Almond Milk vs. Cow's Milk

Lifeisgood4

I was just wondering if there's a benefit if you change from drinking cow's milk to almond milk.....?

_John_

Moral high ground?

CTcutie

I get to eat a few more bites of cereal with the calories saved?! And I think it stays fresher longer, so I waste less. I'm not really a milk drinker either way.

tedrickp

Slightly less calories in Almond milk (not much less than Skim milk tho). Less b-vitamins, calcium and protein in Almond milk as well.

Lifeisgood4

Lifeisgood4

Thanks for the info - I didn't know there was less calcium - that's kind of a big deal for me because I have osteoporosis in my family.

BTW, that's so awesome that you have lost 185 pounds!! Way to go!!

lisalsd1

I drink both. Depends on my mood. Cow's milk has more protein. Almond milk has less calories, more calcium. Sometimes, I buy the Silk Chocolate Almond milk if I want dessert. It's 100 cals a glass. Otherwise, I usually just stick with the dairy, but I don't drink a ton of milk anyway.

1stday13

Thanks for the info - I didn't know there was less calcium - that's kind of a big deal for me because I have osteoporosis in my family.

BTW, that's so awesome that you have lost 185 pounds!! Way to go!!

I use Silk Soy milk-More Calcium and protein ( I'm not sure why people use Almond milk??) Check out the comparison of all 3. Silk has 50% more calcium than even milk :flowerforyou:

_John_

Adequate protein intake and strength training also protect bone health.

rachaelfisher1

Cow's milk FTW. Mooooo.

KMC1012

Almond milk has more calcium than cows milk, and I personally believe that people shouldn't drink baby cows milk. We are not built to digest it, but that is my personal opinion. I have not drunk cows milk ever (I'm weird I have had a phobia of it all my life) and have had no medical problems because of it.

Rocbola

Thanks for the info - I didn't know there was less calcium - that's kind of a big deal for me because I have osteoporosis in my family.

BTW, that's so awesome that you have lost 185 pounds!! Way to go!!

If you are worried about osteoporosis, whatever you do, don't consume dairy. It's bad for bone health.

Greens have tons of calcium if you are worried about calcium intake.

Almond milk is a lot better than cow's milk. No casein or pus, and lot less fat.

_John_

. It's bad for bone health.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22081694/

Some authors have suggested that dairy products are not helpful and perhaps detrimental to bone health because higher osteoporotic fracture incidence is observed in countries with higher dairy product consumption. However, scientific evidence does not support any of these claims.

redraidergirl2009

Almond milk doesn't have pus and antibiotics in it and all that yummimess. Also doesn't make you bloated.

_John_

Double posted instead of editing.

SpencersHeart

bump

neandermagnon

if you're lactose intolerant or allergic to anything in cow's milk, then yes there is a lot of benefit in not drinking it.

if you're not, then there isn't. Almond milk doesn't have anything like the same nutrition as cows milk. From a cooking and meal prep point of view, maybe one can be substituted for another, but from a nutritional point of view, they're very different and one should not be considered as a substitute for the other

Dairy (provided you can digest it) gives you protein, healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins. Some kinds of dairy products e.g. natural yoghurt, laban, are naturally probiotic and help you to maintain a healthy gut flora. Some kinds of dairy products, e.g. labeneh/greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, are high in protein and low in calories so help to ensure you get enough protein withot going over your calorie goal. So for those who can digest it, it's a good food. Also even for people who are lactose intolerant, some dairy products are very low in lactose and may be able to be consumed safely, it depends on the individual and how severe the intolerance is. This may not be true for milk allergy as even small amounts of the offending proteins can still trigger allergic reactions.

Personally, if I wanted the nutritional benefits of almond milk, I'd cut out the middle man and just eat the almonds. You remove some of the nutrition from almonds when you make them into milk. (although I'm not keen on almonds personally, I prefer cashews and pistachios which are also very nutritious, but still won't give you the protein that you get from milk). But if I couldn't drink milk and wanted a milk substitute for recipes, meals etc, I'd go with the almond milk for that reason and get my protein, healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins elsewhere.

toddis

I think it's really a false dichotomy. Soy, rice, hemp, almond, etc. are just some vitamins thrown in some sort of runoff from the ingredient of choice. Most nutritional benefit from the slurry is added after the fact. May as well drink diet soda with a multivitamin.

Hemp milk is tasty though.

ronrstaats

How do you milk and almond?

rachellleanne

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/09/12/13120.aspx

Dairy milk is singled out as the biggest dietary cause of osteoporosis because more than any other food it depletes the finite reserve of bone-making cells in the body.
So although milk makes bones stronger in the short term, in the long term it erodes bone-making cells, increasing the risk of osteoporosis

I'd avoid the cow's milk and go for almond or other nut milks. They're healthier and tastier

callas444

I drink an almond/coconut blend that is 45 calories per cup rather than the 90 calories per cup in skim milk. I do this simply for the calorie savings and because it's absolutely delicious in cereal. It allows me to eat cereal that has no sugar and still have a bit of a sweet taste. I also drink it because it lasts much longer in the fridge and I am the only one in my house that consumes milk.

