This piece contradicits itself so many times that they should have stopped with the first paragraph - pretty much like virtually every puff piece written on weight gain. One learns nothing except the same old oversimplified nuggets, all of which must be preceded by 'still...' because the research won't fall in a straight line. Call me confused as usual.
58
When asked about changing my diet, what should I eat, my cardiologist told me: "if it tastes good, spit it out"....
99
That flippant reply from your cardiologist is not helping you in any way. He should have given a more serious and thoughtful answer. Many people have difficulty trying to stick to a diet for many reasons. Also for most people, it not just what to eat, it is also about controlling the portions. Basically, it's best to stick with a Mediterranean diet - lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, less meat but more fish, olive oil, beans and pulses - and all of them taste good too. Avoid any kind of sodas, diet or otherwise as they have absolutely no nutritional value.
52
There is ice cream and then there is ICE CREAM. New products on the market exist with lowered fat and sugar that actually taste good, and make a pint feel like a binge, but without the damage. I do that fairly often as the whole pint is about 240 calories, and I call it a meal. Call me wild and crazy.
42
Well, what if you workout after the binge, get the blood flowing, wake up your body, using energy to purge all of those evil great tastings substances your cravings made you do.
I guess ice cream sandwiches are also verboten. These studies make me sad sometimes.
25
Did my mother put you up to this?
Why illustrate your article with a photo of my favorite ice cream brand and flavor?
158
There may still be some uncertainty about the physiological effects. But there's no denying the wonderful psychological effects of eating a pint of ice cream! Especially at the start of a new year.
73
The ancient Spartans didn't use up many words; they were laconic (a word that refers to them). In my opinion, one of their pithy sayings is the best advice ever given: Meden Agan - Nothing too much.
16
"...eating a pint of ice cream in a single sitting...will lead to weight gain, which increases cardiovascular risk, she said, adding, “We advise ice cream in moderation.”- writes the New York Times
Duh?
40
What about a GALLON of ice cream? Did anyone get a grant to study THAT?
233
You and the rest of us, will gladly volunteer to be guinea pigs for the experiment!
44
Next question: If I stick a bean in my nose, will I be able to get it out?
118
Ironically, as everyone who has bought Haagen-Dazs may have found out, they no longer sell ice cream in a pint size, despite your headline and photo. Years ago they cut it down to 14 oz without changing the size. That's not a pint of ice cream!!
90
What a relief! No one has determined (yet) that eating 14 oz all at once is bad.
163
I know! I had to buy a third for my last two-pint binge lest I would be left unsatisfied.
66
Too bad the "Answer" does not actually address the Question (Is there a cardiovascular difference between eating a pint of ice cream in one sitting *versus eating it over a period of time, such as a week*?) The assumption here is that if one eats the entire pint of ice cream in one sitting, they will not eat any more ice cream all week, and the rest of their diet will be the same. Is this better or worse for you than spreading that pint out over the course of a week? And not only in terms of heart attack. What about weight gain?
57
Yes they did answer the question. Did you read the article? - A heavy meal (such as a pint of ice cream all at once) does increase the risk of a heart attack !
16
Our doctor spoke to my Dad about how she used to work in the emergency room (Philadelphia I think) and every weekend night there would be an influx of patients suffering from the heavy feasts, laden with salt and fat. It made an impression on him.
Anecdotal evidence is very helpful for those who don't want to hear: stories that sound like their own lives ...
26
"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart." -- Erma Bombeck
341
Hilarious!
40
Friends of mine ran a catering company that catered the wedding of the HG family's daughter. As an extra thank you, the company delivered an entire truckload of Vanilla Swiss Almond. Now that's a binge. One pint....meh....
43
That's a great story!
11
Even a cursory review of these "studies" with 209 and 1800+ patients suggests that this is much ado about nothing. Nothing has be proven by either of these studies. Those of us who review studies like this for a living have seen these very small numbers and their conclusions be replaced with entirely different conclusions in much larger studies. Enjoy your 14 oz. In the era of Trump, you more important things to worry about.
52
Are there any binges left or should I buy a Harley Davidson and just let it go?
61
Just do it and don't look back!
16
I blame Ben & Jerry both!
