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The Unhealthiest Fast-Food Ice Cream

The amount of sugar in one sweet treat is truly jaw-dropping.

When your sweet tooth takes over and you decide to treat yourself to some ice cream, there's a chance you might just end up in the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant. There often is more to the menus than just French fries, chicken nuggets, and hamburgers! It's no secret that plenty of fast-food favorites offer up dessert, with ice cream typically being a staple menu item. But there are some fast-food ice cream options that are just bad news, as they are true sugar bombs.

See, The American Heart Association recommends men should consume no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day, and women shouldn't have more than 25 grams per day. All of the ice cream options we found easily blow that sugar allotment out of the water. And that's not something to brag about…

So to help you navigate the sweet treat side of the menus next time you find yourself at the drive-thru, we rounded up the ice cream options that are far too sugary. We focused just on the standard ice-cream options in the largest size they're offered, so you won't see any milkshakes on this list. (Although those are just as bad!) Ranked from bad to the absolute worst, here are the unhealthiest fast-food ice cream options. And while you're thinking of making better-for-choices, be sure to try out these 21 Best Healthy Cooking Hacks of All Time.

7

Burger King Chocolate Fudge Sundae

burger king sundae
Courtesy of Burger King
Per sundae: 268 calories, 6.7 g fat (5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 222.6 mg sodium, 46.7 g carbs (0 g fiber, 40.7 g sugar), 6 g protein

Out of all the beloved fast-food restaurants, Burger King's ice cream isn't really the star of the menu. (The Whopper has that title!) But you can enjoy a classic vanilla and fudge sundae after you eat a burger and some onion rings. One order does have nearly 41 grams of sugar, though, which is more than a day's worth of the sweet stuff anyone should have. So perhaps this one is better left on the menu and not added on to your order…

6

Wendy's Chocolate Frosty

wendys chocolate frosty
Courtesy of Wendy's
Per large size: 590 calories, 15 g fat (10 g saturated fat, 0.5 g trans fat), 260 mg sodium, 99 g carbs (0 g fiber, 81 g sugar), 17 g protein

At Wendy's, there really is nothing like a Chocolate Frosty, the chain's signature dessert. It's said to be "thick enough to use a spoon, smooth enough to use a straw, and perfect when enjoyed on the end of a fry." But going for a large means you're in for more sugar than you would get from eight Original Glazed Krispy Kreme donuts. If you really can't resist ordering one, go for the junior size, which is 200 calories and has 27 grams of sugar.

5

McDonald's M&M McFlurry

Per regular size: 640 calories, 21 g fat (14 g saturated fat, 0.5 g trans fat), 200 mg sodium, 96 g carbs (2 g fiber, 83 g sugar), 13 g protein

The McFlurry is a legendary McDonald's menu item, but the regular-size of the M&M flavor not only has more calories than a Big Mac, and contains 86 grams of sugar. Yikes.

4

Sonic Blast made with M&M Chocolate Candies

sonic blast
Courtesy of Sonic
Per large size: 1,540 calories, 80 g fat (49 g saturated fat, 2 g trans fat), 680 mg sodium, 183 g carbs (3 g fiber, 138 g sugar), 22 g protein

Starting to sense a theme here? It seems when M&Ms are added to the mix, these ice cream treats cross over into a danger zone. A Blast is Sonic's iconic dessert, but the large has more than 1,500 calories and more sugar than 29 Oreo cookies. This one gets a skip!

Looking for more helpful tips? Your ultimate restaurant and supermarket survival guide is here!

3

A&W Polar Swirl, M&M

m&m polar swirl
A&W Restaurants/ Twitter
Per 20 oz: 1,190 calories, 43 g fat (26 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 640 mg sodium, 182 g carbs (3 g fiber, 162 g sugar), 24 g protein

At A&W, the Polar Swirl seems like a solid sweet treat. Just be sure you never order the M&M flavor! The fact that a size like the overly large 2o-ounce even exists is wild on its own, but when you see that it's packing 162 grams of sugar, that's just scary.

2

Dairy Queen Royal Rocky Road Trip Blizzard Treat

dairy queen blizzard
Courtesy of Dairy Queen
Per large size: 1,510 calories, 70 g fat (27 g saturated fat, 1.5 g trans fat), 770 mg sodium, 199 g carbs (9 g fiber, 151 g sugar), 35 g protein

The Blizzard is a staple at Dairy Queen—just be sure to steer clear of the Royal Rocky Road Trip. This Blizzard is made up of brownie pieces, peanuts, and cocoa fudge that are blended with vanilla soft serve and filled with marshmallow. Yes, that's a whole lot going on! A large order has more than 1,500 calories and has more sugar than 15 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Donuts. Yikes.

1

Culver's Chocolate Concrete Mixer made with M&Ms

culvers concrete mixer
Courtesy of Culver's
Per tall size: 1,440 calories, 68 g fat (41.1 g saturated fat, 1.7 g trans fat), 442 mg sodium, 182 g carbs (8 g fiber, 156 g sugar), 24 g protein

If you thought things couldn't get any more jaw-dropping, allow Culver's to step in. The Concrete Mixers are a beloved menu item. If you choose a tall order of the chocolate custard mixed with Mini M&Ms, you're looking at 156 grams of sugar. That's as much as you would get if you ate six and a half full-sized Hershey's milk chocolate bars! Sorry, but there is nothing redeeming about this sundae.

Jennifer Maldonado
Jennifer Maldonado is a senior editor at Eat This, Not That!, specializing in food and health content. Read more about Jennifer
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