Can an ice cream ever be healthy?

SOME ice creams claim to be every bit as tasty as traditional makes, with fewer calories, low or no added sugar, and a fraction of the fat. But are they any healthier and how do they taste? Dietitian HELEN BOND assessed a selection. We then rated them.

Halo Top Vanilla Bean

473ml, €5.75, Tesco and ocado.com. Per 100ml (two small scoops): calories, 59; saturated fat, 0.8g; sugar, 4.9g; protein, 3.9g

CLAIM: Guilt-free ice cream with 280 calories in a tub.

VERDICT: Added fibre (8% of daily needs) gives this lowcalorie dessert a creamy feel. Sweetened with stevia and erythritol, considered healthier than sugar, with less impact on blood glucose, fewer calories and toothfriendly. In large amounts, they can cause diarrhoea, but you’d need to eat at least two tubs to suffer. 4/5

TASTE: Rich and custardy vanilla flavour. 4/5

Overall rating: 8/10

Yoomoo Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

500ml, €2.99, most supermarkets. Per 100ml: calories, 95; saturated fat, 0.5g; sugar, 15.6g; protein, 1.8g CLAIM: Guilt-free, low in fat.

VERDICT: Made with yoghurt, this is low-fat, but has nearly four teaspoons of sugar per two-scoop serving. On the plus side, you’ll get 7% of your daily calcium and 8% of your fibre. 2/5 TASTE: Slightly artificial, but it is refreshing. 3/5

Overall rating: 5/10

Breyers Cookies And Cream

500ml, €5.60, most supermarkets. Per 100ml: calories, 70; saturated fat, 1.2g; sugar, 5.5g; protein, 3.9g

CLAIM: Lower calories, higher protein, lower sugar.

VERDICT: Has added maltodextrin (a starch), rather than fibre used in many lowfat ice creams for creaminess. The saturated fat is kept lower by using skimmed dairy, plus some cream. The sugar is largely replaced with erythritol and stevia. 3/5

TASTE: Dense and creamy texture, but there’s a slightly odd aftertaste. 3/5

Overall rating: 6/10

Ben & Jerry’s Caramel Cookie Fix

500ml, €7.45, supermarkets. Per 100ml: calories, 128; saturated fat, 2.7g; sugar, 14g; protein, 2.2g

CLAIM: Light on fat, and heavy on flavour.

VERDICT: A lower-fat version of their cookie dough ice cream, less cream and a higher proportion of skimmed milk make this healthier, with two-thirds less saturated fat and a third fewer calories than the original version.

There are still more than three teaspoons of sugar per two-scoop serving — the full tub is equivalent to 2½ Mars Bars in terms of calories. 1/5

TASTE: Not quite as creamy as the full-fat version. 3/5

Overall rating: 4/10