Sugar and fat increase your triglycerides, a type of fat that can clog your arteries and make you more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. Ice cream contains both sugar and fat, and some types contain a lot of both. You don't have to give up ice cream on a heart-healthy diet, but keep portions small and make ice cream an occasional treat rather than a daily habit.
Triglyceride Diet Guidelines
You can lower your triglycerides by 50 percent if you follow a low-fat, low-sugar diet and get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, according to a scientific statement released in April 2011 by the American Heart Association. The diet limits saturated fat, found in animal products and tropical oils, to 16 g a day, and permits no more than 2 g of trans fat, a man-made fat found in margarine, shortening and other types of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Include no more than about 100 calories from foods and drinks with added sugar -- about 6 tsp., or 28.5 g. Also, drink no more than 36 oz. of regular soda a week.
Chocolate Ice Cream Nutrition
If you eat ice cream, you may leave little room for any other saturated fat or sugar in your daily menu. One cup of rich chocolate ice cream contains 377 calories, 7 g of protein and 31 g of carbohydrate. The sugar in rich chocolate ice cream -- about 26 g, or 5 1/2 tsp. -- adds up to 88 calories. Rich chocolate ice cream also contains about 25 g of fat, including 15 g of saturated fat. It provides a fair amount of nutrition, including 210 mg of calcium and 352 mg of potassium, as well as iron, magnesium, zinc, folate and vitamins A and D.
Light Ice Cream
You can more easily include ice cream with reduced fat and sugar on a triglyceride-friendly diet. One cup of vanilla, no-sugar-added ice cream contains about 10 g of sugar and 9 g of fat, including about 5.5 g of saturated fat. This amounts to about one-third of your saturated fat and sugar limits for the day. You could also reduce your portion sizes. A 1/2 cup of rich chocolate ice cream contains less than half of your daily limit of saturated fat and sugar. A 1/2 cup of no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream provides about 5 g of sugar and 2.7 g of saturated fat.
Considerations
If you want to enjoy ice cream without sacrificing your cardiovascular health, eat less meat and more vegetable protein. Good sources of protein that contain little or no saturated fat include black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, split peas, almonds and walnuts. Or choose fish, such as water-packed tuna, halibut and salmon. Read nutrition labels before purchasing sweet snacks, and avoid choices that include sugar as the first ingredient. If you bake, you can reduce sugar by half in most recipes.
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