology Doctoral Researcher, Katie Barfoot said, "Our brain needs glucose to function and a high-glucose meal will aid mental capacity considerably compared to a fasted brain”. We will leave that to you to decide!

4. Gives you energy

it’s a fact that ice cream contains lots of sugar - and sugar contains glucose, a key nutrient that provides our bodies with instant fuel. Sugar has a reputation of being unhealthy, but the truth is that a little sugar is not so bad. PURE New Zealand Ice Cream contains natural cane sugar, with no synthetic sugars or artificial additives. Feeling like you need some instant energy – go grab a small bowl of PURE!

5. Makes you happy

Ice cream, along with chocolate, is well known for helping when we might need a pick-me-up. We’ve all seen a movie where someone consoles themselves with a tub of ice cream. But did you know this is actually backed by science! Ice cream helps to produce Serotonin, a feel-good hormone. Neuroscientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London scanned the brains of people eating vanilla ice cream and discovered that a spoonful lights up the same pleasure centre in the brain as winning money or listening to your favourite music!

Eat in moderation...

OK, so while eating a bowl of ice cream can have health benefits, going overboard can result in health problems. We do not advocate you eat only or too much ice cream; but since PURE is handcrafted and naturally delicious, we recommend that consumed as a part of a balanced diet, ice cream can only be good for you!