Nutrition
What Milk Should You Be Drinking? A Dietician Breaks It Down
Photography, Ieva Kisunaite, Unsplash.com
Nutrition
What Milk Should You Be Drinking? A Dietician Breaks It Down
There are so many different types of milks on the market, we can barely keep track of them all.
In addition to the classic cow milk, grocery store shelves are stocked with soy, almond, oat, coconut and even rice milk—and we’re probably missing a few!
But which of these options is the best for everyday use? Here’s what dieticians have to say.
Cow milk
This is the classic option and the most popular around the globe. It’s also the most nutritious and protein-dense of all the milks, with about 8 grams of protein in an 8-oz glass. The magnesium and protein in cow milk help muscle development and reduce the risk of stroke.
Soy milk
Soy milk, made from soybeans, is the plant-based milk with the highest amount of nutrients. A glass provides 20% of your daily dose of calcium and vitamin B12.
However, according to Dr. Tara Scott, a gynecologist, the origin and quality of the soybeans used in this milk matters. Isoflavones, plant compounds similar to oestrogens found in beans, could increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Oat milk
This news may be hard to handle, depending on your love of lattés, but oat milk is actually the least advisable to drink because of its risk of raising blood sugar levels. It’s made with starch, so you're basically drinking a glucose-rich beverage.
Photography, Sandi Benedicta, Unsplash.com
Almond milk
Although almond milk is the most popular plant-based option, it has the lowest nutritional value. It’s 97% water, which makes it a poor choice for the environment, and it can contain a lot of sugar.
However, almond milk has a high level of vitamin E, an antioxidant that reduces the risk of heart disease.
Rice milk
Rice milk is lower in calories than cow's milk and many of the other options on this list. It's cholesterol-free, making it a healthy choice for people on special diets.
On the other hand, rice milk’s high glycaemic content makes it unadvisable for people with diabetes to drink (one glass of rice milk contains 33 grams of carbohydrates).
Coconut milk
Coconut milk, which is different from coconut water, comes from the meat of ripe coconuts. It contains more magnesium than cow's milk and around 40% of the recommended daily dose of iron. However, it’s high in saturated fat.
Which Milk Is Best?
Ultimately, the best milk for you is a personal choice and depends on your health and needs. However, given all we’ve learned, the two types of milk with the least benefits are almond milk and oat milk.
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