Croissants. Hazelnuts. Ice cream.

Sounds like the ideal bikini season diet!

I recently enjoyed a treat from the Carissa’s x Kith collaboration in East Hampton. 1130a shortly after the Newton Lane location started serving these specials. Honestly, I consider ice cream a BLD-approved (breakfast, lunch and dinner) meal. I chose a cup of The Hazelnut Croissant, which is Carissa’s hazelnut croissant mixed with vanilla ice cream and topped with a few bits of Kariot hazelnut cream cereal.

It was…okay. The concoction was similar to mixing pure vanilla ice cream with Ghirardelli cocoa powder- it forms this creamy consistency between soft serve and a milk shake.

In the age of Ozempic, the last thing people are doing is eating a giant cup of ice cream during the Summer. But, the notion of unwanted extra poundage did not bother me. My concern was really about the impact on my overall digestive health.

Is ice cream good or bad? According to Ayurveda, ice cream slows down digestion and takes forever to process. This might increase Pitta-related cardiovascular and gastrointestinal illnesses because of the increase in heat that may occur to help the breakdown activities. Vata and Kapha may be negatively effected with IBD and edema due to the amount of time undigested ice cream sits around in the GI tract.

Additionally, ingredients matter. This ancient method of health also insists that all food, not only ice cream, is better when pure and fresh.

So, was my brunch choice a good idea?

The $cience

Ice cream is considered heating in Ayurveda because it increases metabolism. In turn, it increases Pitta heat. This is because digestion increases too much. This disrupts the microbiome in the GI tract. Agni, or fire, translates to metabolic and enzymatic processing during digestion, absorption and metabolism. High agni, results in inflammatory conditions like ulcerative colitis (UC) and increased sugary cravings. In cases of overabundant Vata conditions, ice cream may produce ama, or toxins. This reduces agni and leads to insomnia, anxiety and dry skin. In Kapha-prone types where digestion is slow and agni is low, metabolism slows further, risk of diabetes increases and lethargy intensifies. Agni is not confined to the stomach, it takes place in all tissues and organs from the liver to the dermis.

Adding inulin, fiber and sheep’s milk to ice cream may help deliver probiotics to the small intestine. Ayurveda has recommended cow's milk alternative cheese and fresh ice cream for Pitta and Vata. This may have been foresight before assay tools were available for detailed analysis of the microbial system.

Like bioactive sodas, engineered ice cream to deliver probiotics is speculative. A 2022 study tested delivery through the GI tract and found the best combo in a simulated system.

The problem with making healthy ice cream is that people do not usually buy it. Like other hyped foodie foods that get lines around the corner, ice cream needs to taste really good. This means it needs to have ingredients that make you want more. You know, like those McDonald’s forever chemicals? According to a 2022 Today article, any ice cream with caramel, chocolate and Oreos tops the list of favorite flavors.

Considering that fat in ice cream helps to stabilize probiotics, consumers may like real ice cram better than reduced fat dairy or plant-based frozen desserts. People prefer real sugar and real milk as opposed to stevia or coconut milk. Unfortunately, sugar, also contained in milk, disrupts digestion because it influences unhealthy microbes.

Food transforms from sweet to sour to salty on it’s path from the mouth through the stomach to the small intestine over a 3 hour period. After that, heat is produced to help absorption.

Reaching or maintaining stability in the GI tract provides overall health beyond the gut-brain axis. Adding effective combinations and strains of Bifidobacterium or Lacticaseibacillus, apple fiber and inulin, have been shown to increase probiotic influence. These survive the early stages of digestion from ingestion to processing in the small intestine. Bifidobacterium may regulate UC remission, psoriasis and acne. These may be experienced results from reduced mucosal inflammatory responses.

Bottom Line

Carissa’s will continue their Kith Treats collaboration throughout the Summer in the Hamptons. Though the first try was unimpressive, I may return for their ice cream sandwich. If you have tasted Carissa’s Miso Chocolate Chip cookie, then you understand the importance of second chances.