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The rise of alternative milks

theguardian.com

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Re: The rise of alternative milks

#131

Post by gorilla_fight »

mnm1 wrote: post #80

Milk may not be the healthy food it was touted to be, but neither are most if not all of these "milks" that are basically mostly water and sugar. I'd take lactose over fructose or glucose any day. That's the main selling point: a slightly sweet, natural drink sweetened by lactose rather than fructose and glucose directly. Otherwise, I might as well drink soda--from looking at the sugar content of most of these "milks…

> I'd take lactose over fructose or glucose any day.

I came to the same conclusion, to expand on this point: lactose = glucose + galactose, and there is some interesting research on the benefits of galactose:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3240634/ Galactose Enhances Oxidative Metabolism and Reveals Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Human Primary Muscle Cells

normally it is broken down to glucose, which can be quickly used for energy by the muscular system. In contrast, sucrose = glucose + fructose, the fructose requiring a complex breakdown process by the liver (see Robert Lustig's research, especially his 2009 lecture _Sugar: The Bitter Truth_).

Milk can actually be quite healthful, an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2, depending on the conditions the cow was raised in and the forage and pasture she was fed. It is also absent of many of the compounds found in nut-based products, including phytoestrogens: plant-based estrogen found in soybeans, phytic acid: inhibits absorption of dietary minerals calcium/iron/zinc found in oats (although the phytate content can be reduced by soaking the oats overnight, how many producers of oat-based products do this?) and almonds/hazelnuts/peanuts/tiger nuts/walnuts/cashews, lectins: carbohydrate-binding proteins found in legumes including peas and soybeans.

From a purely nutritional standpoint, these alternative "mylks" (hat tip to the EU for preventing a corruption of the meaning of the word "milk") seem to be strictly inferior: lower in the good stuff, higher in the bad stuff.

> Otherwise, I might as well drink soda,--from looking at the sugar content of most of these "milks" it's roughly as healthy.

This reminds me of the push to replace soda with fruit juice, but then it turned out they both often have a comparable sugar content: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/06/09/319230765/fr...

History repeats, and yet again we see a similar push. Personally I am sticking with good old-fashioned milk myself, the bar to replace a 10,000 year old (estimated 9000-7000 BCE) food is quite high.

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#132

Post by pacaro »

walshemj wrote: post #79
seanwilson wrote: post #67

I've completely switched to soy milk. It tastes a little different to cow milk but after a few cups of tea over a week I didn't notice anymore. Now cow milk tastes strange to me. Soy milk also lasts around a year unopened so you can save time buying it in bulk as a plus. People need to stop expecting replacements to taste 100% identical to what they're use to and give their tastebuds some time to adapt. Same with mea…

Soy just tastes weird in hot drinks for me - though I switched to almond for cereals to reduce my milk intake to see if it would help my eczema

I find that I prefer soy with tea and coffee, especially coffee, I think that the slightly nutty flavor goes well.

If you have a soy vanilla latte that’s basically a three bean dip (apologies to those who know that neither vanilla nor coffee are really beans)

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#133

Post by dpflan »

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #113

If someone is looking to switch for sustainablity reasons, they shouldn’t be buying liquid non dairy almond either. You must need a handful of almonds to make your own almond milk. It’s wasteful in so many ways..from processing to transporting to the water content and all the middle men charges in the supply chain. Soak almonds. Peel. Purée with water..strain. Or don’t. Fresh almond milk. I realize many people won’t…

The other part is you will also have almonds to use for other purposes, like eating them raw or finding a recipe to make roasted almonds with spices you like or...

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#134

Post by MrMember »

bpicolo wrote: post #16
k__ wrote: post #6

I know a few vegans who introduced me to soy milk years ago. Now I think it has a fishy after taste and I can't stand it anymore. 2-3 years ago many grocery stores added other milk alternatives. While I think almond milk is the best, oat milk is the second place but much cheaper. Generally, milk is heavily subsidized in Germany and alternatives are 2-4 times more expensive, so I don't know if this a little hype or th…

The texture of oat milk is offputting for me. So thick

I'll mix oat milk with coffee but I cant drink it plain. The texture and taste are not good.

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#135

Post by skwb »

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #113

If someone is looking to switch for sustainablity reasons, they shouldn’t be buying liquid non dairy almond either. You must need a handful of almonds to make your own almond milk. It’s wasteful in so many ways..from processing to transporting to the water content and all the middle men charges in the supply chain. Soak almonds. Peel. Purée with water..strain. Or don’t. Fresh almond milk. I realize many people won’t…

Nut bags (no giggling please!) are also super useful for getting the final mouthfeel correct. I usually do oat milk and keep it on hand for my tea.

