by Maryrose is a 47-year-old mother of two children from California.
She is fit and healthy – she gets checks in the doctor’s office regularly every few months. And according to all conventional measures – things such as weight, blood sugar and cholesterol – it is in top shape.
But myrosis has an unusual habit.
“It was almost 13 years ago and I ate a pint ice every night,” she says.
For Australians, this is half a liter – or about three times as much as the typical recommended ice operation.
She is a purist – just vanilla, thanks. And Maryrose says that the nightly ritual is just as much a matter of relaxing and relaxing as it is around the ice itself.
Her habit began on the Pint night when she was pregnant with her first child. After she had found that it was not its health or energy level, she never stopped.
Search for answers online
I am a food and nutritionist, and my instinctive reaction, after cooking with Maryrose for our Podcast series, was that this habit definitely does not fit our standard council of balance and moderation.
How could it be that someone who eats a night eats one night, conventional wisdom of what is good for your health?
But what is healthy? And how can we make appropriate decisions about what we eat? This depends on two factors: understanding how evidence works and what role food play in our lives.
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Maryrose asked an online forum with doctors whether ice could ever be healthy.
A silly question may appear at first glance – but it came back more than she expected.
“You said pretty uniformly that this was a bad idea, I can’t, maybe I am fine now, but I know I will get diabetes, I will clog my arteries,” she says.
However, the answers included an article that pointed out a complex and controversial idea in nutritional science.
Mixed evidence was discussed that in some cases ice cream could have a protective effect against some negative health results – such as diabetes and heart disease.
What do the evidence say?
Several scientific studies show a positive connection between ice and health.
When diets are persecuted and people are followed for a long time, it seems that those who eat ice cream more often have a low risk for type -2 diabetes and even cardiovascular diseases.
“I would say what we would describe as a fairly classic and relatively strong epidemiological signal,” says epidemiologist Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz of the University of Wollongong.
“As if they were only saying a random epidemiologist, this is the graphic of this risk and potential preventive instrument. You would probably say: “Oh yes, it looks pretty convincing.”“
However, there are scientific reasons why the effects in these studies may not be “real” – a statistical anomaly as something that happens in the real world.
The studies examined this “ice cream paradox” are observation studies in which people are followed over time. This differs from randomized controlled studies, experiments in which they divided people into groups and give them different treatments or interventions.
Attempts to observe cannot prove that ice is protecting our health. You can only show that the two things are linked.
Ice is a sweet pleasure. ((Getty Images: D-no)))
The effect could therefore be explained in another way. It could be that richer people who are usually healthier overall also buy and eat more ice cream.
Or that less healthy people – say that those with heart disease or diabetes – should avoid food from their doctor like ice cream.
“People who know that they are at risk for diabetes do not eat ice cream, and people who know: ‘Boy, I will never get diabetes because I am super healthy’ eat ICE cream,” says Dariush Mozaffarian.
Weigh the good with the bad
Dr. Mozaffarian is the director of the Food and Medicine Institute at Tufts University and was involved in some studies that have an impact with ice cream in connection with ice cream.
“You get a so -called reverse causality, where … people who are less well and worried about their glucose tend to avoid ice cream, and that could be the reason why ice cream appears protective,” he says.
There are also published studies that show the opposite effect – a negative association of ice and health.
This mixed bag with knowledge is not unusual in nutritional research. There is not always a correct answer. It can depend on the group of people examined and their context.
The studies that show advantages typically come from western nations like the USA. Those who have no benefits or increased risk come from Asian cohorts such as South Korea.
It is very likely that these places have different genetics among the population, different rates of the examined conditions, different background diets and possibly even different types and quantities of ice cream.
Both study rates could be of high quality; The results can apply to different people.
Where do we have it – and myrosis?
Maryrose speaks as a “incredibly relaxing” ritual about her ice habit of Pint-A-Night.
This is a memory that foods are more than the nutrients it contains. It is part of our life, our culture and our pleasure.
All the reasons we eat, and not too much to concentrate on individual characteristics or nutrients, is part of the decision -making functions for qualified essay decisions.
Ice cream is a sole pleasure – the rest of your diet mainly consists of vegetables, fruit and lean meat – and it trains regularly.
A healthy diet is often framed with regard to self -control. The idea is that we have to move to resist temptations.
The nutritionist and food scientist Emma Beckett is the moderator of the new podcast of Radio National. ((Delivery: Emma Beckett)))
For this reason, the idea of half a pint made me uncomfortable every night. Against the deep -seated instinct, it was clear that healthy eating requires the restriction of food that we enjoy.
However, research shows that self -control is not necessarily everything it is.
Trying too hard to restrict ourselves can weaken our self -control feeling.
And it can be difficult to have self -control in times of stress or high decision -making authority. If you take part in “pampering food” – the one we consider less healthy – you can actually help promote overall controlled selection options.
While the research debate continues over ice and its health effects, the word of the experts we spoke to was clear.
It all revolves around the context – what you eat the ice, what you eat, this is not ice cream and how you eat it makes you feel.
And are not afraid to speak to your doctor or a nutritionist to help you find out the evidence and the context for your specific joyful food. They could also be stronger and health -promoting.
Emma Beckett is the moderator of the new Radio National Series Cooked.
Dr. Beckett is a food and nutritionist. She financed the A2 Milk Company for two academic research projects, guest talks, the hosting of events and the creation of facts and infographics.
Listen about ice and the concept of healthy eating in the First episode of CookedAnd Subscribe to the podcast For more.
