Milk alternatives such as almond, soy, coconut and rice milk continue to share shelf space with real cow’s milk. People are placing them in their carts, believing that they are equal to real cow’s milk.
Typically, milk alternatives are more expensive, have more added ingredients and are not standardized in a way that ensures you are always getting the same product.
Every time you buy cow’s milk you are getting the same nine essential nutrients regardless of the fat content.
So if you choose 2 percent milk or fat-free milk, the same nutrients are there ... all for about a quarter per eight-ounce serving.
Decades of science support dairy foods’ nutrition and health benefits. Dairy is also an essential piece in the 2015-20 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and a key player on My Plate and its Spanish equivalent, Mi Plato.
These guidelines recommend three servings of dairy each day to help address the nutrient shortfall many Americans have, including three of the four nutrients of concern: calcium, vitamin D and potassium.
Yet Americans currently only consume about two servings of dairy each day.
How does almond milk compare to cow’s milk?
Almond milk is highly processed.
It’s designed to mimic cow’s milk nutrition and taste through a combination of 10 or more ingredients, including added sugar and salt. Cow’s milk contains three simple ingredients: milk, vitamin A and vitamin D. Cow’s milk is a unique package with nine essential nutrients over 10 percent of the daily requirement, including calcium, potassium and vitamin D, three of four key nutrients most Americans are lacking, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Almond milk has no standard of identity.
Almond milk’s components, ingredients, nutrients and processing vary significantly across brands, whereas cow’s milk has a standard of identity (legal standard regarding the components and ingredients of a food) defined by the Federal Drug Administration.
Almond milk only has ⅛ the protein of cow’s milk. You’d need half a gallon of vanilla almond milk (which adds up to 720 calories) to get the same amount of protein as a single glass of fat-free cow’s milk (which has only 80 calories).
Almond milk costs more.
For 25 cents, you’ll get about eight ounces of cow’s milk, but only about five ounces of almond milk. Nutritionally and financially, cow’s milk is just a better bang for your buck.
How does soy milk compare to cow’s milk?
Real cow’s milk and soy milk are both good sources of a complete protein.
Real cow’s milk provides eight grams of high-quality protein; soy milk provides between six to eight grams.
This complete protein offers the body all nine essential amino acids that the body can’t make on its own. Calcium-fortified soy beverage (it’s technically not milk) is the only milk alternative listed in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the foundation for eating recommendations by the U.S. government.
But remember, you’re getting very different nutrition when you select soy milk.
Real cow’s milk provides nutrients you need that soy milk can’t. Real cow’s milk provides nine essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium and vitamin D, which the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identify as three of four key nutrients that most American diets lack.
In fact, dairy is America’s No. 1 source of all three. Soy milk provides calcium, iron and zinc, but many of these are hard for the body to absorb due to other compounds — in fact, research shows that calcium from soy milk is absorbed at only 75 percent of the efficiency of calcium from real cow’s milk.
Real cow’s milk has a standard of identity (a legal standard regarding the components and ingredients of a food) defined by the Federal Drug Administration.
Soy milk doesn’t; its components, ingredients, nutrients and processing may vary significantly across brands.
Real cow’s milk boasts a better price than soy milk. You get eight ounces of delicious real cow’s milk for about a quarter. That quarter will only buy you five ounces of soy milk.
How does rice milk compare to cow’s milk?
Rice milk is mostly carbohydrates, sweetened or unsweetened.
One cup of original rice milk, with added sugars for palatability, contains 23 grams of carbohydrates, almost twice as much sugar as a glass of milk.
The flavored varieties contain as much as 34 grams of sugar.
Rice milk is also high-glycemic, which means it digests quickly and may cause fluctuations in your blood sugar. For people with diabetes or anyone watching their sugar intake, real cow’s milk is the better choice.
Rice milk has very little protein. Most of the protein in rice is in the bran, the main portion of the grain when you’ve removed the hull.
But that part of the grain is lost in the processing of rice milk. What’s left behind is just one to two grams of an incomplete protein. Each eight-ounce glass of real cow’s milk provides eight times more protein — high-quality protein that helps build strong bones and muscles, and helps us age gracefully.
High-quality proteins also help curb hunger and promote weight maintenance.
Rice milk lacks the nutrition of real cow’s milk. Rice milk manufacturers fortify their product with vitamins A, D and B12, as well as calcium. Real cow’s milk provides nine essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, riboflavin and niacin.
How does coconut milk compare to cow’s milk?
Real cow’s milk is a natural nutrient powerhouse with nine essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium and vitamin D (which the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identify as three out of four key nutrients most Americans are lacking). Look at the label on your coconut milk and you’ll often find more than 10 added ingredients, including salt and emulsifiers. Milk is only fortified with two ingredients: vitamin A and vitamin D.
Real cow’s milk has eight times more protein. Milk also contains 8 grams of high quality protein in every glass, while coconut milk offers less than 1 gram of protein per glass.
Real cow’s milk has a standard of identity (legal standard regarding the components and ingredients of a food) defined by the Federal Drug Administration, while coconut milk does not; its components, ingredients, nutrients and processing vary significantly across brands.
Real cow’s milk is far less expensive. In fact, coconut milk is one of the most expensive milk alternatives. For about a quarter, you can buy eight ounces of real cow’s milk. For that same price, you’ll only get about four ounces of coconut milk. For its nutritional value and great price, real cow’s milk is the better bargain.
For more information, visit dairymax.org.
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