Cows milk vs almond milk

Why does nearly every thread I read on this site digress into snarkiness by the time all is said and done? I'm sure those of you with thousands of posts have discussed milk alternatives to death, but if the point of this site is to encourage others in their lifestyle change then why isn't there more patience for those new to their journey?

Because I won't stand for people spreading un-truths about agriculture, especially the dairy industry, which is so often misrepresented on MFP.

Why not let the OP decide what advice to take to heart? If people don't do their own research, that is on them. You or the person you are rebutting would not be my deciding factor in my own health decisions. There will always be differing opinions of whether the things we eat are clean/healthy. It doesn't seem helpful to the OP to have to weed through the snarky comments to get to the one's trying to address her post. Clearly, I'm very new to posting, I just find the tone to every post takes a nose dive and I don't get it.

Apparently this is the OP's version of research, and you are not them. So maybe words spoken here will be her deciding factor. It seems she's already decided to drink cows' milk anyway.

You missed the point though. If somebody is going to come on here and make ridiculous claims based on some propoganda they read on facebook (or something similar) without using critical thinking, of course they're going to be met with snark. I personally have not been snarky, but yeah it bothers me when someone classifies a whole industry as immoral and unnatural based on things that aren't true.

I don't care what people drink or why they choose to drink almond milk or cows' milk. But if someone is going to make a claim, they better have their facts straight.

I haven't missed your point, and agree, you have not been snarky in your responses, but that can't be said for the majority of the other responses. I'm not at all opposed to seeing differing views and learning new info myself, and that wasn't really the point of my post. I have been on other communities that are very supportive, and this board in general has a very hateful tone to it (again, not saying your posts specifically).

Animal sources of protein, like cow's milk, have a much better amino acid profile, specifically branched chain amino acids which your body cannot produce and must be consumed, than non animal sources of protein. Branched chained amino acids make up 60% of your skeletal muscle tissue, so it's very important. I get almost all of my protein from animal sources, so I'll go with cow's milk every time.

Valine isoleucine and leucine make up 60% of skeletal muscle? Call me skeptical. Can you find a source for that that isn't a bodybuilding blog or website or BCAA marketer?

I drink Almond milk because I'm lactose intolerant and don't feel like drinking lactose free milk(still upsets my stomach). I also like that its lower in calories and has more calcium per serving verses cows milk. I get the blue diamond Brand in Vanilla and its 80 calories per 8 ounces.

I wish I had warm chocolate chip cookies and a cold cup of cow milk........................

I drink almond and love it! I don't miss cow milk at all.

There were a few reasons why I changed to almond milk.
- Less Fat
- Less Calories
- Less Gross (Really, we are the only mammals that continue to drink milk after being weened)
- Less Sugar
- Less Carbs
- Gives everything a little almond flavor

Don't go into it thinking it's going to be exactly like milk, it's not.

There is no propaganda about cow's milk. No animal other than humans consume milk after infancy. It's not supposed to be in our diet at all.

Almond milk All The Way - also, it takes 683 gallons of water to produce ONE GALLON of milk versus the 23 gallons it takes to produce one gallon of almond milk. Which do you think is more ecologically responsible?

There are cheaper/more sustainable ways of gaining animal proteins. Read the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan or Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, or even The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - learn how your food is made.

Animal sources of protein, like cow's milk, have a much better amino acid profile, specifically branched chain amino acids which your body cannot produce and must be consumed, than non animal sources of protein. Branched chained amino acids make up 60% of your skeletal muscle tissue, so it's very important. I get almost all of my protein from animal sources, so I'll go with cow's milk every time.

Valine isoleucine and leucine make up 60% of skeletal muscle? Call me skeptical. Can you find a source for that that isn't a bodybuilding blog or website or BCAA marketer?

Yeah, looked it up. BCAA or branched chain amino acids are Isoleucine, leucine and valine. The natural abundance of these amino acids in the body breaks down like this: Valine 6.8%, Isoleucine 3.8%, Leucine 7.6%. So BCAA abundance 18.2%.

Citation:

http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/webmodules/aminoacid.htm

Skeletal muscle and all muscle is primarily composed of two proteins, actin and myosin. Here are the primary amino acid sequences for those proteins in homo sapiens


Here is the amino acid sequence for actin:
MDDDIAALVVDNGSGMCKAGFAGDDAPRAVFPSIVGRPRHQGVMVGMGQKDSYVGDEAQSKRGILTLKYP
IEHGIVTNWDDMEKIWHHTFYNELRVAPEEHPVLLTEAPLNPKANREKMTQIMFETFNTPAMYVAIQAVL
SLYASGRTTGIVMDSGDGVTHTVPIYEGYALPHAILRLDLAGRDLTDYLMKILTERGYSFTTTAEREIVR
DIKEKLCYVALDFEQEMATAASSSSLEKSYELPDGQVITIGNERFRCPEALFQPSFLGMESCGIHETTFN
SIMKCDVDIRKDLYANTVLSGGTTMYPGIADRMQKEITALAPSTMKIKIIAPPERKYSVWIGGSILASLS
TFQQMWISKQEYDESGPSIVHRKCF

