So many “milks” - are they healthy?
Real World Nutrition Podcast Episode 6: Are Milk Alternatives a Healthy Option?
Milk is a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals.
So many “milks” - are they healthy?
If you have been to the back of the grocery store lately, you have seen the explosion of dairy alternatives alongside dairy options.
While many of these are called “milk,” let’s clarify that milk is a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. And most people know that nuts, legumes, and hemp do not fall into the category of mammals.
However, many people don’t realize that these are not healthier options.
They are not nutritionally equivalent, and most are more than flavored sugar water with thickeners, added fat, sugar, salt, and vitamins in mineral blends to make it close to milk. And protein is virtually non-existent in many of these.
While I do a run-down here, this is not comprehensive and encompasses all the milk alternatives on the market. So many new options arrive regularly it is virtually impossible to keep up.
Before continuing, let me make two things clear:
The following is a nutrition comparison of the various kinds of milk only and not a recommendation on which you should choose. That is your choice.
If you choose not to have cow’s milk due to lactose intolerance or allergy or lean more plant-based vegetarian, keep in mind that you will not get the same nutrition from the dairy alternatives as you do with cow’s milk. And while there are many variations on cow’s milk, such as buttermilk, evaporated, condensed, powdered, and more, for this article, I am only focusing on the ones that have become mainstream in the grocery store refrigerator section.
And two additional points about cow’s milk: many people recite the classic line that humans are the only animals that drink the milk of another animal, which is not valid. There are many natural examples where an animal will nurse another animal. Look it up. And the other common argument against cow’s milk is that humans are the only animal that drinks milk past infancy. Guess what? Humans are also the only animal that spends endless hours looking at screens and doing LOTS of things no other animal on the planet does.
Now, on to the nutrient breakdown of these kinds of milk. All this information was gathered from various websites, as noted. There are many variations, including chocolate versions, that I did not include here.
Milk (aka Cow’s Milk)
Cow’s milk is one of the best and most absorbed food sources of calcium and vitamin D. By law, in the U.S., all cow’s milk has vitamins A & D added, not just whole milk. Some people refer to whole milk as “vitamin D” milk, but all have vitamin D, even the fat-free version. Whole milk is 3.3% fat; then there is 2%, 1%, and fat-free. Milk is also a good source of protein at 8 – 9 grams per cup, and any sugar in milk is the naturally occurring sugar lactose. Any added sugars would come from flavored milk, such as chocolate milk. Additionally, milk is a natural source of several B vitamins, including B12 and riboflavin, potassium, and other nutrients, in addition to the ones I note here.
Here is a brief profile of milk, with some rounding:
Whole milk is 150 calories per cup and 8 grams of fat
2% milk (aka reduced fat) is 125 calories per cup, and 5 grams of fat
1% milk (aka low-fat) is 105 calories per cup and 2.5 grams of fat
Skim/fat-free milk is 80 calories per cup and 0 grams of fat
All versions of cow’s milk have, on average, per cup:
8 – 9 grams of protein
300 – 315 mg calcium
375 – 400 mg of potassium
And the ingredients include milk, vitamin A palmitate, and vitamin D2.
There are some versions of milk that you can buy that are higher in protein, higher calcium, and lactose-free. The lactose-free milk has just added the lactase enzyme, but it is still “regular” cow’s milk.
Soy Milk
People who can’t, don’t, or won’t drink cow’s milk will frequently use soy milk. Since it is plant food, vegans often choose this as their milk substitute. People who can’t tolerate lactose (naturally occurring milk sugar) may also select soymilk instead. And while there is some concern about soy in the diet, the amount most people consume is not enough to influence much in most people. I did a short video on that here.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to list the calorie and fat content of soymilk since there are dozens of soy milk available, including regular and light, and many flavors, from plain and unsweetened to vanilla and chocolate, have added sugars.
Here is a summary of the soymilk nutrition profile*:
Plain Original Soymilk is 110 calories per cup and 4.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein
Vanilla Soymilk is 100 calories per cup and 3.5 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein
Light Vanilla Soymilk 70 calories per cup and 2 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein
These have:
445 – 450 mg calcium
300 – 380 mg potassium
And an ingredients list that includes cane sugar (in the sweetened vanilla and chocolate versions), sea salt, gellan gum, and natural flavor.
Almond Milk, Cashew Milk, Coconut Milk
Almond milk has been around for several years but has recently received more attention now that there are more flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and plain. Newer cashew milk is the same idea, just with cashews instead of almonds. And coconut milk is another alternative. (Not to be confused with coconut water or the canned coconut milk that is thick and somewhat solid.)
