There are very few guilty pleasures as tasty as a creamy, tantalizing bowl of ice cream. The question is whether it would still be so irresistible if you knew how bad it actually was for your health. The negative effects of ice cream range from weight problems to cognitive ones.

To be classified as ice cream it has to contain more than 10% milk fat. But no ice cream is worth having if it doesn’t have its flavor. Thus ice creams are loaded with sugar. Milk fat is mostly cholesterol and saturated fats. This in itself should deter anyone with a history of heart disease to stay far away from this creamy treat. When a person’s cholesterol is too high, it builds up a fatty deposit in the arteries that can interfere and restrict blood flow. This, in turn, increases your chances of having heart failure or a stroke.

Because ice cream is so high in sugar and fat, the other obvious disadvantage is that it can make you overweight very fast. The sugar in the ice cream also causes you to crave more ice cream seeing that it spikes your blood sugar. Not long after consumption, one also begins to feel drowsy and one’s body craves another boost to stay awake.

The disadvantages don’t stop there, however. Ice cream is one of the leading causes of tooth decay and cavities. Once again the sugar can is to blame. Ice cream is very effective in causing cavities because of the temperatures. Your mouth is naturally warm and when you eat too much ice cream, the quick temperature changes cause microscopic cracks in your teeth and the sugar starts to eat away at your pearly whites.