There is no need to worry about FOMO when one is following a dairy-free lifestyle and all the dairy-free items like ice cream can do no harm to the body. No matter what you are vegetarian, non-vegetarian or flexitarian, grab your dairy-free ice cream spoon as according to the study there are a few amounts of animal products in these items and no flavor at all.
All the attention is now grabbed by non-dairy products as it has become the fastest growing part of frozen dessert category. The rise in the acquisition of dairy-free items is only because of one single factor – demand. On the lighter note, there are many Americans who are looking to follow the plant-based diet.
There can be many reasons to leave dairy-free products but according to health experts, the main reason is the energy provided by the plant-based diet. But there are some non-dairy items which are even worse than regular ice cream and harm body a lot.
Nowadays, milk and cream are replaced by dairyless frozen items like coconut, almond or cashew milk. All the other ingredients in the normal ice cream and its counterpart dairy-free ice cream are almost same.
In both cases, coconuts are important ingredients for the manufacturers. The rich fat of coconut makes frozen and creamy vegans. But on the other hand, it also gathers more saturated fat as compared to the dairy version of this food item. According to a research, coconut made pints are more filled with saturated fat than those made with cashew, soy or almond. Coconut is ideal for making creamy frozen treats but its higher percentage in saturated fat can cause an elevation in cholesterol level which increases chances of heart attack.
There are some brands who have 20+ gg of sugar, 15g of saturated fat and up to 250 calories per coconut serving of half-cup. On average, dairy-based ice creams have 2-5 g saturated fat, 150 calories and 10+ g of sugar. The ideal vegan scoop contains 16g of sugar, 5g of saturated fat and 16g of sugar.
The nut-based percentage is higher in the products of brands like “Almond Dream” and “So Delicious”. While the most diet-friendly products are available at the brand “Halo Top”. On average, there are 70 to 90 calories in Halo Top products and have less than 8g of sugar as well with low saturated fat.
In recent years, dairy-free ice cream is replaced by many natural items on store shelves like coconut milk and almond milk. It has also been noticed that some of the dairy-free ice cream alternatives have more fat than the ice cream itself.
Therefore, it is necessary to choose wisely when looking for dairy-free ice cream alternative. To the delight of dairy-free products, some of the ice cream alternatives taste the same as the ice cream itself. According to reports, some dairy ingredients have adverse effects on the human body as it may cause troubles for the inflammatory system. Fat in dairy-free products causes an increment in sugar levels which then cause weight gain.
Two products were compared to note the difference dairy-free products and their counterparts and for this purpose, “Breyers Chocolate Ice Cream” was compared with “So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Milk”. It was found that both items have 140 calories and 7g fat. However, the two products have slightly different content weight in terms of saturated fat and cholesterol.
But in terms of many ingredients, the two lied in the same category. Availability of ice cream alternatives has put pressure on the manufacturers to remove harmful ingredients like artificial flavors and syrups from the product. What’s good for the company sale may not be good for the human body, therefore, to maintain the natural level of the food, it is important to ban the use of injurious ingredients from dairy-free items.
Whenever you strive for ice cream, make sure to read the percentage of ingredients printed on it and choose accordingly. Try to find one which is low in saturated fat and artificial flavor.