Almond Milk vs Soymilk?

grizzlymaze

I drink regular cows milk - call me crazy.

I don't really like the taste of almond milk on its own, never drank soy milk but I do know that it has a good amount of protein in it, whereas the almond milk has little to no protein or fiber in it.

I'm crazy too than I guess. I prefer milk over other forms but if its the only thing in the house than I'll drink it. I like to compare it to the great debate over eggs, first the egg is good than not good than only egg white is good. What's next...?

flyingwrite

I prefer Almond Milk. I, too, am lactose intolerant and just plain long don't like milk. So, for cereal and smoothies, almond milk unsweetened original all the way. I get my protein from other soy products, beans, nuts, etc. Don't like the taste of any of it by itself so that isn't a factor. Besides, it's terrifically low in calories.

mrsdizzyd84

Just had almond milk for the first time today. It was really very tasty, but then again I LOVE almonds. I probably wouldn't drink it on it's own, but in my smoothie this AM it was fantastic.

Soy milk is simply gross to me. YUCK!

Why not try both? At my grocery store you can get individual servings of each in Vanilla or Chocolate.

emily356

Yeah, I say pick up one of almond, soy, and coconut milk to try... coconut is very healthy for you as well!!:)

BodyRockerVT

My grocery store doesn't have small sizes I am afraid. It is a carton or nothing. They don't even have different brands of each. I consider going to the bigger store but end up spending WAY too much money...

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

For those with thyroid issues, almond milk is a better choice because soy has been shown to negatively affect that. Otherwise, it's really a matter of taste.

I happen to prefer almond milk because I find it creamier and tastier than soymilk, but that's just me!

Do you have a source with research to back this up? I've never heard this before and would like to read some research on this issue.

tataliciousd89

I drank soy milk for years, but discovered almont milk and haven't turned back. That stuff is delicious, almost sinfully so.

TanyaGirl76

There really is no upside to soy unless it is fermented. It is extremely bad for you especially if it is genetically modified and not organic. It’s best to avoid it as much as you can, which is almost impossible to do nowadays.

carolafye

Soy effects a lot of things, not to mention 99% of soy in the US is GMO. Fermented soy in moderation is good for you. Do your research!

I'll stick with Almond Milk as well

JEdgarThomas

"Milk is for babies." --Arnold Schwarzenegger

/endthread

aurie024

almond for sure

sundancer1966

I prefer Almond to soy, I stopped with Soy because of thyroid, and my husband made the swtich to almond also because of the effects of Soy on men. We are almost vegan, and tend to eat more soy. I liked the almond milk better, and now, so does my husband.

I say, buy one of each, and do a comparrison. Compare the nutriental value and do a taste test.

justanotherbrickinthewall

I personally prefer Silk soy milk. I've tried almond milk and it tasted like liquid peanut butter to me. I like peanut butter, but the fact that it was liquid was putrid, in my opinion.

missigus

"The effect of cooking on goitrogens

Although research studies are limited in this area, cooking does appear to help inactivate the goitrogenic compounds found in food. Both isoflavones (found in soy foods) and isothiocyanates (found in cruciferous vegetables) appear to be heat-sensitive, and cooking appears to lower the availability of these substances. In the case of isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, as much as one third of this goitrogenic substance may be deactivated when broccoli is boiled in water."

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47

But as it says, research is limited, and the isothiocyanates are not reduced by as much as the isoflavones. Unfortunately, most of the soy/thyroid studies are on rats, and they do not react the same way as humans. And I suspect that they all use raw soy, rather than a prepared form like you or I would.

Pam

Hey thanks for the info. I wasn't sure how much if any it reduced it. I try hard to stay away from that stuff, but I do confess to eating cooked broccoli...LOL.

darlilama

My husband is lactose intolerant, so we've had Silk soymilk in the fridge for years. For simplicity in grocery shopping, I tried it but I just never cared for it. So, mostly I drank organic cow's milk, which I really like. However, I've just recently tried Silk's almond milk and both my husband and I love it! We buy the unsweetened and I'll sweeten it a little if I"ve in the mood. It's a lot fewer calories, sugar, and has fiber and calcium!

Anyone tried coconut milk?

lthomas42

I prefer blue diamond almond milk. I generally don't drink a lot of it, but it goes in my coffee and cereal and it's really light and tasty. I get the unsweetened original, and it's only 40 calories for an 8oz glass.

Elleinnz

For those with thyroid issues, almond milk is a better choice because soy has been shown to negatively affect that. Otherwise, it's really a matter of taste.

I happen to prefer almond milk because I find it creamier and tastier than soymilk, but that's just me!

Do you have a source with research to back this up? I've never heard this before and would like to read some research on this issue.

Go to Mercola.com and search on Soy - you will find some verrrryyyy interesting articles.....

This link will most probably be stripped, but here it is for now..... http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/13/soy-controversy-and-health-effects.aspx

By the way : It is really easy to do your own research by just typing "soy and thyroid" into Google....

Tammisky

Almond milk is only like 40 cal per cup. Soy can be like 70-90 cal, depending on if you get Light, Sweetened, etc...

I prefer unsweetened Almond milk from the store's fresh case (next to the fresh milk) the best.

I've tried the boxed Almond milk that sits on the shelf but that stuff tasted terrible to me!

bcattoes

I read an article recently comparing the two but I can't find it now. It gave soy a slightly higher rating for greater protein content and isoflavones. But generally the auther said go with what you enjoy and read the label as both can soemtimes be high in sugar.

beautifullyblessed16

A cup of SO Delicious Almond Milk has 5 grams of protein and 0 gram of fiber.