22
I think that Ben and or Jerry had clogged arteries and may have had a coronary.
I'm lactose intolerant so I have an excuse to avoid dairy ice cream.
6
Two words:
Lactaid pills.
11
Ben & Jerry for president!
16
My story, you decide.
My GP had been bugging me to take statins as my cholesterol was around 215/225. I did research on side effects and said 'No way'. In April of 2016 while visiting my wife's Naturopath, I saw a single page he had written. He said that humans are the only mammal on earth that drinks milk (dairy, etc.) after weaning. That intrigued me. I drank milk freely and loved cheese. I was 78 and, except for the cholesterol, was in good health.
However, a great teacher of mine from South Africa said "You can evaluate the promise of a course of action intellectually, but you will never know its worth until you put it to the test." So, I decided right there to put it to the test and go dairy free, cold turkey. Four months later I had a blood draw and my cholesterol came back 174! In October of this year, it came back 163!! No statins!!!
Now, I still miss cheese and pizza. The vegetable substitutes just don't cut it. I drink Almond milk or water at meals. I have three cups of green tea a day. But, I'm now 80 and I figure if going dairy free can do that, then I've proven the Naturopath's point. Dairy after weaning is dangerous to your long term health. I also eat coconut ice cream in moderation. No dairy, but it does have sugar.
This will drive the dairy industry insane. The benefits of milk, cheese, ice cream, etc., can be gotten other ways in the diet. Clogging the arteries is bad for your health.
You decide, that's just my story.
156
Of course one can drink non-fat milk, which has no effect on cholesterol. What other animals do is irrelevant. Some eat grass, none cook their meat, many eat only meat.
75
Add to this wisdom a wholistic approach that makes sure you get the dietary elements you miss from dairy. Balance and moderation are a good middle way, but eliminating whole categories of food from your diet require some thought.
Oddly, one day I noticed my mind was a bit meh and just happened to have a small packet of almonds handy. Brain food, good stuff1
Great story, and many happy returns!
10
Hi Paul,
It's so hard to do controlled experiments on humans. You mentioned that your cholesterol went down and correlate it to stopping dairy cold. You also mentioned that you drink green tea and implied that you reduced your sugar intake.
I would propose that your lower cholesterol numbers came from reducing sugar. It would be an interesting experiment to start dairy again and see if your numbers go back up. Not sure you want to be a Guinea pig in the name of science. ;-)
37
The optimal dose of frozen calf growth fluid, saturated with refined sugar, is exactly zero. This is the same dose recommended for arsenic, strychnine, heavy metals and other poisons. It's stunning, when the science of long-term cardiovascular, prostate and breast cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure risk of consuming this substance (I cannot call it a "food" for humans) is so overwhelming, that any licensed doctor would recommend this to a patient in any quantity. Consuming heroin and cocaine are also addictive and deadly, so why would any doctor suggest this "in moderation" to anyone?
14
Please note that Häagen-Dazs is concerned about your health, fellow ice cream devotees. Now, when you scarf down that entire "pint," there's 2 oz LESS of it than there once was! While Ben & Jerry's et al. may be larding your arteries with that cruel, old-fashioned 16 oz, H-D is charging the same as ever, but only forcing you to scarf down 14 oz of your chosen elixir, so you can feel 2 oz less guilty about it.
128
Hey! Relax! That container of Haagen Dazs contains only 14 oz. of ice cream!
21
I can't think of a single reason not to continue eating two foods I actually enjoy--pistachio nut ice cream and low fat yogurt with fresh fruit stirred in. The scare mongers and naysayers have no hold on me!
38
Hey Ice Cream lovers everywhere you are being duped . Hagen Das Is Not a pint. It is exactly 14 ounces they kept the same container but pushed up the bottom so it looks the same as all other 16 ounce / pint ice cream competitors .
I guess 2 ounces over a long period of time will buy a beach house in the Caribbean for somebody.
53
Don’t be so cynical. They are doing a PUBLIC SERVICE by not killing off their best customers who eat a pint at one sitting. Gradually, they will be reducing the “pint” size to a single, more heathy portion.
