Milk vs. milk alternative

When you compare milk to several milk alternatives the nutrition label can be misleading

 

Milk, defined by Wikipedia is a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. Today many people would argue that anything that looks like milk, is milk. People usually have many different reasons they choose alternative beverages in their diet. I am not here to disagree with those choices. However, I think it is fair to say that alternative beverages are not milk and can’t compare to milk’s nutritional value.

When you compare milk to several milk alternatives the nutrition label can be misleading. Looking at the nutrition label the alternatives might seem close to the same value or even better. Milk has 300 mg of calcium in an 8 oz glass. Almond beverages have around 425 mg of calcium, rice with 298 mg, and soy has 299 mg. These all sound about the same until you look further into the science. Alternative milk beverages all rely on fortified calcium which comes in two forms: tricalcium phosphate and calcium carbonate.

For the purpose of this article, I will be focusing on soy beverages. Most soy beverages use tricalcium phosphate to supply dietary calcium. When looking at how much calcium is actually digested by the consumer, it is about 75% when compared to cow’s milk. You may be thinking that’s not all that bad! Oftentimes the fortified calcium settles at the bottom of the carton, even after vigorously shaking the bottle. In a more realistic sense, around 59% of what the label says is in there is easily consumable. On top of losing almost half the fortified calcium to the bottom of the jug, your body can only digest 75% of that tricalcium phosphate from the fortified soy milk when compared to cow’s milk. This may sound like a lot of information, but I hope the concept is clear. Alternative beverages fortify and market their products in order to be comparable to milk. In reality, there are more nuances to the argument.

The reason our bodies are able to take in the calcium from milk is because of components like vitamin D, lactose, casein and phosphopeptides only found in milk. It is important to mention why we need calcium. Calcium, when combined with phosphorus, is what makes our bones and teeth strong. The nutrients like calcium and vitamin D help our bodies build strong teeth and bones. Cow’s milk also provides complete proteins in our diets. In every 8 oz glass of milk, there are 8 grams of protein. Compare that 8g found in milk to almond beverages that contain 1 gram of protein per serving. Simply comparing 1 to 8, the difference is clear.

All alternatives are often similar in some nutritional aspect, but lacking in other areas. Milk is one of nature’s best drinks and provides our body with much needed nutrition. If you find yourself drinking alternatives because of a lactose intolerance, I encourage you to try dairy products with the lactose sugar removed. Milk, with the lactose removed, still offers all 13 essential nutrients like regular cow’s milk. Let’s all raise our glasses one last time during national June dairy month to the cows for providing us with such an amazing product, and to the farmers who take wonderful care of their livestock.

The information for this article was compiled from dairy nutrition dedicated health professionals and research gate publication linked here (https://z.umn.edu/6zau, https://z.umn.edu/6zav, https://z.umn.edu/6zaw). Residents of Stearns, Benton, and Morrison counties can direct questions to either Dana Adams email (adam1744@umn.edu) or call the Livestock Educators desk phone at (320) 255-6169 x 3.