Experts debate the merits of dairy alternatives
Vegan and vegetarian advocates are actively using plant-based milk for food. Is it good or bad? American scientists asked this question and conducted a study according to which plant and cow milk are not always equally nutritious.
The plant-based milk market is booming, with beverages made from seeds, nuts, legumes, cereals and blends made from of these ingredients, which are often sold as ready-made replacements for traditional cow's milk, CNN tells.
However, according to new, unpublished research presented at the American Nutrition Society's 2023 annual meeting in Boston on Monday, not all of these plant-based milk options are fortified to match the various nutritional ingredients found in dairy products.
The study analyzed labels and ingredients for 233 plant-based dairy products from 23 different manufacturers and found that only 28 drinks contained as much or more protein, vitamin D and calcium as cow's milk.
< p>“About half were fortified with vitamin D, two-thirds were fortified with calcium, and almost 20% had the same protein content as cow's milk”, says study lead author and registered dietitian Abigail Johnson.
“I’m not really concerned about this, since these nutrients are easily obtained from other sources, and cow’s milk is certainly not perfect and infallible,” said Johnson, associate professor and associate director of the Nutrition Coordinating Center at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health at Minneapolis. But, the expert adds, if a consumer thinks that plant-based milk is a complete replacement for dairy products, then he is not always right.
According to nutrition expert Christopher Gardner, professor of medicine at the Stanford Center for Preventive Research in California, who has analyzed alternative milks, plant-based milks can be beneficial to health.
«My original response to 'Oh my god, plant-based milk is not as nutritious as cow's'» is that this is bullshit,” says Gardner, who is also the clinical director of the Stanford Center for Diabetes Research, emotionally. – None of the plant-based milks contain cholesterol, they are all very low in saturated fat, and some of them have fiber. Dairy Products Milk contains cholesterol, saturated fat and does not contain fiber. And when it comes to dairy and calcium, three quarters of the world's population is lactose intolerant and they get their calcium from other sources.
In addition, there are alternative types of milk that are a good option for people looking to reduce their calorie intake, further notes CNN. Some are «quite low in calories and significantly lower than low-fat milk, so if someone is looking for a low-calorie white drink, this might be reason to look for a milk alternative,» says lead nutrition researcher Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan in Boston.
“Also, for those who are concerned about climate change, milk alternatives will be the best option, and in the long run we cannot ensure human health without the health of the planet,” says Dr. Willett, who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.< /p>
Abigail Johnson and her team maintain an extensive database of nearly 20,000 food and nutrient labels at the University of Minnesota, which is often used by outside researchers to study nutrition. With the growing range of dairy alternatives on the market, the database needed to be updated and the team began researching plant-based milks as they were added.
“We found milk made with pistachios, oats, walnuts, hazelnuts , almond, hemp, flax, cashew, rice — which has been around for a long time — and coconut. It's not coconut milk in a can, it's coconut milk in the alternative section of the supermarket,» says Johnson.
After analyzing the labels, the researchers found that 170 of the 233 alternative milks were fortified with calcium at a level similar to the average 300 milligrams of calcium per 8-ounce glass found in dairy milk. The same 170 foods were also fortified with the same amount of vitamin D as dairy products. (Cow's milk doesn't naturally contain vitamin D, so it's always added, notes CNN.)
Specifically, according to the study, 76% of oat milk, 69% of soy-based products, and 66% of almond milk alternatives were fortified with both calcium and vitamin D.
“The key finding is that if if you're consuming them for a specific nutrient, you need to read the label carefully because the foods are so different,» advises Johnson.
Calcium and vitamin D, along with potassium and dietary fiber, are considered «dietary components of public health interest.» for the general population, according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The analysis also took into account the levels of saturated fat in alternative milk compared to dairy products. Saturated fats increase the body's production of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL («bad» cholesterol), which can build up inside arteries and increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
«Most plant-based dairy products range from 1% to skim milk in terms of saturated fat,» emphasizes Abigail Johnson.
Whole milk contains 4.5 grams of saturated fat in each 8-ounce glass; 2% milk contains 3 grams; 1% milk contains 1.5 grams; and skim milk contains almost 0.3 grams, according to the dairy industry-sponsored Milk Facts website.
“Although not covered in this report, soy milk is high in essential fatty acids, both N-6 (omega-6) and N-3 (omega-3), compared to highly saturated fats in cow's milk. Walter Willett says – Thus, soy milk will have a better effect on blood cholesterol levels and is likely to be preferable in terms of cardiovascular risk.
Both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are essential for health and must be obtained from food, as they cannot be synthesized in the body, reminds CNN.
Abigail Johnson and her team also looked at the amount of fiber in plant-based milk. The average American consumes only about 15 grams of fiber per day; however, dietary guidelines recommend getting 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day from food rather than supplements.
“If you consumed 3 cups of plant-based dairy throughout the day, you could meet half of your fiber needs,” Johnson said. – However, as a microbiome student, I wouldn't recommend plant-based dairy for fiber just yet. I would still advise people to switch directly to legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables”.
Cow's milk is naturally slightly sweet due to a natural sugar called lactose. Oat milk is similar in that the enzymes break down starch and other complex sugars into maltose, the natural form of sugar. Other plant-based milks may not be naturally as sweet, and Johnson found that several brands use added sugar to compensate.
“About a third of plant-based dairy products contain sugar or added sugar in amounts that more like flavored milk, like strawberry or chocolate milk,” warns Johnson. Chocolate milk, for example, has 25 grams of sugar, twice that of 1% milk, while strawberry milk has 29 grams.
The team of researchers then analyzed the protein levels. The study found that only 38 of 223 dairy alternatives had protein levels greater than or equal to the 8 grams of protein typically found in each 8-ounce glass of milk.
“On average, plant-based milk contains about 2 grams squirrel, says Johnson. – The best sources of protein were soy and pea-based milks, and formula milks with 6 to 10 grams of protein per 8-ounce serving”
This isn't much of a concern, according to Willett. Most Americans get «a lot of protein from many sources, so it's usually not such a big deal,» the expert explained.
«It's also interesting that the amount of calcium and protein in breast milk is much lower than in cow”, Willett added. “Since mother's milk is generally considered the ideal form of nutrition, is there any reason to believe that cow's milk should be the gold standard?”