For as long as I can remember it’s been a huge controversy in nutrition as to whether or not cow milk is healthy, with some people saying yes and some people saying hell no.
So, okay, let’s assume it’s unhealthy. Is there a type milk that is rich in calcium and that pretty much everyone agrees is indeed healthy?
Is (unsweetened) almond milk healthy?
Is soy milk healthy?
Is lactose-free milk healthy?
It really depends on what your primary need is, right? If you need a plant based protein, pea or soy milk is your choice. If you need fiber, or minimum water use, oat milk would be good. For nutritional density, goat milk has more points, and has less lactose, which suits some people that can’t take cows milk
That pretty much everyone agrees is healthy? No, probably not. The most agreed upon would be some form of plant-based milk, but there’s definitely gonna be some people who’ll say that plant-based milks aren’t healthy.
Parmesan, yogurt and cottage cheese are the best ways to get the calcium that you would drink the milk for. Any milk alternative is just a way to drink milk while focusing on a different area of nutrition. So no, every alternative you will find will be lacking something. If you’re looking for a full proof alternative, I don’t think it exists. But you could find one you like to drink and then eat the 3 items I mentioned before if you are not opposed to dairy altogether. I think this is the info you’re looking for. I know it’s hard to get specific answers from reddit sometimes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551861/
“Our systematic literature review supports the evidence of a beneficial effect of cow-milk protein supplementation among old people. Evidence of beneficial effects is stronger for whey proteins supplementation. Several health outcomes are reported with respect to milk proteins: achievement of nutritional aged-related goals, muscle mass preservation and functionality, prevention and treatment of sarcopenia, modulation of inflammation, response to vaccinations and rehabilitation after hospitalization.”
Basically cows milk protein reduces the effects of aging in the elderly based on this review of 6,663 studies.
People that say milk is bad for you are ignoring the actual science and some of the longest lived countries consume plenty of dairy. Ever heard of the Mediterranean diet? The diet most recommended by health organizations around the world? The countries of the med roughly consume 25%+ of their daily calories from dairy.
Soy milk is the healthiest commercial milk fromwhat I’ve researched. It would be even better if it’s reinforced with B12 and D. The other ones have some not-necessarily-good compounds, especially if heated. That being said, if you make your own nut/oat/whatever milk you’ll be more than fine.
Straight up just ordinary whole milk. Everything in moderation. You know how people say in this subreddit that there isn’t really such thing as an “unhealthy” food on here? Milk isn’t really an exception to that rule.
Although junk food is probably an exception to that rule, so maybe it’s not a great rule to begin with. But you can’t go wrong with milk in moderation, humans literally evolved to process it into adulthood because it’s that nutritious and beneficial to life. It has almost perfect macros, tons of nutrients, complete proteins and its satiating.
Well researches financed by food companies keep concluding whatever will boost sales so ig the best strategy is to use your common sense. And going by that all milks as nutrient rich liquids are healthy
The organic macadamia butter from nomz is incredible. One tablespoon macadamia butter, 8 oz hot water – mix with one of those battery-operated whisk and you’ve got a luxurious, undeniably healthy milk! Goes with everything, from matcha to coffee to smoothies. Enjoy :)
The quality of milk spans a wide spectrum. Factory farmed milk is arguably a lot worse than milk from grass-fed cows that live healthy lives and can walk around. You can definitely taste the difference. I’m not going to get into whether cows milk is good for us or not.
Raw, unpasteurized Cow and Goat milk is the healthiest milk a human can consume, barring human breast milk from the conversation.
Raw Milk is full of bio-available nutrients, immunoglobulins, enzymes, and about 2500 different proteins that serve vital functions in the human body.
Lactoferrin for example is a protein that cleaves iron away from opportunistic gut pathogens, helps the body metabolize iron. Lactoperoxidase is an enzyme found in raw milk that is anti-bacterial and important for oral, gut and overall immune health.
None of these important biological compounds are found in soy milk, almond milk, oat milk etc. Plant based milk is BS in my opinion.
I’ve been drinking raw milk and raw yogurt for about a month now and my digestion has improved immensely.
Raw dairy can be dangerous however if you source from subpar farms. Needs to be from healthy animals that roam and eat grass, not commercial feed lot BS. The farm I get from processes everything at specific temperatures and tests every batch for bacterial count.
TL;DR - Raw Dairy is the best, but be careful where you source it!
I don’t think there’s such thing as “undeniably healthy.” I mean, if you drank enough water in one sitting, it is theoretically possible to die from it.
Being “healthy” means giving your body the nutrients it requires through different foods that consist of those nutrients. If you’ve hit your daily goal in fat for a day, then that’s great. If you’re over that goal and keep eating stuff with fat in it, then you are venturing into “unhealthy” territory. It’s all about hitting your macros and less about what foods are “healthy” or “unhealthy”
u/valkaress
To give you my unbiased opinion, id say soy milk is probably the healthiest.
