Soy, Rice, or Almond Milk: Which is the Best Alternative?

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guapogringo
guapogringo Posts: 201
in Food and Nutrition
I’ve recently heard about the dangers of processed cow’s milk, and since then I’ve been looking for a healthier alternative to this everyday drink. There are many milk substitutes available on the market right now. I wasn’t sure which one I should use, so I decided to try three different versions—soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk—to pick which one I liked the best.
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Replies

  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
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    as a male stay away from Soy milk .... Pending on you want out of your "milk" and what your goals are look at rice or almond.. I have a preference towards almond..

    However I dont drink any sort of milk now.. I used to mix it with my protein shakes now I just mix with water.
  • samlankford
    samlankford Posts: 334
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    I only drink unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened coconut milk.. I have had rice milk and soy milk but did not care for either one of them... rice milk is thicker (I used to LOVE chocolate rice dream, it was good for calories)... almond milk has 50% more calcium then dairy milk :-)
  • T_X_L
    T_X_L Posts: 140 Member
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    I assume that you're a guy from your avatar, so I'd suggest staying away from soy milk. It has compounds that mimic estrogen. Almond milk is the way to go, IMO. I wouldn't avoid cow's milk because of "dangers". there's a LOT of FUD (f***ed up data) on the internet. It's good to limit cow's milk because it doesn't have a great protein to carbohydrate level.
  • gshoemaker06
    gshoemaker06 Posts: 264 Member
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    I also agree with not drinking cow's milk. I've tried them all except for almond milk. Coconut milk has been my favorite so far. I liked soy milk a lot but I'm also a dude, so I tend to stay away from it.
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    yea, I'd skip the soy milk since you're male..... I stick with unsweetened coconut milk. Use it every day in my protein shakes. and I use it in baking/recipes that call for milk. works great! tastes good! :) ((I never just drink a glass of milk, only use it in stuff))
  • boggsmroz
    boggsmroz Posts: 20
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    We've made the switch from cow's milk to unsweetened almond milk. It's not my favorite, but I only really have milk with cereal and I don't have cereal but maybe 1-2x/week. We made the switch because my son had 5 ear infections in as many months and they didn't start until he started drinking cow's milk. I'm not kidding, the day after we made the switch his runny nose disappeared and hasn't been back since and he hasn't had a single ear infection!
  • lauren3382
    lauren3382 Posts: 372 Member
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    I'm sure you already know this, but I'm an almond milk freak. Unsweetened of course. The only bad thing, imo, is the sodium. But as long as your sodium is in check there really is no reason not to do almond unless you don't like the taste. I still love the taste of good ol' 2% cow's milk. But I won't touch soy and I've never tried rice. The primary reason I chose almond was due to the calcium and that is so important for women.

    What did you think about the taste of rice?
  • PaulaDygert
    PaulaDygert Posts: 148 Member
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    Just wondering why you say as a male to stay away from soy? We have milk allergies and my son prefers soy so I am curious.
  • Winters0Girl
    Winters0Girl Posts: 9
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    Almond
  • pixtotts
    pixtotts Posts: 552 Member
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    best alternative health wise i cant help best alternative taste wise.... they are apparently good for different things... Almond is sweeter (even the unsweetened) so good if you have sugar in your coffee as you can probably manage without it, i dont have sugar and found it made my tea too sweet :( but very good for cooking puddings :D
    rice isnt so sweet and also isnt good in coffee/tea, soy is general all rounder i believe but iv heard you wouldnt want soy on its own but iv not tried it...
    x
  • sunshine_gem
    sunshine_gem Posts: 390 Member
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    Just wondering why you say as a male to stay away from soy? We have milk allergies and my son prefers soy so I am curious.

    I'd be interested in knowing that too.
  • dayone987
    dayone987 Posts: 645 Member
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    Almond milk is fairly low on protein and calcium, so if you are using it instead of dairy milk, I would make sure that you get enogh of these nutrients from other sources.
  • ChrisRS87
    ChrisRS87 Posts: 781 Member
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    I'm sure you already know this, but I'm an almond milk freak. Unsweetened of course. The only bad thing, imo, is the sodium. But as long as your sodium is in check there really is no reason not to do almond unless you don't like the taste. I still love the taste of good ol' 2% cow's milk. But I won't touch soy and I've never tried rice. The primary reason I chose almond was due to the calcium and that is so important for women.

    What did you think about the taste of rice?

    unsweetened almond milk for the win, my protein shakes never tasted so good
  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
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    I use almond milk, usually vanilla unsweetened. It's fabulous in creaminess, especially since I switched from skim milk.
  • FITnFIRM4LIFE
    FITnFIRM4LIFE Posts: 818 Member
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    Almond

    This, Love it!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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  • guapogringo
    guapogringo Posts: 201
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    Crap, I have been drinking soy milk for 5 years. Now i hear I will grow boobs and decrease my sperm count.

    I have only had rice a time or too. I have been looking at the protein content in soy and I always deferred to that because it was higher than the others. I have a 30 cal unsweetened almond in the fridge now and it is pretty darn good.
  • hellohappylisa
    hellohappylisa Posts: 141 Member
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    Honestly there are benefits to almond, rice, and coconut, they have different nutrients so it depends on what you're looking to get out of it.

    For regular drinking, I prefer almond, specifically Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, original flavor. I can use it plain with cereal, or add in a little agave and pumpkin pie spice for a sweet treat. Also, that same mix with coffee is DELICIOUS!

    Rice milk actually makes for better chocolate milk, but you have to add a teeeeeny, tiny pinch, and I mean TINY pinch, of salt. I can't even tell the difference between cow and rice chocolate milk after adding that salt!

    I love coconut ice cream, but for some reason I just don't really like coconut milk. I use it in recipes though.

    Personally I don't like the unsweetened versions. The sweetened versions aren't actually SWEET, they just have a little added sugar to make it taste more like milk.

    For the love of all that is delicious, avoid any Dream products. They're all really thick and terrible tasting! I think they were the first on the market and their recipe hasn't changed...newer brands taste a lot better.
  • T_X_L
    T_X_L Posts: 140 Member
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    Just wondering why you say as a male to stay away from soy? We have milk allergies and my son prefers soy so I am curious.

    I'd be interested in knowing that too.

    Soy milk has compounds that mimic estrogen, a female hormone.
  • nursevee
    nursevee Posts: 344 Member
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    I'd suggest either almond or coconut milk. I was told by my nutritionist that soy is an incomplete protein. I don't use dairy at all.

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