By Haley Verre
Staff Writer

Frozen yogurt “fro-yo” has been a trendy treat recently, and many are convinced that it is healthier than ice cream. Yet, choosing frozen yogurt over ice cream isn’t always the best decision health-wise.

While generic ice cream tends to contain more calories and more fat, a low-fat ice cream may have less calories or fat than premium frozen yogurt.

For example, a half a cup of Breyer’s Slow Churn Creamy Low Fat Vanilla ice cream has 90 calories and three grams of fat, but Ben and Jerry’s frozen yogurt has two hundred calories and three grams of fat per serving, which is half a cup as well.

Having less fat does not necessarily mean something is healthy either. Additives can be used in frozen yogurt to compensate for the lack of fat.

The frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry offers non-fat frozen yogurt, but contains additives such as propylene glycol esters, which improves the consistency of the product and the way it looks.

For this reason, ingredients should be checked to determine if the product that is lower in fat is really worth it.

While the amount of calories and fat may differ between the two frozen treats, the amount of sugar is about the same. Friendly’s mint chocolate chip ice cream contains fourteen grams of sugar in half a cup, and the same amount of a mint chocolate frozen yogurt from Frozenyo has eighteen grams.

The toppings also play a significant part in determining how healthy the frozen yogurt may be.

Tutti Frutti, a premium frozen yogurt chain, offers a wide variety of toppings. Consumers may choose as many and as much of any toppings they are willing to pay for, including  everything from fruit to candies. Of course, purchasing a frozen yogurt with fruit toppings will be a better option if one is concerned with health.

Overall, deciding between frozen yogurt and ice cream with your health in mind really depends on the type, so consumers are better off with a healthier alternative of whichever one is preferred.