By Patrick Baron

PONTIAC – National Ice Cream Month has come to an end, but the popularity of ice cream can be seen year-round.

Monica Nyman with the Dairy Council told WJEZ’s Todd Wineburner about some of the health facts about the frozen dairy treat. She said there are a few indicators people can check to see if they are actually getting dairy in their deserts.

“One thing that I’ve noticed on different containers is it will say ‘ice cream’ but if it doesn’t have that ten percent milk fat it will actually say ‘frozen dairy desert’,” Nyman explained. “The reason for that is because it doesn’t have as much fat in it as traditional ice cream.”

She also noted sherbet has more sugar than traditional ice cream, while frozen yogurt is a desert people can chow down on if they are trying to watch their calories. She added though there are healthy options, people can always check the labels on the deserts to make sure they aren’t overeating.

“They all have food labels on them, they all have portion sizes,” Nyman said. “One tip I would like to give is measure it out, see what half a cup looks like in your bowl, then you can decide if you want more of it.”

Nyman said people interested in learning more dairy facts can visit www.stldairycouncil.org.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].