Should I switch to almond milk ?
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Replies
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It's a lot lower in calories. I have been meaning to get it for my oatmeal because of that but I love milk so much
It depends what you use milk for. If it's just to eat cereal or oatmeal or things like that it's fine but I would not drink a glass of almond milk, for example.
Lower in calories, but also lower in nutritional value.
Need to balance within the context of overall diet. 1% milk gives a big protein bang for the calories as an example.5 -
I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
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niamhdean97 wrote: »I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
Hormones and pus vs pesticides and/or trucked in bees to pollinate all of the almonds. I'll make my choice on what I think tastes better and what my body digests without issues as opposed to scare tactics.
Yes I dislike the taste of the vast majority of dairy products* and my body doesn't do the best job of digesting it, but let's not be alarmist.
*I'll eat ice cream and whipped cream but even with ice cream I'm not that person who has any desire to eat an entire pint. For fun and accuracy I weighed out my normal serving of ice cream - 76g which ended up being well under 200 calories for that specific brand and flavor.6 -
niamhdean97 wrote: »I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
Yet humans have been consuming dairy products for centuries and maybe millennia. Hmmm.11 -
just_Tomek wrote: »niamhdean97 wrote: »I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
Yet humans have been consuming dairy products for centuries and maybe millennia. Hmmm.
And where are those humans now? Dead. Dairy will kill you, slowly. Over processed, plant based, packed with delish ingredients that did not see the test of time FTW!!!
Dear god I've been drinking water this whole time but everybody who has had water has died! Stop drinking water people!!!! 13 -
RelCanonical wrote: »just_Tomek wrote: »niamhdean97 wrote: »I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
Yet humans have been consuming dairy products for centuries and maybe millennia. Hmmm.
And where are those humans now? Dead. Dairy will kill you, slowly. Over processed, plant based, packed with delish ingredients that did not see the test of time FTW!!!
Dear god I've been drinking water this whole time but everybody who has had water has died! Stop drinking water people!!!!
Dihydrogen Monoxide kills...8 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »It's a lot lower in calories. I have been meaning to get it for my oatmeal because of that but I love milk so much It depends what you use milk for. If it's just to eat cereal or oatmeal or things like that it's fine but I would not drink a glass of almond milk, for example.
Lower in calories, but also lower in nutritional value.
Need to balance within the context of overall diet. 1% milk gives a big protein bang for the calories as an example.
It's better than none, but I wouldn't call it "big." for me the 8 grams or so isn't worth the 100+ extra calories over unsweetened almond or cashew0 -
So back to the topic at hand, almond milk is a good low-calorie alternative to cow's milk, especially because you don't like the taste of cow's milk! But keep in mind that almond milk doesn't have as many nutrients as cow's milk, including that hefty 8g of protein per cup. If you're looking for a milk alternative, you might want to try soy milk as well! It's got slightly more calories than almond milk, but it's got 7g of protein per cup, it's pretty cheap and you might like the taste. Let us know!1
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just_Tomek wrote: »niamhdean97 wrote: »I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
Yet humans have been consuming dairy products for centuries and maybe millennia. Hmmm.
And where are those humans now? Dead. Dairy will kill you, slowly. Over processed, plant based, packed with delish ingredients that did not see the test of time FTW!!!
Though I mean to be fair, almond milk (or almond beverage as you'd prefer it called) has been used since at least the 13 century....it would appear those people are also dead. Or at least I hope they are because who in the world would want to live for that long?6 -
I like that almond milk takes less water to produce than cows milk and puts out no methane so I originally switched to it for the environmental impact. The fact that it's also lower calorie was a bonus when trying to lose weight. Now I prefer the savings of buying the shelf-stable box, only refrigerating when I'm ready to use it, and less goes to waste since the carton is smaller and it lasts longer in the fridge than cows milk.5
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I like that almond milk takes less water to produce than cows milk and puts out no methane so I originally switched to it for the environmental impact. The fact that it's also lower calorie was a bonus when trying to lose weight. Now I prefer the savings of buying the shelf-stable box, only refrigerating when I'm ready to use it, and less goes to waste since the carton is smaller and it lasts longer in the fridge than cows milk.
I've heard for years about the high water cost of producing almonds so had to look that up. Turns out you are right: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042
...Almond milk requires more water to produce than soy or oat milk. A single glass requires 74 litres (130 pints of water) - more than a typical shower. Rice milk is also comparatively thirsty, requiring 54 litres of water per glass.
However, it's worth noting that both almond and rice milk still require less water to produce than the typical glass of dairy milk.7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »RelCanonical wrote: »just_Tomek wrote: »niamhdean97 wrote: »I would say yes because cows milk is not good for your health. It is full of puss and hormones, plant based is they way to go
Yet humans have been consuming dairy products for centuries and maybe millennia. Hmmm.
And where are those humans now? Dead. Dairy will kill you, slowly. Over processed, plant based, packed with delish ingredients that did not see the test of time FTW!!!
Dear god I've been drinking water this whole time but everybody who has had water has died! Stop drinking water people!!!!
