Why You Should Avoid Overindulging In Ice Cream Right Now

Should we all be avoiding ice cream? Say it ain't so! Winter or summer, rain or shine, triumph or tragedy, everybody knows a girl's true best friend isn't diamonds, it's Ben and Jerry's. Not that men don't enjoy it either, along with Haagen-Dazs, Baskin-Robbins, Dairy Queen. The only bad ice cream is no ice cream at all. Especially now, when life just hasn't been the same since...well, we can't even remember when. Even a few months ago seems like ancient history as we adjust to the fact that the "new normal" seems to mean nothing will ever be normal again. We're all going to need an extra scoop of sweet, creamy deliciousness to help us hang in there. Forget Taco Tuesday, times like these seem to call for making every day Sundae Funday, and it would be no surprise if even the premium ice cream brands abandoned making cute little pint-sized containers in favor of gallon-size buckets. And yet, wouldn't you know, there's always something trying to spoil things. Throughout the duration of the pandemic thus far, the internet has been rife with rumors regarding how the virus spreads and how it can be avoided. Much of this so-called information ranges from the dubious to the downright dangerous. Lately there's been a rumor making the rounds that eating ice cream or other frozen foods or even cold drinks could increase your chances of catching coronavirus. The rumor, which purports to be advice from UNICEF Cambodia, an organization which vehemently denied any involvement, seems to be based on the idea that heat could possibly destroy the virus. By some stretch of logic, the anonymous trolls behind the rumor distorted this to mean that consuming anything cold that supposedly might lower your body temperature should be avoided at all costs. UNICEF Cambodia was anything but pleased to be linked to this rumor, tweeting: "Misinformation about pandemics can cause somebody's life. Please take this issue seriously, stay informed and do not fall prey to fake news." Charlotte Gornitzka, a woman who is currently working for Unicef to combat coronavirus misinformation, also said in a press release for UNICEF that the rumor attributing coronavirus risk to cold food consumption is, quote, "of course wholly untrue." Though we're not exactly sure at this point just how heat does or does not affect the virus, Professor Sally Bloomfield of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine broke down why this particular rumor is a load of bunk. She revealed to the BBC that the temperature of foods or liquids you consume won't affect your body temperature, and that once the virus is inside your body, there is nothing you can eat or drink that will help to fight it off. The Harvard Health Blog published by Harvard Medical School cautioned that the rumor about ice cream causing coronavirus has also been linked to a years-old video about avoiding infection through diet modification, a video that has nothing whatsoever to do with the current virus and one that they describe as "useless." Okay, now for some bad news, although it's really not much of a scoop to reveal that your standard deliciously sugar-laden ice cream is not exactly the healthiest food you could be consuming on a daily basis. That's because, according to nutritionist Sydney Greene, ice cream's two main ingredients, dairy and sugar, come together for a combo that causes inflammation in the body. As Greene explained to Eat This, Not That!, "[A high amount of inflammation in the body] taxes the immune system, leaving us more susceptible to disease and illness...Processed foods, with their high sugar levels, omega-6 fatty acids, excess sodium, and junky additives can stoke the fire of inflammation." But are people heeding this warning? The latest numbers say no. Food Navigator reports that consumption of ice cream has been way up during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic coming to the United States, with Americans downing over 30 percent more of this sweet substance than in pre-quarantine days. Dr. James Richardson, a cultural anthropologist now working as a business analyst, attributes this rise in demand to emotional eating, and no surprises there. What else are you supposed to do, with millions of people suddenly having lost their jobs and dealing with economic uncertainty, not to mention the dangers of the virus itself. In other words, these are hard, hard times, the kind of times that comfort foods like ice cream were made for. So it's no wonder people are eating more of it, even though it may not be, overall, the wisest approach. Watch the video to see why you should avoid overindulging in ice cream right now! #IceCream #Pandemic