Ice cream becoming a 'funtional food'

COLUMBIA, Mo., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- University of Missouri researchers say they found ways to make ice cream not only tastier but healthier by adding fiber, antioxidants and probiotics.

"The idea of putting a functional ingredient into a food instead of just using the nutrients found in the food naturally takes a multifunctional approach," Ingolf Gruen, a professor of food chemistry at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri in Columbia, says in a statement.

A functional food contains health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients.

Adding nutrients such as probiotics, which help intestinal microbial balance and fiber to ice cream can improve digestive health, Gruen says.

Many diseases are caused by inflammation that starts in the intestines and improving digestive health with functional foods might reduce that inflammation, Gruen says.

"The nutrients we add often have bitter tastes and affect the texture of ice cream that we have to mask. Flavors like chocolate are easier to work with because the flavor is so strong that it can overcome other flavors from the nutrients," Gruen says.

"Another challenge is determining whether people would be upset that we're 'tampering' with a comfort food. We need to know if they would be more willing to pay for ice cream with added nutritional benefits."