Are you melting in the summer heat and longing for a frozen ice cream treat right now? Go ahead and get yourself some delicious ice cream! National Ice Cream Day is on July 20 and that means you better eat some ice cream. Back in 1984 President Ronald Reagan declared the entire month of July ice cream month so you can actually eat ice cream free from guilt for a much longer time.

Sales of ice cream in 2011 are up, according to the National Ice Cream Retailers Association, and there is a double dip in the business, though it's not a recession but a boom. Whether people are trading down to more affordable foods such as an ice cream dessert when they eat out, or it's just the summer heat that swept across the U.S. making everyone rush for something cold is not for certain. But sales seem to be up in the ice cream business.

Here are some ice cream facts to swallow:

• California is ranked first in the U.S. in the production of ice cream and as top producer, we're very particular about the taste, texture and flavor-California has been the nation's leading dairy state since 1993, when it surpassed Wisconsin in milk production.

• Vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor, grabbing nearly 30% of the market. Men tend to favor vanilla and among the black population, vanilla comes in tops over 40% of the time.

• Chocolate ice cream runs a close 2nd grabbing over 20% of the ice cream market.

• Low fat ice cream desserts don't rank particularly high in popularity compared to higher fat content desserts.

• It takes 12 lbs. of milk to make just one gallon of ice cream.

Some interesting flavors of ice cream that people favor include Laloo's goat milk ice cream, Gilroy Garlic Festival (July 29-31, 2011) garlic flavored ice cream, candied bacon flavor, lobster flavor and more popular selections such as mint, chocolate chip, cararmel, and fudge.

Can dogs eat ice cream? Technically, most agree that a little taste won't usually hurt but dog vets say you shouldn't give your pet any ice cream. On a hot day, it may be tempting to share your ice cream cone with your dog, but if your dog could talk, it would thank you for not doing so. Milk and milk-based products can cause diarrhea and other digestive upset as well as set up food allergies (which often manifest as itchiness.)

To burn off the calories in a serving (half a cup) of ice cream you would have to do:

26 minutes jogging
24 minutes cross country skiing
20 minutes competitive soccer

Here are some National Days to celebrate in July:

July 20 National Ice Cream Day
July 20 National Lollipop Day
July 21 National Creme Brulee Day
July 22 National Penuche Day
July 23 National Vanilla Ice Cream Day
July 25 National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
July 26 National Bagelfest
July 28 National Milk Chocolate Day
July 28 National Hamburger Day
July 29 National Lasagna Day
July 30 National Cheesecake Day
July 31 National Raspberry Cake Day