Should The Viral McDonald's Ice Cream Ingredient Rumors Concern You?

The next time you order an ice cream from McDonald's, don't panic if you accidentally let your dog steal a lick. Although rumors have been circulating across Facebook that McDonald's uses an ingredient that's deadly to dogs in its ice cream, the fast food chain has confirmed it to be false to Indy100. The ingredient in question, xylitol, is a refined sweetener often used as a sugar substitute, and it also happens to be highly toxic to dogs, Healthline reports. The reason for this is that their bodies can't tell it apart from glucose, and as a result, they begin producing a dangerous amount of excess insulin. High doses of it can even cause liver failure.

A sweetener such as xylitol being present in ice cream is a reasonable concern for dog owners, but according to the Nutrition Facts, McDonald's ice cream gets its sweetness from a combination of actual sugar and corn syrup — not from xylitol.

McDonald's ice cream may not contain any xylitol, but that doesn't mean you should let your dog go to town on it. As Doggysaurus explains, McDonald's ice cream has a high amount of sugar, fat, and preservatives, so it accounts for about 82% of the daily recommended calorie intake for a small to medium-sized dog. Many dogs are also lactose intolerant, and a McDonald's ice cream would be a surefire way to cause an upset stomach. It isn't deadly by any means, but it's still not the most dog-friendly option.

If you want to treat your dog to McDonald's, Zoo Awesome instead recommends one of the meat products, such as a plain hamburger, a plain McChicken patty, or a couple chicken McNuggets. Just make sure that the burger or nuggets are free from any condiments such as pickles or ketchup, and that you only feed it to your dog in moderation.