*edited to add* I drink the Blue Diamond Almond Coconut milk. Very good stuff.

the_dude00

If your health and appearance is of importance stick with cow's milk.

neandermagnon

re prevention of osteoporosis, the major factors are hormones and weight bearing exercise. Adequate calcium intake is also very important, but bone mineralisation may fail to occur even with adequate calcium intake if these other factors are not present


1. weight bearing exercise - bone is a dynamic tissue just like muscle is, i.e. it's a case of use it or lose it, and if you want more of it you have to load it with enough weight. So while strength training is usually recommended for building and maintaining muscle mass, it's also very important for building and maintaining bone density. All weight bearing exercise has an effect, even walking, but the more weight you put on your bones, the more they'll adapt by laying down more minerals, just like how muscles are stimulated by walking but heavy lifting can make them much stronger than walking can

2. hormones - some of the human sex hormones have a role in bone mineralisation. Too low levels of these, which can occur as a result of insufficient food intake or too low levels of body fat, can cause minerals to be lost from the skeleton. Women are particular at risk from this, especially after the menopause, due to the natural decline of sex hormones. However men are at risk too if they undereat to the point that their sperm count is affected (this too is the result of too low levels of sex hormones). In women, if menstruation stops because of insufficient food intake, then there's a high likelihood that minerals are being lost from the bones as well. In men, it's harder to tell that this is happening and he may not notice that his sperm count has dropped because his semen looks the same. However for both males and females there are other signs of chronic undereating that indicate that sex hormone levels are too low and there's a risk that bone minerals are being lost.


So the take home message from that is for bone health, 1. eat enough food generally, 2. do exercise that puts weight on your bones and 3. eat enough calcium (from dairy or greens, it doesn't matter, but if you are intolerant or allergic to dairy then you need to eat greens to get calcium.... dairy eating people should still eat greens for iron and folic acid and stuff though!!) ... and there's an extra take-home message for women.... strength training even after the menopause goes a long way to limiting the loss of bone minerals after your menstrual cycle stops. Traditional societies that don't have high rates of osteoporosis in elderly women, usually you'll find that people are very active and even old women walk long distances and/or do lifting and carrying and stay active into old age (ditto old men)........ no need to be scared of dairy if you can digest it fine, but avoid being sedentary.


Note: cessation of menstruation due to pregnancy and breastfeeding does not cause female sex hormone levels to drop, just that the hormones are different to support pregnancy and breastfeeding. That said, you need more calcium, especially when breastfeeding, as you need calcium for the baby too. During breastfeeding, your baby is laying down minerals in his or her own bones, you need a LOT of calcium while breastfeeding, if you're not eating enough it'll go from your own bones into your milk for your baby. So eat plenty of calcium while breastfeeding.

Grace4DebraAnn

I prefer it as it is higher in protein and calcium than regular milk. Lower in calories too. Healthier than regular milk, I feel. It has a different consistency than regular milk, some like while others do not. It it worth trying.

sarafischbach9

Up to you!

Almond milk has less calories ( than even soy Silk milk ). It also has vitamins and minerals in it as well. I use almond milk to bake and it works really well. I like that it is low in calories, although its only slightly less than skim milk. I like almond better than skim; tastes better.

However, almond milk is more expensive. But it also has a longer shelf life.

If I buy milk, it always goes to waste because I don't use it. If I buy Silk or almond milk, I usually use it all by the shelf date ending.

tedrickp

Almond milk has more calcium than cows milk

Fortified not naturally. And I know how people on here love them some "natural"

Bety_1989

Almond milk taste nasty, cow milk is yummy.

tedrickp

I prefer it as it is higher in protein

To be fair - no it doesn't.

BTW - As usual my overall stance on this is: choose the one you like the best. Don't overthink it.

fatcat2756

I personally like to rotate between Almond, Soy, Rice and Coconut just to prevent developing an allergy to any of them. I prefer milk from the cow, but it goes bad before I can use it up so I switched to alternate milks, but was disappointed to learn that they lack the protein of cows milk. Also, there are other ingredients in the alternate milks that to me render it questionable as a healthy milk alternative. I think it's great for people who really have a problem with cows milk.

the_dude00

I prefer it as it is higher in protein and calcium than regular milk. Lower in calories too. Healthier than regular milk, I feel. It has a different consistency than regular milk, some like while others do not. It it worth trying.

Almond milk DOES NOT have as much protein as cow milk. Regular milk has 8 grams per glass , almond has 1 or 2....

jjscholar

I like Almond Milk better.