Dihydrogen Monoxide kills...
Several thousand people annually, in the US alone.
Probably not very many of them are plant-based eaters, though.
(
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Back on topic - it does not have to be either or. My system relies on low calorie protein solutions and while I do not drink a lot of protein shakes I do use them in certain situations. However, when I want cereal, chocolate milk, sawmill gravy, etc I will definitely steal milk right from a calf's mouth.1
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extra_medium wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »It's a lot lower in calories. I have been meaning to get it for my oatmeal because of that but I love milk so much It depends what you use milk for. If it's just to eat cereal or oatmeal or things like that it's fine but I would not drink a glass of almond milk, for example.
Lower in calories, but also lower in nutritional value.
Need to balance within the context of overall diet. 1% milk gives a big protein bang for the calories as an example.
It's better than none, but I wouldn't call it "big." for me the 8 grams or so isn't worth the 100+ extra calories over unsweetened almond or cashew
A cup of skim milk (I know the person said 1%, but for oats I'd likely use skim) has 8 grams of protein and 83 cals. A cup of the low cal almond milk (which is basically flavored water with some supplements added) is 37 cals, so for me the protein difference would favor milk if I were using it for an otherwise lower protein breakfast like oats. (Aside, I don't buy milk now since I don't ever use it before it goes bad, but I bought it regularly years ago when my go-to breakfast was oats.)
In a smoothie, I similarly will use something with more protein, like greek yogurt or tofu, although I often also want more fat so will use homemade cashew milk. For me, if not using protein powder (which I generally don't), the very low cal almond milk wouldn't work in a smoothie, as it would not add the fat or protein I want.
Not at all suggesting people shouldn't prefer or choose almond milk (there are kinds that contain more almonds and thus have cals more like milk) for the reasons that have been expressed, but just giving some reasons why the lower cals might not outweigh the benefits of other beverages for all.1 -
Palm oil is in most of the commercial nut milks. Tell the orangutans whose homes are destroyed by fire with them in the trees...
Slash and burn is the technique used for agricultural production of palms for palm oil. Natural forests are being slash/burned at an alarming rate to feed the lust for palm oil in developed countries. Nothing good comes from this.
Orangutans are endangered. Cows aren't.
If you have to drink nut milks, please make them yourself at home.
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cmriverside wrote: »Palm oil is in most of the commercial nut milks. Tell the orangutans whose homes are destroyed by fire with them in the trees...
Slash and burn is the technique used for agricultural production of palms for palm oil. Natural forests are being slash/burned at an alarming rate to feed the lust for palm oil in developed countries. Nothing good comes from this.
Orangutans are endangered. Cows aren't.
If you have to drink nut milks, please make them yourself at home.
Does palm oil go by any other names? I checked the ingredients on my almond milk and didn't see it.1 -
RelCanonical wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Palm oil is in most of the commercial nut milks. Tell the orangutans whose homes are destroyed by fire with them in the trees...
Slash and burn is the technique used for agricultural production of palms for palm oil. Natural forests are being slash/burned at an alarming rate to feed the lust for palm oil in developed countries. Nothing good comes from this.
Orangutans are endangered. Cows aren't.
If you have to drink nut milks, please make them yourself at home.
Does palm oil go by any other names? I checked the ingredients on my almond milk and didn't see it.
here:
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/palm-oil/palm-oil-labelling
Look for these four words, and then if you see them you can take it further. It's tough. Chocolate, baked goods, frozen desserts, soaps - so many uses for palm oil. I get exhausted.:
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Personally I like oat milk, tastes good to me. Also in terms of environmental impact, I'm in the UK and oats grown in Sweden seem more sustainable.
Do like almond milk as well though, this morning I had porridge made with dark chocolate almond milk, topped with Apple and cinnamon. It was very successful 😊
As ever, depends on what you like and what you are trying to achieve.0 -
I just went to the nutritionist and she told me to switch from refrigerated coconut milk to cow's milk because I'm not getting enough protein.
No one can say what any person should do for themselves because everyone has their own needs, but that's where I am.5 -
cmriverside wrote: »Palm oil is in most of the commercial nut milks. Tell the orangutans whose homes are destroyed by fire with them in the trees...
Slash and burn is the technique used for agricultural production of palms for palm oil. Natural forests are being slash/burned at an alarming rate to feed the lust for palm oil in developed countries. Nothing good comes from this.
Orangutans are endangered. Cows aren't.
If you have to drink nut milks, please make them yourself at home.
Or buy an alternative milk without palm oil. A very quick google of the only brand that I (which is a pretty major brand) buy shows that they don't have palm oil in the almond, hazelnut, or hemp milks (I like the taste of hemp milk - I don't buy it for any of the "hemp is sooooooooooo good for you" reasons. The company is also local and It's an exceedingly good bet that the hazelnuts are as well given the state that I live in (a quick check at their website and yes, they're local hazelnuts). A quick look at another major national player shows that they too don't use palm oil, at least they don't in their almond milk.4
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