The "Not Milk Man" on Ice Cream Month"

July is National Ice Cream Month I can think of no unhealthier substance eaten by so many people than ice cream. Picture the Japanese cuisine, and sushi immediately comes to mind. Imagine a representative Korean food and you think of kim chee or hot/pickled cabbage/bok choy. Italy is pasta marinara. France is snails (yeech). Germany is beer. The United States of Atherosclerosis? Ice cream. I received a press release from Marti Pupillo proclaiming July as National Ice Cream month. You might want to ask Marti a question or two. She's the media representative for the International Dairy Foods Association, or IDFA. Sample questions can be found at the conclusion of today's column. Marti Pupillo - IDFA, the press release: In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90% of the nation's population. President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities." The International Ice Cream Association (IICA) encourages retailers and consumers to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month. In 2008, National Ice Cream Day will be Sunday, July 20. The U.S. ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales and provides jobs for thousands of citizens. About 9% of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, contributing significantly to the economic well-being of the nation's dairy industry.
Rather than knock ice cream as I have done on 435 previous occasions, I challenge you to replace cuisine's worst possible food with some of the best alternatives. Let's compare one-pint portions of alternatives to one pint of rich vanilla ice cream. (Fat, sugar, and fiber are expressed in grams. Cholesterol levels are in milligrams. All data is derived from USDA's Nutrient Database.) ITEM (Pint)....CAL----FAT---SUGAR---FIBER---CHOL. Ice Cream.....1064---69.32---88.40---0.0----392 Strawberries..0092---00.86---14.08---5.8----000 Blueberries....0168---00.98---29.48---7.2----000 Cantaloupe....0106---00.60---24.52---2.8----000.
Five Question for Marti (202-737-4332) 1) What did President Reagan mean when he called ice cream "nutritious?" 2) Since 1 slice of Armour bacon contains 3 milligrams of cholesterol, and since there are 392 milligrams of cholesterol in one pint of rich vanilla ice cream, would I be getting the same cholesterol contained in 131 slices of bacon if I consumed that pint? 3) Is cholesterol good for you? 4) Regarding those tens of thousands of cows being slaughtered in California this week because of tuberculosis...they've been milked for the past six months and that milk has been turned into ice cream and distributed nationally. Should I be concerned for my health, or should I just be grossed out that I've been eating processed body fluids from diseased animals? 5) Is it fair to still call California cows "happy cows?" 6) President Reagan used to nod off toward the end of his term during cabinet sessions and get confused with facts when speaking to reporters. Do you think that the Alzheimer’s he developed and eventually died from contributed to his decision to call ice cream "nutritious?" "Those foods should be chosen which best supply the elements needed for building up the body. In this choice, appetite is not a safe guide. Through wrong habits of eating, the appetite has become perverted. Often it demands food that impairs health and causes weakness instead of strength. We cannot safely be guided by the customs of society. The disease and suffering that everywhere prevail are largely due to popular errors in regard to diet." - Ellen G. White.
Robert Cohen http://www.notmilk.com/