21
If I want to treat myself, I choose a tub of frozen yogurt or, if I want to spend the money, soya-based ice cream in the health food section, both of which I make last for weeks. But whatever ice cream choice you make it's still loaded with sugar, as many brands of yogurt are. Ergo, more sugar in one's diet leads to more excess weight, especially in older adults, so I eat both in extreme moderation. Please note that today sugar is in almost everything we like, including bottled pasta sauce!
6
Riccardo, caro-- put down that bottle of pasta sauce! His name may be mud due to his poor behavior, but Mario Batali has devised the world's greatest basic tomato sauce recipe. I make a double batch with a #10 can of Marzano tomatoes from Costco, and freeze it in pints and quarts. You may then add whatever additional herbs etc which you prefer as you use it. It's about a billion times better than anything in a bottle...and about 20% the cost. And no added sugar! http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/basic-tomato-sauce-mario-batali
17
Grazie for the recipe Maria!
9
Eating a pint of your favorite flavor of Haagen-Dazs generates great pleasure. But cardiac artery disease is no fun, so the pleasure becomes like a narcotic to be avoided.
10
Sugar is the enemy but fat? Not according to the latest thinking. Dr. Gulati mentions both as problematic, but fat has been shown to LOWER cardiac risk. One example - the Atkins diet - high protein & fat, low carbs, ie, sugar.
10
I can attest to that. Undergoing a doctor-supervised ketogenic diet, in which I actually upped my intake of fat--not just coconut oil, but also butter and some animal fat--while cutting out all sugar and almost all carbs, resulted in a drop in my triglyceride level and raised my "good" cholesterol level. Lost weight as well, and feeling more alert and energetic than I did in my 40s. I'm post-menopausal, and unable to exercise much due to an orthopedic disability. It's diet approach that's not for everyone, perhaps; but certainly its success has overturned at lot of professional nutrition advice I'd been given in the previous three decades.
8
Hmm. I just passed, yesterday, the local artisan gelato place here and was thinking I hadn't had a sundae in years. Maybe over the holidays?
I'll read this through again.
As for nobody needing daily, what about pizzza with fabulous mozzarella? What about the joys of dairy, cheeses ffrom all over the world with wonderful wine to enjoy?
Unless there is a physical problem or ice cream is a trigger, I too would add my vote to ice cream moderation. Except what about, every once in a long-ish while, having ice cream as the meal itself? I like that, although I doubt that would be kosher either.
A difficult world already, and not even a pint of ice cream is safe.
15
Sweet deserts and soft drinks need only half the sugar.Sugar is Toxic.France has one of the lowest cardiac disease in the world with one of the highest consumption of dairy products.Reduce quantity and less sugar is vital for healthy life.
26
Cows milk has enzymes which cannot be found elsewhere and are essential for most bodily functions such as digestion, insulin production, and lifespan. Soy or almond "milk" doesn't contain these natural enzymes. http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/enzymes_T3.html
Even if you drink skim milk you'll still get these essential enzymes.
9
Instead of dissing dairy, perhaps the focus should be on product quality. Very few are fortunate enough to have a regular supply of farm-fresh milk, but perhaps with better distribution systems?
2
Back in my late twenties, when I had the metabolism of a sparrow, I used to polish off an entire pint of Vanilla Swiss Almond in an hour at least 2-3 times a week and never gained an ounce. Man, I miss those days...
92
I'm with you, Alan-- that's my pet flavor, too. I generally avoid ALL ice cream, as I do heroin and cocaine. Like many junkies, though, I succumbed recently, and got a pint-- the first in probably 15 YEARS. I was disappointed to find very few of the crucial almond bits, though, and wondered if they'd reduced them along with the 2 missing ounces! I actually wrote the company, and got an instant response...and then, in the mail, two coupons for full pints. Horrifying. Yet I soldiered on, determined to give H-D a full report on the density of almond bits in these other almost-pints. I can vouch for them being replete with the nuggets of joy. However, I must now return to my ice creamless existence. Like you, I miss those days of ice cream binges, followed by a couple of lower-cal days, and restoration of my 24" waist. Alas!
28
If anyone mentions Chunky Monkey or Cherry Garcia, I'm done for!
19
I only eat Cherry Garcia HD.
