It is the part of the most greedy and branched ice cream cone by adults and children, selling it is almost an act of love, but not everyone knows that the tip of the pod stuffed with semi-suolid chocolate is actually much less healthy than you imagine. And not only because of the many sugars present.
The bitter secret behind chocolate on the tip
The tip of the “croissant” is so loved that it has even been transformed into a real separate snack that it is depopulating in the United States, the Muddy Bites, but what makes these tips the most delicious part of the ice cream, but also the worst part for health? The inorganic chemist of the University of Utrecht, Bert Weckhuysen, in a series of conferences dedicated to catalysis, revealed how the chocolate contained in the tip of the packaged ice cream cone, precisely to prevent it from melt completely before it is reached by those who are enjoying the croissant, suffers a hydrogenation process that makes it unhealthy like the worst junk food.
What is hydrogenation and because it hurts
But what is the reason? The reason lies at the fusion point of the chocolate which, to ensure that it does not become liquid too early or that it is not too solid, is treated with a process of hydrogenation in which it comes Adding a chocolate hydrogen molecule that in practice transforms that tip into a concentrate of saturated fats, the worst for health.
As Professor Weckhuysen at a molecular level explains saturated fats would be completely straight chains and, such as butter, they are solid at room temperature and if consumed in large quantities they would increase the level of bad cholesterol in the blood as well as obstruct the arteries. On the other hand, unsaturated fatty acids, consisting of chains that form “elbows”, have a fairly low melting point and are liquids at room temperature, such as olive oil. Failure fats can be converted into solid fats through, in fact, hydrogenation and their double bonds are then transformed into individual bonds. But precisely this technique, used for example in margarine, however, goes to transform unsaturated fatty acids into saturated fatty acids
In this regard, the WHO (World Health Organization) claims that adults and children should consume a maximum of 10% of their daily calories in the form of saturated fats. In addition, it recommends reducing the total intake of saturated fats and replacing it with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as those present in fish, seeds and olive oil.
Nonetheless, we are always talking about packaged ice cream which as such are rich in themselves of preservatives and sugars and for this reason they should be consumed in moderation or completely avoided.
The healthiest alternatives: artisanal, cup or homemade
Alternatively, you could consume the classic artisan ice creams – preferably in a cup – or think of preparing excellent homemade ice cream.
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