375 amino acids. 22 valine, 32 isoleucine, 29 leucine. 22% BCA
Here is the amino acid sequence for myosin:
MSASSDAEMAVFGERAPYLRKSEKERIEAQNKPFDAKTSVFVAEPKESYVKSTIQSKEGGKVTVKTEGGA
TLTVREDQVFPMNPPKYDKIEDMAMMTHLHEPGVLYNLKERYAAWMIYTYSGLFCVTVNPYKWLPVYKPE
VVAAYRGKKRQEAPPHIFSISDNAYQFMLTDRENQSILITGESGAGKTVNTKRVIQYFATIAVTGEKKKD
ESGKMQGTLEDQIISANPLLEAFGNAKTVRNDNSSRFGKFIRIHFGTTGKLASADIETYLLEKSRVTFQL
KAERSYHIFYQITSNKKPDLIEMLLITTNPYDYAFVSQGEITVPSIDDQEELMATDSAIDILGFTPEEKV
SIYKLTGAVMHYGNMKFKQKQREEQAEPDGTEVADKAAYLQSLNSADLLKALCYPRVKVGNEYVTKGQTV
QQVYNAVGALAKAVYEKMFLWMVTRINQQLDTKQPRQYFIGVLDIAGFEIFDFNSLEQLCINFTNEKLQQ
FFNHHMFVLEQEEYKKEGIEWTFIDFGMDLAACIELIEKPLGIFSILEEECMFPKATDTSFKNKLYDQHL
GKSANFQKPKVVKGKAEAHFSLIHYAGTVDYNITGWLDKNKDPLNDTVVGLYQKSAMKTLASLFSTYASA
EADSSAKKGAKKKGSSFQTVSALFRENLNKLMTNLRSTHPHFVRCIIPNETKTPGAMEHELVLHQLRCNG
VLEGIRICRKGFPSRILYGDFKQRYKVLNASAIPEGQFIDSKKASEKLLASIDIDHTQYKFGHTKVFFKA
GLLGLLEEMRDEKLAQIITRTQAVCRGFLMRVEYQKMLQRREALFCIQYNVRAFMNVKHWPWMKLFFKIK
PLLKSAETEKEMATMKEEFQKTKDELAKSEAKRKELEEKMVTLLKEKNDLQLQVQSEADSLADAEERCEQ
LIKNKIQLEAKIKEVTERAEEEEEINAELTAKKRKLEDECSELKKDIDDLELTLAKVEKEKHATENKVKN
LTEEMAGLDETIAKLSKEKKALQETHQQTLDDLQAEEDKVNILTKAKTKLEQQVDDLEGSLEQEKKLRMD
LERAKRKLEGDLKLAQESTMDMENDKQQLDEKLEKKEFEISNLISKIEDEQAVEIQLQKKIKELQARIEE
LGEEIEAERASRAKAEKQRSDLSRELEEISERLEEAGGATSAQVELNKKREAEFQKLRRDLEEATLQHEA
MVAALRKKHADSMAELGEQIDNLQRVKQKLEKEKSELKMETDDLSSNAEAISKAKGNLEKMCRSLEDQVS
ELKTKEEEQQRLINDLTAQRARLQTEAGEYSRQLDEKDALVSQLSRSKQASTQQIEELKHQLEEETKAKN
ALAHALQSSRHDCDLLREQYEEEQEGKAELQRALSKANSEVAQWRTKYETDAIQRTEELEEAKKKLAQRL
QEAEEHVEAVNAKCASLEKTKQRLQNEVEDLMLDVERSNAACAALDKKQRNFDKVLSEWKQKYEETQAEL
EASQKESRSLSTELFKVKNVYEESLDQLETLRRENKNLQQEISDLTEQIAEGGKQIHELEKIKKQVEQEK
CEIQAALEEAEASLEHEEGKILRIQLELNQVKSEVDRKIAEKDEEIDQLKRNHTRVVETMQSTLDAEIRS
RNDALRVKKKMEGDLNEMEIQLNHANRLAAESLRNYRNTQGILKETQLHLDDALRGQEDLKEQLAIVERR
ANLLQAEIEELWATLEQTERSRKIAEQELLDASERVQLLHTQNTSLINTKKKLENDVSQLQSEVEEVIQE
SRNAEEKAKKAITDAAMMAEELKKEQDTSAHLERMKKNLEQTVKDLQHRLDEAEQLALKGGKKQIQKLEA
RVRELEGEVENEQKRNAEAVKGLRKHERRVKELTYQTEEDRKNVLRLQDLVDKLQAKVKSYKRQAEEAEE
QSNANLSKFRKLQHELEEAEERAHIAESQVNKLRVKSREVHTKISAE

1937aa. 92 valine, 91 I, 202 L. 19.9% BCAA

Citation:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/protein/CAA86293.1
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/protein/NP_001092.1

So the %BCAA composition of these proteins is pretty close to the normal abundance in all proteins, there is no enrichment in the primary proteins that comprise skeletal muscle.

