Because ice cream is good for the athlete

Now that it’s starting to get hot, a good homemade ice cream is the ideal snack (if not the actual meal) also for those who practice sports. Antonio Morgese of the famous Il Rigoletto artisan ice cream parlors in Milan (which were awarded the exclusive management of the Ice Cream and Chocolate area within the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2015) explains why.

Because ice cream is good for the athlete

“After all, ice cream is energy. Gelato means sugars, therefore energy and fuel for the body. In fact, in its nutritional part it is made up of carbohydrates, in this case sugars present in a lower percentage than the common idea, ie around 20-25%; then there are obviously the fats deriving from milk or even cream which are around 6-8% and finally the proteins, partly deriving from the milk itself and possibly from the fruit which gives the flavor to the ice cream itself. Those contained in ice cream are simple sugars, i.e. mono to maximum bisaccharides (polysaccharides are almost non-existent in this case) therefore easily digestible and immediately assimilable”.

And then of course there is the water that freezes, which is presented in its usual form in sorbets or in milk which is made up of 85% of the total.

Ice cream is energy available in a short time, a true supplier of carbohydrates. “It may be ideal not so much for those who practice aerobic sports, therefore for effort and resistance, for which they are more useful than complex type carbohydrates such as pasta but anaerobic sports where the effort is concentrated in a short time – sprints, jumping in athletics, for example, even half an hour on the bike”.

Although fats are present in ice cream in very small quantities, from a nutritional point of view the sorbet is absolutely devoid of them and adds fruit fiber (today in reality it is also possible to make chocolate ice cream with water alone) and obviously fructose. And it is also ideal for those who are lactose intolerant.

Which the ideal ice cream for an athlete before the performance? And then? “Probably a banana ice cream that also contains potassium. Only high-end ice cream parlors also have dairy-free sorbet. A good quality ice cream, however, hardly contains less than 40-50% fruit, which in some cases reaches up to 65%”.

As the brewers taught us that their drink is perfect for replenishing mineral salts after the performance (if you don’t believe it, read here), now it’s up to the ice cream makers too: “To recover energy, a citrus ice cream would be perfect, orange, mandarin or lemon, able to raise the levels of salts that arrive intact to the athlete. Perhaps carrot ice cream would be even more suitable, to be produced at home as well”.

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