<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Boffin scoffing</h2>

"Hmm," the doctor tells his patient. "You need change in your diet. I recommend an ice-cream at least once a week. Don't forget to add a Flake - and a cherry on top."

This scenarioAn imaginary situation. The word was originally Italian and referred to the plot of a stage drama. is unlikely ever to become reality. But a new article¹ highlights the idea that ice-cream could have some benefits.

The author, David Merritt Johns, came across a thesisA long essay involving personal research. written in 2018 by a student at HarvardA top US university, founded in 1636. University. It said that people with diabetesA medical condition causing there to be too much sugar in the blood. who ate half a cup of ice-cream a day had a lower risk of heart trouble.

This went against the general belief that ice-cream is very unhealthy.

Another researcher at Harvard had found the same thing in 2002. He said it helped prevent people from getting insulinA hormone which controls blood sugar levels and helps your body to turn food into energy.-resistance syndrome. This leads to diabetesA medical condition causing there to be too much sugar in the blood. .

In 2005 another study found that men who ate two or more servings of ice-cream per week had a 22% lower risk of diabetes. But the authors did not publicise this fact. Instead, they advised people to eat yoghurt. Why?

"A scientist," Johns suggests, "may worry over how their story fits with common sense, and whether they have sufficient evidence to back it up. They may also worry that it poses a threat to public health, or to their credibility."

But Dr Duane Mellor of Aston Medical School is adamantSure, certain. that we should not eat too much ice-cream. It might contain some good things, like calcium, but it has unhealthy amounts of sugar.

Ice-cream is not the only food on which scientists have disagreed. At one stage people were advised not to eat more than two eggs a week. Now it is considered OK to eat as many as you like.

Johns quotes an English epidemiologistA person who studies diseases and how they spread between people., Michael Marmot: "Scientific findings do not fall on blank minds that get made up as a result. Science engages with busy minds that have strong views about how things are and ought to be."

Yes: Science is based on evidence, not opinion. Most scientists work in teams and have their work checked by others before it is published, so errors or false claims have little chance of getting through.

No: As Michael Marmot says, scientists tend to find evidence for things they already believe and want to prove. History is full of scientific claims which turn out to be complete nonsense.

Or... There is no final answer in science - we are always finding out new things. So we should view all research as work in progress, and realise that each new discovery is only part of the truth.  

Scenario - An imaginary situation. The word was originally Italian and referred to the plot of a stage drama.

Thesis - A long essay involving personal research.

Harvard - A top US university, founded in 1636.

Diabetes - A medical condition causing there to be too much sugar in the blood.

Insulin - A hormone which controls blood sugar levels and helps your body to turn food into energy.

Adamant - Sure, certain.

Epidemiologist - A person who studies diseases and how they spread between people.