Milk is something most of us, if not all of us drink on a daily basis. As children, we are told that milk has properties to make us healthy and stay strong and taking that, most of us continue to drink a glass of milk every morning even as adults. However, there are after all many types of milk and researchers from McGill University recently conducted an experiment to determine which of the types of 'alternative milk' are the healthiest to consume.
To do so, they compared the health benefits of the four most popular alternative milk, including soy, almond, coconut and rice. They examined the number of calories and amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates found in each. They also looked into the vitamins and minerals the substitutes contained. And while they said that cow’s milk still has the most nutritional value, with 8 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat and 11.5 grams of carbs, soy is the most comparable for overall balance. It’s “a clear winner,” they wrote in a statement.
As for coconut milk, it’s low-calorie, too, but has no protein. Plus, the calories are mostly from saturated fats. Rice milk and dairy too aren't as healthy as soy. Although the researchers believe their findings are strong, they said want to continue their investigations “to understand the effects of various conventional and novel processing methods on the nutritional profile, flavour and texture of these alternative milks.”
So all of you, especially those who are lactose intolerant, here's to a more healthy diet now that you know which milk is the healthiest to consume.
