Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts
There is a growing interest in non-dairy alternatives fueled by concerns about personal health and the health of the planet. Sales of non-dairy frozen desserts have increased along with other non-dairy alternatives such as plant-based beverages, cheeses, yogurts and creamers. The aim of this study w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/4150 |
| _version_ | 1797477498216251392 |
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| author | Winston J. Craig Cecilia J. Brothers |
| author_facet | Winston J. Craig Cecilia J. Brothers |
| author_sort | Winston J. Craig |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a growing interest in non-dairy alternatives fueled by concerns about personal health and the health of the planet. Sales of non-dairy frozen desserts have increased along with other non-dairy alternatives such as plant-based beverages, cheeses, yogurts and creamers. The aim of this study was to conduct a cross-sectional survey of plant-based frozen desserts to determine their nutritional content. A total of 358 plant-based frozen desserts were analyzed from the nutrition label listed on the commercial container. The various products were based upon coconut (<i>n</i> = 126), oat milk (<i>n</i> = 63), almonds (<i>n</i> = 42), cashews (<i>n</i> = 25), soy (<i>n</i> = 11), macadamia milk (<i>n</i> = 9), olive oil (<i>n</i> = 8), faba bean (<i>n</i> = 8), canola oil (<i>n</i> = 8), rice milk (<i>n</i> = 6), sunflower milk (<i>n</i> = 6), avocado (<i>n</i> = 5), pea protein (<i>n</i> = 5) and various fruits, nuts and mixed blends (<i>n</i> = 36). While 90% of the frozen desserts had high sugar levels, 73% had high levels of saturated fat (due to the presence of coconut oil) and only one in four had high levels of fat. None of the products were fortified with calcium, vitamin D or B12, but one in six products had iron levels/serving of at least 10% of Daily Value (DV) and 1 in 6 had protein levels/serving similar to regular dairy ice cream. Food manufacturers need to produce new non-dairy frozen desserts that are more nutritious, since few brands (such as those based upon avocado, apple and hemp protein, or fava bean) presently provide consumers choices with lower saturated fat and sugar levels and/or higher protein levels. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:18:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-12ca5781acb443eeb551ecda531fe499 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:18:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-12ca5781acb443eeb551ecda531fe4992023-11-23T21:26:27ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432022-10-011419415010.3390/nu14194150Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen DessertsWinston J. Craig0Cecilia J. Brothers1Center for Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyles and Disease Prevention, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USADepartment of Biology, Walla Walla University, College Place, WA 99324, USAThere is a growing interest in non-dairy alternatives fueled by concerns about personal health and the health of the planet. Sales of non-dairy frozen desserts have increased along with other non-dairy alternatives such as plant-based beverages, cheeses, yogurts and creamers. The aim of this study was to conduct a cross-sectional survey of plant-based frozen desserts to determine their nutritional content. A total of 358 plant-based frozen desserts were analyzed from the nutrition label listed on the commercial container. The various products were based upon coconut (<i>n</i> = 126), oat milk (<i>n</i> = 63), almonds (<i>n</i> = 42), cashews (<i>n</i> = 25), soy (<i>n</i> = 11), macadamia milk (<i>n</i> = 9), olive oil (<i>n</i> = 8), faba bean (<i>n</i> = 8), canola oil (<i>n</i> = 8), rice milk (<i>n</i> = 6), sunflower milk (<i>n</i> = 6), avocado (<i>n</i> = 5), pea protein (<i>n</i> = 5) and various fruits, nuts and mixed blends (<i>n</i> = 36). While 90% of the frozen desserts had high sugar levels, 73% had high levels of saturated fat (due to the presence of coconut oil) and only one in four had high levels of fat. None of the products were fortified with calcium, vitamin D or B12, but one in six products had iron levels/serving of at least 10% of Daily Value (DV) and 1 in 6 had protein levels/serving similar to regular dairy ice cream. Food manufacturers need to produce new non-dairy frozen desserts that are more nutritious, since few brands (such as those based upon avocado, apple and hemp protein, or fava bean) presently provide consumers choices with lower saturated fat and sugar levels and/or higher protein levels.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/4150plant-based frozen dessertsvegan ice creamsugarfatsaturated fatiron |
| spellingShingle | Winston J. Craig Cecilia J. Brothers Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts Nutrients plant-based frozen desserts vegan ice cream sugar fat saturated fat iron |
| title | Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts |
| title_full | Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts |
| title_fullStr | Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts |
| title_short | Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts |
| title_sort | nutritional content of non dairy frozen desserts |
| topic | plant-based frozen desserts vegan ice cream sugar fat saturated fat iron |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/4150 |
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