10
Portion control,portion control, portion control. I know people, myself included, who have cut the amounts of bad-for-you stuff they/I eat by eating more slowly, with smaller spoons, out of smaller dishes. We/I am easily tricked by this ruse into thinking less is more. We/I find that just the taste, not the quantity, is ultimately what matters in the fat-food-is-good-too Olympics.
18
How odd to come across this article after I'd just finished "Libertarians on the Prairie" by Christine Woodside (2016), which is all about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Before planned to leave on a three-year-long trip abroad with a young companion, she stopped for groceries to tide them over before the trip, including purchasing a "large container of vanilla ice cream." Later that night, she retrieved the ice cream, which she ate in bed. Her companion wondered about her the next morning when she didn't emerge from her bedroom, and found her dead..."she'd eaten the entire container of ice cream." Well - at least she died happy - ? Unclear whether an autopsy was ever ordered and whether she had a history of cardio problems, although she had endured negative side effects after multiple vaccines the previous month - vaccines which were required for her travel outside the U.S.. Eight-one at the time of her death, I can think of worse ways to go.
20
I see that I did not state who was killed by ice cream consumption - it was Rose Wilder Lane, not Laura...and she was 81 when she died. And she was "planning to leave" on a long trip with a young male neighbor (not "planned")...the devil's in the details. Also need to clarify that while Ms. Lane was leaving for her 3-year trip which never occurred, Laura had already been dead over ten years.
16
At first I misread 'Dr. Gulati' as 'Dr. Gelato.'
174
Interesting, but I don't think the article answers the question. Is eating the pint in one sitting is worse than eating it over several days?
30
I would think eating the pint in one sitting is worse because all that sugar in one sitting requires a big spike in insulin to take care of it.
6
Yes it did answer it! a heavy meal (like a pint of ice cream) does in crease the risk of a heart attack.
7
Nobody needs dairy products, and that includes ice cream. Despite what the ads claim, milk and dairy do nobody any good. For example, dairy consumption has been linked with a higher fracture risk (it might be due to the galactose in milk https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-milk-good-for-our-bones/). And the fat and protein in milk are also not healthy. Ice cream, due to it's high fat and added sugar content, is even worse. There is one exception: Cow's milk is good -- for baby cows.
24
As a nutrition professional, I agree with you that not everybody needs dairy and that it's not necessary for good health, but there are definitely situations where it can be beneficial. For you or me, the extra calories, protein, and fat might not help, but these are still valuable nutrients. What most people don't realize is how many people are at risk of malnutrition when they end up in the hospital, even those who may be overweight or obese. When patients are recovering from illnesses or surgeries, many tend to have low appetites even though they have higher needs for calories and protein. For these individuals, milk, yogurt, and even sometimes ice cream can be especially important sources of nutrition that can be easily absorbed by the body. I would also mention the elderly as another population with high protein needs who tend to have low appetites.
72
That may be the case, but that's not germane to this article. Also, your assertions are incredibly debatable.
57
Speak for yourself. My ancestors have consumed dairy products for centuries. I get it that YOU don't need dairy products, but I'm so glad that I can enjoy them!
29
...and then there's the paradoxical case of Donald J. Trump, Sr.
39
DJT's diet, arguably, has affected him....tho in his case it seems to be his brain vs. his heart.
24
@Mountain Dragonfly. Yes, Trump's diet is probably affecting his brain - as for his heart, nobody's willing to vouch for its existence.
156
The sole reason I noticed this article were the words, 'Ice Cream Binge' and the photo of the Haagen-Dazs. After reading the piece, I have this to say, and I'm not being sarcastic or flippant. 'Geeez, People, IT'S ICE CREAM! LIFE IS TOO SHORT, ENJOY YOUR PINT!'
213
Life might be too short because one has enjoyed too many pints of ice cream
52
I hope everyone has noticed that Haagen-Dazs no longer come in pints; they are now only 14oz...great marketing!
10
I noticed it for the same reason, and then when I saw that a pint's a binge, I was disappointed and I think the term "binge" when it comes to ice cream could use some clarification. Sure, half a cup's a serving, but how many actually get four servings from their pint? And I've seen seasonal ice cream stands where a small cone was a pint! (which maybe says more about food portions in the US than anything) I bet many people would be surprised to learn that what they eat as a treat or dessert is a "binge".
10