If you have a fondness for cold, sweet desserts, a scoop of ice cream or sherbet can be the perfect ending to a meal. But calories aside, there are other factors to consider, such as the amount of saturated fat and added sugars in these icy treats. Whenever you head for the freezer department, read the nutrition facts label to make sure your frozen treat is low in calories, added sugar and fat.
Definitions
Sherbet has a base of fruit juice and sugar with a dollop of added milk or cream, gelatin and/or egg whites, giving it an icier texture that's more akin to a dairy-free sorbet. Ice cream, on the other hand, contains primarily milk or cream or an egg custard base made with these dairy products, along with added sugar and flavorings, such as chocolate, vanilla or fruit. This frozen confection, which contains considerably more milk fat, has a creamier texture and richer taste.
Calories
The number of calories in sherbet and ice cream can vary wildly, depending on the brand you choose. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a cup of sherbet contains between 240 and 260 calories. The same serving of ice cream can have considerably fewer calories -- only 140, if you choose a fat-free brand with no added sugar. However, the popular ice cream brands you see in your grocer's freezer in succulent flavors like rum raisin, chocolate chip cookie dough and fudge brownie can have as many as 560 to 580 calories per cup.
Saturated Fat
Sherbet generally contains between 1 and 2 percent milk fat, while ice cream typically contains at least 10 percent milk fat. As a general rule, sherbet has less saturated fat compared to your average ice cream -- around 1 g, compared to the saturated fat in ice cream, which can vary disparately. Fat-free ice cream has no saturated fat, and low-fat ice cream can have around 2 g of saturated fat per cup-sized serving. However, some premium ice cream brands contain as much as 22 g saturated fat, says the CSPI, putting you over your daily limit.
Added Sugar
Added sugars are another consideration when calorie counting. Unless your sherbet or ice cream is sweetened with a synthetic sweetener, such as aspartame, sugar contributes to some of the calories. Sugar is nutritionally valueless and calorie-dense, at 4 calories per gram of sugar. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, a cup of orange sherbet contains some 36 g of total sugars, giving you 144 calories from sugar. The same serving of chocolate ice cream has around 33 g of total sugar. Even fat-free chocolate ice cream has a considerable amount of added sugar -- around 28 g per cup. Calories from sweet treats like ice cream and sherbet fall into a special category called "discretionary calories," says the USDA. You probably have far fewer than these than you think, if you're not physically active -- between 100 and 300 calories a day.
Other Tips
The calorie count in a serving of fat-free, no-sugar-added ice cream can be less than what you find in a serving of sugar-loaded sherbet. But regardless of which frozen treat you choose, the CSPI points out that it should not be more than the size of a tennis ball. A half-cup is typically considered a serving size.
Member Comments