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#136

Post by gorilla_fight »

justin66 wrote: post #116
mnm1 wrote: post #80

Milk may not be the healthy food it was touted to be, but neither are most if not all of these "milks" that are basically mostly water and sugar. I'd take lactose over fructose or glucose any day. That's the main selling point: a slightly sweet, natural drink sweetened by lactose rather than fructose and glucose directly. Otherwise, I might as well drink soda--from looking at the sugar content of most of these "milks…

> Milk may not be the healthy food it was touted to be, but neither are most if not all of these "milks" that are basically mostly water and sugar. I don't know why you'd write that. The almond milk I buy is unsweetened, and I'm pretty sure it's a popular one since they sell it by the pallet at Costco. All the common soy milks offer an unsweetened option AFAIK.

Is this the almond milk you buy at Costco? https://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signature-Organic-Almond-Bev...

It may be unsweetened, but it has a lot of added ingredients you might not want. Here are the nutritional facts: https://www.costco.com/wcsstore/CostcoUSBCCatalogAssetStore/...

* Organic Almond Base (Filtered Water, Organic Almonds)

* Organic Vanilla Flavor

* Sea Salt

* Sunflower Lecithin: this is an emulsifier

* Organic Locust Bean Gum: a thickening and gelling agent

* Gellan Gum: another gelling agent

* Vitamin A Palmitate: an ester of retinol, less bioavailable than the retinol vitamin A found in animal foods

* Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2): a different type of vitamin D than D3 (cholecalciferol) which is found in organ meats, eggs, diary,

* DL-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E): a synthetic ester of alpha-tocopheryl, with less than half the bioavailability as alpha-tocopheryl vitamin E, but longer shelf life

* Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)

* Zinc Gluconate

* Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12)

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#137

Post by mixmastamyk »

pofilat wrote: post #103
mixmastamyk wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can stand just about anything, just have to give it a chance. I’m reminded of a decade or two back when I switched to diet drinks, though I preferred the sugared. Now sugar soda tastes horrible. In the 80s we moved to low-fat milk, shortly after whole tasted horrible. How did I ever drink this? Take a month off then try a unsweetened coconut/almond blend, get over the hump, wait two months. You’ll be surprised at…

It's tacky to try to describe things in weird terms to make them sound bad instead of arguing their merirs. I'd rather "breasfeet at a random animal" than "eat genetically engineered things that grow in dirt and manure, covered in bugs".

Most gmo free at our market. Drinking milk as an adult is weird. One is natural, one isn’t.

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#138

Post by fma »

Rumudiez wrote: post #81
seanwilson wrote: post #67

I've completely switched to soy milk. It tastes a little different to cow milk but after a few cups of tea over a week I didn't notice anymore. Now cow milk tastes strange to me. Soy milk also lasts around a year unopened so you can save time buying it in bulk as a plus. People need to stop expecting replacements to taste 100% identical to what they're use to and give their tastebuds some time to adapt. Same with mea…

I switched to soy milk for about four months, but ultimately went back to regular milk because it has less sugar and is less sweet. I imagine without the sugar it’s not as palatable, but it was a noticeable, negative attribute for me.

You can buy a soy milk maker from Asian grocery stores and control the sugar intake till you get it down to 0. You buy soy beans (very cheap, also from the Asian store) and soak it over night. Then you put the beans in the soybean maker and it'll heat up and churn and churn till you get soy milk! Then you strain it and enjoy our fresh soy milk. What you do with the left overs is up to you, but you can make food out of it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okara_(food)) or just use it as compost.

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#139

Post by jelliclesfarm »

dpflan wrote: post #133
jelliclesfarm wrote: post #113

If someone is looking to switch for sustainablity reasons, they shouldn’t be buying liquid non dairy almond either. You must need a handful of almonds to make your own almond milk. It’s wasteful in so many ways..from processing to transporting to the water content and all the middle men charges in the supply chain. Soak almonds. Peel. Purée with water..strain. Or don’t. Fresh almond milk. I realize many people won’t…

The other part is you will also have almonds to use for other purposes, like eating them raw or finding a recipe to make roasted almonds with spices you like or...

The almond meal can be used as a flour after its oven dried.

I also use it as a body scrub. It’s too abrasive for a face scrub.

I wonder if pigs or chickens would eat them...why waste?

Re: The rise of alternative milks

#140

Post by sridca »

williamdclt wrote: post #124
sridca wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What has climate change got to do with cow's milk?

You need lots of cows for cow's milk. You need lots of food and water for cows. You need lots of plants for cow's food. You need lots of water, pesticides, energy for plants. Plus: production of greenhouse gas, water pollution

> You need lots of cows for cow's milk. You need lots of food and water for cows. You need lots of plants for cow's food. You need lots of water, pesticides, energy for plants.

And how are alternative-milks a better solution especially as they are also (but directly) plant-based?

> Plus: production of greenhouse gas, water pollution

If people are actually concerned about the natural environment they would be giving up their cars, instead of going on a plant-based diet, which raises the question of just what other biases cause people to do so.

"Animal agriculture is responsible for 13–18% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions globally, and less in developed countries (e.g. 6% in the USA). Fossil fuel combustion for energy and transportation is responsible for approximately 64% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions globally, and more in developed countries (e.g. 80% in the USA)." https://skepticalscience.com/animal-agriculture-meat-global-...

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