Sunday, February 26, 2012

We All Screen For Ice Cream

           Ice cream is something we all have come to know and love throughout the years. Here at Virginia Tech we are lucky enough to have our own creamery right here on campus. Today as I waited at Deet's to purchase me frozen treat, I began to think about where it can be traced back to For me ice cream makes me think of fun summers with friends, ice cream parties for town soccer, birthday parties and weekends at my family's house in New Hampshire. It brings back memories of childhood and happiness for me. Now science is showing that ice cream has the same effect on many people today.
Making ice cream seems like a simple process but its not. Ice cream is mainly a combination of milk fat, non-fat milk solids, sugar and air.  Along with these it also contains emulsifiers, which keep it smooth and stabilizers that hold the air bubble structure together for its texture. Due to these ingredients regulations are strict about what is actually considered ice cream and what is not. In recent years there has been a trend moving toward substitutes like frozen yogurt, because it is healthier then normal ice cream. Many chains like Pink Berry, The Frosty Parrot, Red Mango and Yogli Moogli are using this substitute to create places where people can serve themselves. This ensures that people can make whatever they want.
Ice cream contains ingredients that have different effects on the human body, which can be both physical and mental. The amino acids that make up the proteins, boosts neurotransmitters that make people for energetic and alert. Tryptophan is another neurotransmitter that is found in milk, but it has been found to lead to a calming effect due to increasing serotonin production. However many people, will eat ice cream when they are stressed and in this case those calming effects do not occur because of the stress being put onto the body.  Sugar that can make a person energetic can also be harmful. Since ice cream is contains a large quantity of sugar it can have a definite effect on a person's blood sugar levels. If it is too high signs can be depression, fatigue, blurred vision and irritability. The specific type of sugar found in most dairy products is lactose. Another problem associated with it are mood swings caused by having a mild allergy to it. With these health effects we need to be conscious that even though it tastes good we are being careful about what we put in our body.
           

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