Author: Ashley Wentworth

What type of milk do you drink? Do you know why you’re drinking that kind? There are so many options now. Sweetened, unsweetened, flavored, filtered—the list goes on and on!

Plant-based milk products are not new despite their trending popularity. Soy and rice milk have been around for quite some time as an option for those with vegan and vegetarian meal styles, religious preferences, lactose intolerance, lack of access to mammal milk (like cow and goat milks), and dairy allergies.

Types of Milks

Dairy

• Full fat, reduced fat (2%), low-fat (1%), and non-fat (skim)
• Ultrafiltered: Milk is filtered, water and some lactose are removed, lactase is added. This leaves milk with a higher protein content and lactose free.
• Lactose free: Lactase is added to the milk

Plant-Based Milk Products

•  Almond
• Soy
• Coconut
• Oat
• Cashew
• Rice
• Hemp 
• Flax
• Hazelnut 

What Is Lactose Intolerance?

Many people choose plant-based milks due to lactose intolerance and dairy allergies. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), estimates show that about 68% of the population worldwide and 36% of the population of the United States cannot tolerate lactose. Lactose intolerance is least common in those of European descent, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. 

Lactose is the type of sugar found naturally in milk products from mammals. Lactose is made up of two sugar molecules that need to be broken down by digestion in order to be absorbed by the body for nutrition. In people with lactose intolerance, there is not enough of the digestive enzyme, lactase, in their intestines to break down the lactose sugar. Some people have some levels of lactase and can tolerate small amounts of lactose but others cannot tolerate any lactose. 

Lactose intolerance is often associated with other digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s Disease, food allergies, or celiac disease.  

An intolerance or sensitivity reaction is focused in our gut and causes discomfort and symptoms such as bloating, loose stools, gas, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, per the NIH.

Lactose intolerance is different than a dairy or milk allergy. An allergic reaction uses the immune system to defend itself against intruders and results in symptoms like hives, rash, itching, swelling, respiratory distress, and sometimes as severe as anaphylaxis. 

A milk allergy can also have symptoms similar to lactose intolerance that occur in the gastrointestinal tract like nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Usually, allergies are triggered by exposure resulting in an immune response to the protein components of food. The main proteins in milk are whey and casein.  

Environmental Impact

Many people choose plant-based milks based on the lower environmental impact compared to dairy milk. The BBC reported on a study that suggests that dairy milk has the most significant impact on the environment in regard to land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage. The same study suggests that almond milk has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions but uses more water than other plant-based milk products.

The dairy industry has been committed to making sustainability improvements when possible. According to New England Dairy: 

• Manure from cows is used as fertilizer for other crops.
• Restaurants and food companies can partner with farms to recycle food waste into feed for cows or for compost.
• Anaerobic digester systems are able to transform manure into renewable electricity.
• Dairy farmers can be great stewards of the land. They use rotation practices to reduce and prevent erosion, as well as injecting manure into the land to keep nutrients in the soil.

The US Dairy Industry has these goals for environmental stewardship for 2050:

• Achieve greenhouse gas neutrality
• Optimize water use while maximizing recycling
• Improve water quality by optimizing the utilization of manure and nutrient

How Do the Nutrition Facts Stack Up?

Despite the use of the word “milk” in plant-based milk products, their nutrition profiles are generally inferior and should not be used as a sole nutrition substitute for dairy milk. Many are fortified with nutrients that are found in dairy milk but always check the label to find out. 

Milk has thirteen essential nutrients: calcium, iodine, niacin, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, protein, riboflavin, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc. Let’s see how different plant-based products compare (all are 1 cup servings or  246gm).

Nutrients	Whole Dairy Milk	Soy Milk, unsweetened	Almond Milk, unsweetened	Coconut Milk	Rice Milk
Calories	149	101	47	76	115
Total Fat	8gm	5gm	4gm	5gm	2gm
Carbohydrates	12 gm	7gm	2gm	7gm	22gm
Fiber	0gm	1gm	0gm	0gm	1gm
Sugar	12gm	0gm	0gm	6gm	13gm
Protein	8gm	7gm	2gm	1gm	1gm
Calcium	276mg	381mg	389mg	459mg	288mg
Iron	0	1gm	0gm	1gm	0gm
Phosphorous	205 mg	113mg	47mg	0mg	137mg
Potassium	322 mg	307gm	121mg	46mg	66gm
Sodium	105 mg	96gm	145mg	46mg	95gm
Zinc	1mg	1mg	0mg	0mg	0mg
Selenium	9ug	0ug	0ug	0ug	5ug
Niacin	0.2mg	0mg	0mg	0mg	1gm
Pantothenic acid	1mg	0mg	0mg	0mg	0mg
B-12	1ug	3ug	1ug	2ug	2ug
Vitamin A	395 IU	0	0	154ug	154ug
Vitamin D	124 IU	455IU	156IU	2ug	2ug

 

All nutrition data is from the USDA FoodData Central Database

 

Which One Should I Choose?

Here are some things to consider when deciding what type of milk to include in your meals.

• Dairy milk is often less expensive, more accessible, and has more nutrition than plant-based milks. This is especially important for people that face food insecurity or have limited access to food.

• If environmental concerns are a priority for you, a plant-based option may be the best fit. The closest plant-based option to dairy milk as far as nutrition is concerned would be soy milk. Many people have been avoiding soy in recent years due to concerns about soy consumption increasing risks for cancer, thyroid disorders, and hormone disruption. Many studies have shown that there is little to no link between soy and these concerns. In fact, soy has been shown to have a protective effect on many health concerns. 

• Dietary preferences and allergies may be the deciding factor for you. Choose a product that best fits your needs—there are a lot of options out there! 

Bottom Line

There are many types of milk to choose from, including dairy and plant-based. If you’re using plant-based options in place of dairy, there is a risk of nutrition deficiencies—like calcium for example. It’s important to find other sources of calcium and protein if you’re eliminating dairy from your diet.