They make coconut milk, not almond milk. Per their website, 1 cup of SO Delicious Coconut Milk has 1g protein and 0g fiber.

http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/product.php?p=so_delicious_beverage_hg_original

IMAG4555 by noclutter2011, on Flickr


IMAG4556 by noclutter2011, on Flickr

I bought this yesterday at Walmart.

kilbey1

I avoid soymilk because the general population already gets way too much soy in their diets through other means; almost everything these days seems to have soy protein, soy isolates, soy lecithins and soy oils. The most beneficial soys are fermented products like miso, tempeh and natto. Regardless, if you do decide to drink soymilk, look for something that is Non-GMO (does not contain genetically modified soybeans).

Also, if you opt to go for almond milk, read the label to ensure it does not list Almond Base; this is a proprietary blend of almonds and water, and there's no telling how many 'almonds' are actually in the milk. You can get a general idea of how much almond is used in the milk by looking at the fiber on the nutrition panel; there is around 1 gram of fiber in every 7 almonds, while many almond milks may contain 0 grams of fiber for every 8 ounces. If it's got some fiber, it's a gauge to tell if there is much almond content in there at all. (Example: Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened, refrigerated -- this has 1g fiber per 8 ounces. Almond Dream unsweetened, shelf stable, has <1g per 8 ounces.)

Try making almond milk yourself, it's very easy and you have control of what goes into it.

1 cup almonds, soaked overnight (or at least 6 hours)
3 cups water
3 pitted dates (and/or vanilla flavoring)
Pinch of salt (optional)

1. Soak your almonds; after soaking, drain the soak water off.
2. Combine almonds, pitted dates, salt, and water in a blender and blend on high for two minutes.
3. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or milk nut bag, into a large measuring cup or bowl. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to five days.

nikolaim5

The reality is there isn't enough conclusive science on soy's hormonal properties. Until there is it's best to take a moderate approach towards consumption.

pdworkman

Okay, Mercola publishes a lot of . . . new and not generally accepted . . . stuff. And lots of opinion stated as fact. And a lot of it is just a lengthy advertisement for the products he sells. Take it with a grain of salt and check sources.

When googling about soy, beware that most of the negative stuff on the web traces back to one source, and that source is anti-soy because it is pro-meat and dairy. If you check the footnotes and references on materials that you find, you will find that they are questionable, often quoting themselves to prove their own point. People see a footnote and think "great, this is backed by scientific studies", only to find that the author funded those studies or that it is not referencing a study, but a letter that the author wrote to someone else to build the body of proof. Just take care, read both sides of the story, and see where the information is coming from.

Pam

cmhickey616

I try to eat soy in moderation so since I already eat tofu and other soy protein substitutes I stick with almond milk for my cereal and baking. I also just like the taste better. unsweetened vanilla almond milk is so yummy on homemade granola.

BeesKnees181

almond is a better option for me...lower calories and less fillers and sweeteners

But, when baking, I use coconut milk.

calliope_music

i prefer almond milk. i like the taste better.

erickirb

A cup of SO Delicious Almond Milk has 5 grams of protein and 0 gram of fiber.

They make coconut milk, not almond milk. Per their website, 1 cup of SO Delicious Coconut Milk has 1g protein and 0g fiber.

http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/product.php?p=so_delicious_beverage_hg_original

IMAG4555 by noclutter2011, on Flickr


IMAG4556 by noclutter2011, on Flickr

I bought this yesterday at Walmart.

Thank you, I will have to look for it. I guess the +, is for the protein as all other Almond milks only have 1 g.

econut2000

I didn't read all the posts so sorry if I'm repeating....I go almond. Soy is found in EVERYTHING you eat that's processed. Just like eating high fructose corn syrup is bad (because it's made from corn and everything processed you eat is made with corn). I've read quite a few articles on soy and like one poster said, they all contradict but from what I understand, soy can affect hormones so you need to be careful on that. I have also read that really the only soy that is good for you and not harmful is fermented soy (this does NOT include soy milk or tofu). I read this on an organics website that is very much against Monsanto (THE major producer of soybean seed) so this article could very likely be biased against soy - although I doubt all untrue. Either way though I just won't drink it because we already eat way to much processed soy (even though I have cut way back on my processed food intake) and the environmental effects are not good (creates a soybean mono-culture, GMO's, etc).

pdworkman

I agree that it would be wise to:

1. limit processed foods, whether they have soy in them or not (gmo corn is even harder to avoid than soy)
2. eat soy in moderation, use as a condiment
3. try to make sure your soy products are organic/non gmo soy
4. eat most of your soy in its fermented form (miso or tempeh)

I suspect that this moderate approach will be healthy for *most* people.

Pam

I didn't read all the posts so sorry if I'm repeating....I go almond. Soy is found in EVERYTHING you eat that's processed. Just like eating high fructose corn syrup is bad (because it's made from corn and everything processed you eat is made with corn). I've read quite a few articles on soy and like one poster said, they all contradict but from what I understand, soy can affect hormones so you need to be careful on that. I have also read that really the only soy that is good for you and not harmful is fermented soy (this does NOT include soy milk or tofu). I read this on an organics website that is very much against Monsanto (THE major producer of soybean seed) so this article could very likely be biased against soy - although I doubt all untrue. Either way though I just won't drink it because we already eat way to much processed soy (even though I have cut way back on my processed food intake) and the environmental effects are not good (creates a soybean mono-culture, GMO's, etc).

zakkthebear

I try for zero. Soy will adversely affect testosterone production. can't have that.

yeas but to get enough to do that you would be eating a block of Tofu a day and drinking at least a L of soy milk. Moderation is the key, no reason to avoid.

That being said, soy is much better in the protein category, but has more calories, so depending on if you need it for protein or not.

so are you saying I wasn't having enough affect my test production? how do you know?