A. The bottom line is that a variety of alternative beverages can provide similar nutrition to milk, so aside from personal preference, it all comes down to how you define “best.”
Milk is naturally rich in protein, calcium, and a variety of other important vitamins and minerals. Through fortification, it also offers vitamins A and D.
If the goal is to enjoy a product that is as close to cow’s milk as possible, then lactose-free milk or soy milk may be your best options. “A diagnosis of lactose intolerance it doesn’t really mean you have to completely avoid dairy products with milk,” said Alicia Romano, a registered dietitian at the Frances Stern Center for Nutrition at Tufts Medical Center, and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Lactose is the sugar that is naturally present in milk and other dairy products to varying degrees; milk has more, hard cheeses have less
Roman said. People who are lactose intolerant do not produce enough lactase, the enzyme that helps break down lactose.
Lactose intolerance affects approximately 25%-40% of adults worldwide. Millions are believed to be lactose intolerant, which can cause cramps, diarrhea, and bloating when they eat foods that contain lactose.
From a nutritional perspective, Romano recommends
lactose-free milk as the first alternative to consider because the nutritional profile is the same as regular milk, with the enzyme lactase added. But a wide variety of healthy plant-based non-dairy alternatives are also available.
“If you’re looking for a milk alternative that is most similar in a side-by-side comparison, that ounce for ounce has the most similar nutritional value, then unsweetened fortified soy milk is your best bet,” Romano said. “It lines up with calcium, vitamin D, other nutrients, calories; the profile is almost identical”.
Other good choices include various nut milks and oat milk.
“Soy and nut milk have healthier fat profiles than cow’s milk,” said Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Coconut milk, like cow’s milk, is high in saturated fat, which raises cholesterol levels. Soy milk and various nut milks with no added sugar, such as almond, walnut, peanut, cashew, hazelnut, or macadamia milk, as well as hemp and flax milks, are higher in healthy unsaturated fats for the heart and also tend to be lower in calories. than cow’s milk. Oat milk, with no added sugar, is high in fiber and calories are comparable to cow’s milk.
Soy milk is one of the non-dairy alternatives that equals the 8 grams of protein per cup of cow’s milk. But protein deficiency isn’t a concern in the United States, Willett said, especially for adults. However, if you want to get a significant amount of protein from milk, check the labels on different products, as amounts vary widely among cow’s milk alternatives.
Both Romano and Willett also suggest checking labels for alternatives that are fortified with calcium and vitamin D, which can help with bone health. “We definitely need vitamin D,” Willett said, though we probably don’t need the high levels of calcium that many Americans think they need. “When we look at dairy directly, we don’t see that high dairy intake reduces fracture rates in terms of evidence,” she said.
They also advise being careful about the high amount of added sugar in flavored milk alternatives. Ideally, there should be no added sugar in the product, but generally less than 10 grams per serving is the goal.
One last consideration: the planet. “It’s important to look at everything through a health lens and an environmental lens right now,” Willett said. Dairy production is linked to high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and requires a lot of water. “So for environmental footprint, alternative milks are really desirable.”
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