Im not vegan/vegetarian, and i regularly drink lactaid whole cows milk, but based on my research theres a few benefits of soy milk and a few issues with cow’s milk:
Cows Milk Issues:
Contains lactose, which is hard on many people’s digestive systems
Contains estrogen and sometimes growth hormones, which can alter people’s hormones
Slightly weakens the role of antioxidants (may increase risk of cancer, but just by a little)
The benefits of soy milk are
High protein and complete protein like milk
Whatever vitamins it lacks they fortify it
Lack of evidence that phytoestrogens alter human hormones
Doesnt have the issues that cow milk has
Antioxidant (anti-cancer)
With that said though, i dont think drinking cow’s milk is going to hurt you in normal amounts. And in a vacuum i think the protein, calcium, and vitamins outweigh the risks if you have a varied diet. But is soy milk better? Probably. I have had a hard time getting myself to drink it because it feels weird to drink non-milk as milk, but thats just psychology.
People who say milk is unhealthy are fooling themselves.
It really depends on your ethnicity whether milk is bad or not. Are you one of the various Northern European ethnic groups? Drink as much milk as you want, since your body is adapted to it and benefits from it. Are you Southern European? Be a bit cautious, since lactase persistence isn’t as high in your ethnic group.
Same goes for various MENA, Sub-Saharan West/East African, Central European, South Asian, and North Asian groups (Various Russian Ethnicities, Mongolians, etc). If you’re East/Southeast Asian or North American Native (Mexican, Various South Americans, Pacific Islanders etc) then you prob should stay as far from milk as possible.
If you are plant based, try to get whole foods rather than an artificial white substance.
If you still need something white pea / soy milk. I think Soy is better for menopausal women to avoid menopause related symptoms.
If you do want to consume cow milk, do your study on its effect on breast and prostrate cancer. I am quoting one study on breast cancer but I think there are several. Also, see who is funding the study… Don’t fully trust a study on soy by the soy board or on meat by the beef council.
https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/49/5/1526/5743492
Milk is healthy as long as your body doesn’t have any sensitivities to it. Almond milk is alright too, but not particularly great for the environment. Soy…well, there’s all sorts of controversial opinions on soy…
If I had to pic the “healthiest”…I think I’d say Breast milk from a healthy person?
Choose what works best for your body and lifestyle and don’t overthink it 🥛
Tbh I never enjoyed milk and tbh I quit drinking it and dropped weight and replaced the cals and macros with actual food while working out but recently I’ve been having a half serving - a serving of fair life chocolate milk
Yes. Raw milk from cows, goats, etc. People ate those for centuries with no issues. But it has to be fresh, and from a good source. Even then, it will not be good for people who are lactose-intolerant. Nothing is good for everyone.
Whole milk - comes with all the fat needed to actually absorb the fat soluble vitamins in the liquid. All of my nutrition professors agreed on this point, so take that with what grains of salt you will
Dairy milk is a great source of calcium. As is cheese, yogurt, and so on.
Salmon, leafy greens/spinach/kale/broccoli, eggs, basil, mushrooms, tofu, collard greens, and fatty fish are good non-dairy ingredients to maximize cal/mag/D.
If you want the best milk, grass-fed organic whole milk. Plant milks got nothing on real milk. The antinutrients in the plants are all water soluble. Plant milk is concentrated antinutrients, usually mostly carbs(including refined sugar), probably little to no healthy fat(dairy has numerous beneficial SCFAs, plant oils have no SCFAs), and devoid of protein (maybe some isolates).
Plant milk is a NOVA class 4 ultra-processed food regardless. Whole milk is class 1, minimally processed.
You can just add non-dairy creamer to water if you want nutritionally vacuous flavored water that’s ‘close enough’ to milk for things like a bowl of cereal. Flavored ones are tasty, like vanilla or hazelnut. Save your money for nutritious, fresh whole food.
The question you are asking is flawed. Food is food, nothing is inherently ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, it’s a question of how a particular food fits into your lifestyle, whether it helps your with your goals or works against your goals.
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IMO it’s hard to beat the real stuff, I drink 0% fairlife milk and it is DELICIOUS.
Any milk depends on what extra garbage is added to it. I prefer oat milk, but there’s plenty of brands that add stuff which I won’t buy. Oddly, The non refrigerated Kirkland organic oat milk is one of the cleanest I’ve found. Not the creamiest, but serves its purpose
The average adult should be consuming around 2.5 servings of dairy a day which is equivalent to 2.5 glasses of milk (also can be 3 slices of cheese or 2 cups of yoghurt). Full cream milk compared to skim milk or dairy alternatives has lots of nutrients that the body still needs as an adult.
With regards to alternatives, soy milk is the closest to full cream milk in terms of calcium and protein however please do remember that these milks may have similar levels of nutrients but they are not absorbed by the body as well as full cream milk would be.