Almond milk and other nut-based milk,
are not nutritionally equal.
Look at the nut milk ingredients. It is just water, a handful of nuts, and added vitamins and minerals. There is some flavoring, so it doesn’t taste like nut-flavored water, and gums and oils for thickeners don’t feel like nut-flavored water. But seriously – that is what pretty much all of these are—a very, very small number of nuts. So, the low-calorie content of most of these kinds of milk is because it is pretty much flavored, thickened water.
Most of these nut kinds of milk have 1 gram of protein or less. It will have some fat from the added oils, and the added calcium is not well absorbed due to the type of calcium added. They have NO lactose and can add flavor to a smoothie or if you like to make chia pudding.
Here is a nutrition profile of a selection of the nut kinds of milk*:
Unsweetened almond milk is 30 calories per cup, 2.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein
Original almond milk is 60 calories per cup, 2.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein, and 7 grams of added sugar
Vanilla almond milk is 80 calories per cup, 2.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein, and 13 grams of added sugar
Unsweetened cashew milk is 25 calories per cup, 2 grams of fat, <1 gram of protein, and 0 added sugar.
Unsweetened coconut milk is 40 calories per cup, 4 grams of fat, 0 protein, and 0 added sugar.
Original coconut milk is 70 calories per cup, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 protein, and 5 grams of added sugars
These have:
450 mg calcium
0 - 170 mg potassium
Ingredients include:
For almond milk: filtered water, almonds, cane sugar, cocoa (in the chocolate version), vitamin and mineral blend (calcium carbonate, sodium ascorbate [vitamin C], vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2), sea salt, locust bean gum, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, and natural flavor.
For coconut milk: filtered water, coconut cream), cane sugar, vitamin and mineral blend (calcium carbonate, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, Vitamin B12), dipotassium phosphate, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, locust bean gum, natural flavor.
For cashew milk: filtered water, cashews, vitamin and mineral blend (calcium carbonate, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2), salt, locust bean gum, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, gellan gum.
Other Plant Milk – Oat Milk, Hemp Milk, and Pea Protein
As with nut milk, plant milk has little nutrition compared to cow’s milk. Some are water-based products after soaking in grain or seed (like oat and hemp milk).
Pea protein is a relatively new vegan protein source on the market. It is in many products targeted toward the vegan population or those wanting to cut back on animal sources. Again, look at the ingredients of these milk alternatives. They have oils added (not necessarily a bad thing), vitamins and minerals added (again not necessarily bad), and gums to help with the thickening of the product. Protein amounts vary – but plant protein and animal protein are not equal. So, this is not comparing apples to apples but apples to eggs.
And here is the breakdown of plant non-nut milk:
Original oat milk* is 120 calories per cup, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein, and 7 grams of added sugars.
Unsweetened original hemp milk** is 80 calories per cup, 8 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, and no added sugars in the unsweetened version (vanilla and chocolate have 9-22 grams of added sugar)
Original plant-based milk using pea protein*** is 90-110 calories per cup, 4.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein, and 5-6 grams of sugar (though it is unclear how much-added sugar).
These have:
300 – 460 mg calcium
95 – 400 mg potassium
Ingredients include:
For oat milk: filtered water, oat concentrate, sunflower oil, vitamin and mineral blend (calcium carbonate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, riboflavin [B2], vitamin B12), dipotassium phosphate, sea salt, gellan gum, locust bean gum,), natural flavor.
For hemp milk: filtered water, hemp nut seeds, vanilla extract (in original hemp milk), sunflower lecithin, tricalcium phosphate, gellan gum, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, riboflavin, vitamin B12.
For “plant-based milk” from peas: water, pea protein blend (water, pea protein), cane sugar, sunflower oil, contains less than 1% of vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin D12, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, sea salt, guar gum, gellan gum.
The bottom line is when people reach for these dairy alternatives, they often have no idea that the nutrition is somewhat inferior, and the lengthy ingredient lists include added salt, fats, and gums.
Make your choice, but ensure it is an informed choice.
Tell me, was this news to you?
* Nutrition Information and Ingredients obtained from the Silk® brand website, Silk.com
** Nutrition Information and Ingredients obtained from Hudson River Foods website, HudsonRiverFoods.com, the distributors of Tempt Hemp Products, including hemp milk
***Nutrition Information and Ingredients obtained from Ripple Foods website, RippleFoods.com
