Let’s Talk About Milk
What’s the best plant-based milk?
Peta Bee asked two top dieticians to rate and compare the popular alternatives to cow’s milk.
It’s hard to believe that soya was once the only widely available alternative to cow’s milk. Sales of alternative milks have soared in recent years and coconut, pea, oat and rice milk have all become coffee-shop staples. There’s even a new potato-based milk launching in the UK, while last week a Cotswolds-based company unveiled the UK’s first camel dairy, selling bottles of raw camel milk for £20 a litre
Yet critics say that many struggle to match the nutritional benefits of cow’s milk. So which are the best? Dieticians Clare Thornton-Wood and Bahee Van de Bor, from the British Dietetic Association, examine the evidence.
Whole Cow’s Milk
Calories 68 per 100ml (47 per 100ml in semi-skimmed)
Fat 3.5g per 100ml (1.8g per 100ml semi-skimmed)
Pros Rich in a wide range of vitamins and minerals. It is a complete protein, meaning it provides all nine essential amino acids needed for body growth and repair and also provides the most easily absorbed form of calcium in our diets. “It’s a good provider of phosphorus, for bones and teeth, and magnesium for muscle health,” Thornton-Wood says.
Cons Intensive farming has led to concerns about cows being fed antibiotics and chemicals. Some people are intolerant to lactose, the natural sugar in cow’s milk. Researchers have shown that producing whole milk results in about three times more greenhouse gas emissions than plant milks.
Nutrition rating 4/5
Sustainability rating 0/5
Almond
Calories 24 per 100ml (13 per 100ml unsweetened)
Fat 1.1g
Pros It contains much less saturated fat than cow’s milk. It has good levels of vitamin E and is among the lowest in calories of all plant milks.
Cons In many commercial almond milks, almonds are the second or third ingredient after water and sweeteners.
It is also low in protein, and “is unsuitable for growing children”, Van de Bor says. Environmentalists have criticised the effect pesticides used in non-organic almond orchards have on bees. Producing it requires much more water than other plant milks, with an average of 371 litres of water required for every litre of almond milk, compared with 48 for oat and 28 for soya milk, although it uses much less water than cow’s milk production.
Nutrition rating 3/5
Sustainability rating 3/5
Coconut
Calories 27 per 100ml (15 per 100ml unsweetened)
Fat 1.3g
Pros Not to be confused with the very fatty tinned coconut milk used in cooking. Coconuts contain a range of vitamins and minerals but some milk brands are also fortified with B12, D2, iodine and calcium.
Cons Contains a similar amount of saturated fat to whole cow’s milk with very little protein. Grape juice concentrate is often used to add more sweetness. Demand for coconut products has contributed to the destruction of rainforests.
Nutrition rating 2/5
Sustainability rating 2/5
Hemp
Calories 26 per 100ml
Fat 2.7g
Pros Hemp is a useful source of naturally occurring omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are essential for healthy cells. “Since omega-3 intake is particularly tricky for vegans — the main source is fish and seafood — hemp milk could be a useful supply,” says Thornton-Wood. It got the thumbs-up as a sustainable crop in a 2021 report by the European Commission largely because it requires little water or pesticides to grow.
Cons One of few plant milks that is often not fortified with vitamin D or other nutrients.
Nutrition rating 2/5
Sustainability rating 5/5
Oat
Calories 46 per 100ml
Fat 1.5g
Pros Commercial oat milks are made from the liquid left when oats are soaked in water. Whole oats contain beneficial compounds called beta-glucans that help to lower cholesterol, and studies have shown they are a low glycaemic index food, so the theory is that oat milk may have some of the benefits. Researchers have shown that oats have a low carbon footprint.
Cons All oat milks are lower in protein than cow’s milk. Oats contain avenin, a protein similar to gluten, which, according to the charity Coeliac UK, can cause sensitivities in a small number of people with coeliac disease.
Nutrition rating 1/5
Sustainability rating 4/5
Pea
Calories 39 per 100ml (32 per 100ml unsweetened)
Fat 2g
Pros Made from pea protein separated from ground yellow split peas, pea milk when fortified contains more calcium than some plant-based products and matches whole milk for protein content. It contains all nine essential amino
acids and has a small environmental footprint.
Cons It is highly processed and some people are allergic to pea protein.
Nutrition rating 4/5
Sustainability rating 4/5
Rice
Calories 50 per 100ml
Fat 1g
Pros Some brands are fortified with as much calcium as you get in cow’s milk. Made from filtered water, partially milled rice and sea salt, commercial rice milk contains less fat than even soya milk. It is relatively high in fibre.
Cons Farming rice typically involves high amounts of water and produces methane emissions. Most brands are made with white rice and are very highly processed.
Nutrition rating 2/5
Sustainability rating 1/5
Soya
Calories 39 per 100ml (33 per 100ml unsweetened)
Fat 1.8g
Pros Soya milk, made from ground soya beans, is considered a complete protein, providing all nine essential amino acids required for health. Many brands are also fortified with vitamin D, calcium and B12 to match amounts in dairy. It is low in saturated fat and there’s some evidence that soya products may help to balance hormones. In terms of environmental impact, researchers found production requires 11 times less water than for European cow’s milk.
Cons Some varieties are highly sweetened. And, according to Allergy UK, soya is a common allergen for many people, particularly those who have an existing allergy to cow’s milk.
Nutrition rating 4/5
Sustainability rating 3/5
Potato
Calories 39 per 100ml
Fat 1.5g per 100m
Pros Made from emulsified potatoes mixed with rapeseed oil and fortified with calcium, vitamin D, B12 and folic acid. Low in saturated fat. Production uses 56 times less water than that of almond milk and half the land needed to produce oat milk. Available on Amazon.
Cons Highly processed with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
Nutrition rating 4/5
Sustainability rating 5/5
Reference
Peta Bee
The Times Saturday 11th September 2021