So yeah I call bro-science on 60% of skeletal muscle is BCAA. Sounds like something that a BCAA marketer probably made up and got perpetuated on bodybuilding forums.

There is no propaganda about cow's milk. No animal other than humans consume milk after infancy. It's not supposed to be in our diet at all.

Almond milk All The Way - also, it takes 683 gallons of water to produce ONE GALLON of milk versus the 23 gallons it takes to produce one gallon of almond milk. Which do you think is more ecologically responsible?

There are cheaper/more sustainable ways of gaining animal proteins. Read the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan or Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, or even The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - learn how your food is made.

There's plenty of propaganda. I deal with it every day.

But do you mean to tell me you don't ever eat:
cheese
ice cream
corn bread
yogurt
pudding
biscuits
hash
gravy
waffles
souffle
chocolate candy
oatmeal
bread
butter

As for your second point, I think the cow is going to drink all that water regardless of whether it's producing milk or not.

And The Jungle? Sure, reference a book written in the early 20th century about the food industry. Totally relevant to this discussion.

ETA: I totally realize that some people like vegans have no problem cutting out dairy, but I think a lot of people fail to realize the whole "humans aren't meant to drink milk past infancy" argument takes a whole lot of other foods out of the game, too.

No animal other than humans consume milk after infancy. It's not supposed to be in our diet at all.

With respect to the third sentence, who said? Who determines what is "supposed to be" in a human diet, especially when we are talking about foods that plenty of humans enjoy, can digest, and which provide calories and nutrients?

With respect to the second sentence, I am currently reading this while eating lunch and am munching on, among other things, some lovely roasted asparagus cooked with a bit of olive oil. Do other animals eat that precise dish? If not, does that make it unnatural and something I am not supposed to eat? I'd get really bored of raw meat, fruit, and vegetables all the time, even apart from the other problems with such a diet from my perspective.

I drink almond and love it! I don't miss cow milk at all.

There were a few reasons why I changed to almond milk.
- Less Fat
- Less Calories
- Less Gross (Really, we are the only mammals that continue to drink milk after being weened)
- Less Sugar
- Less Carbs
- Gives everything a little almond flavor

Don't go into it thinking it's going to be exactly like milk, it's not.

^^^^^ this for sure, I get the unsweetened vanilla, so good!!

I have been on other communities that are very supportive, and this board in general has a very hateful tone to it (again, not saying your posts specifically).

What? Hateful?

Where? When? I think this is your own perception. I've been here since July 2012, have thousands of posts, read thousands of posts, and I've seen hateful comments maybe a half a dozen times. I have those folks on ignore.

I've seen more than half a dozen in just a handful of threads, but I'm happy to learn there is an option to ignore.. thanks!

I drink almond and love it! I don't miss cow milk at all.

There were a few reasons why I changed to almond milk.
- Less Fat
- Less Calories
- Less Gross (Really, we are the only mammals that continue to drink milk after being weened)
- Less Sugar
- Less Carbs
- Gives everything a little almond flavor

Don't go into it thinking it's going to be exactly like milk, it's not.

^^^^^ this for sure, I get the unsweetened vanilla, so good!!

Ditto for me as well. Although, I do still have yogurt. I haven't found an alternative that I like, but try to keep my intake to a minimum and am able to get my fats and protein elsewhere.

Not sure which is "healthier", but I prefer nut milks. I make my own to avoid all the highly processed ingredients, and it's super easy! My favorite is hazelnut milk, but I love almond milk too.

Almond milk & coconut milk are way healthier than cow's milk (less fat, calories, GMOs, etc). Plus, you can even make your own almond milk! How awesome is that? I learned I was lactose intolerant, gave up cow's milk, switching to almond/coconut milk, and lost a lot of weight, partly by giving up dairy. :bigsmile: Plus, if you're drinking coconut milk and you close your eyes, you feel like you're on a tropical island. I'm not kidding! Try it!

unsweetened coconut milk kinda tastes ike creamy snot to me, but cows milk kinda does too. At least if you're going to avoid cows milk, coconut milk gives you the creaminess, especially if you bake with it instead of real milk.