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Almond Milk

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Almonds are unquestionably better than almond milk, but almond milk is a healthier choice than some other substitutes.

I’ll get straight to the point. I’m not a fan of processed products that mimic a desirable culinary experience. Between soy masquerading as bacon, Veganaise and other counterfeit products that attempt to bridge the gap, we’re led away from original forms of nutrition at every turn. My wish is for you to derive great pleasure in consuming the foods you dig once in a while, even if you deem them unhealthy.

A variety of milk wannabes line your supermarket’s shelves, posing as health food. If vanilla soymilk, sweetened almond milk, chocolate rice milk and strawberry coconut milk are the trendy options, consider me a milk hipster.

Milk substitutes are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Nutritionally, they are not at all similar; you can’t milk a grain of rice.

Pacific has created an organic almond milk containing the following ingredients: Organic Almond Base (Filtered Water, Organic Almonds), Organic Rice Starch, Sea Salt, Organic Vanilla, Natural Flavor, Carrageenan, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2.

This doesn’t start out badly. Almonds and water are both ingestibles that get my highest level of recommendation. Beyond that, it gets sort of dicey. Rice starch is rice taken out of its original form and turned into a powder. It’s acting as a food additive in this product. Carrageenan is a common food additive that is extracted from red seaweed. It has no nutritional value and is used as a thickener and emulsifier to theoretically improve the texture of processed foods.

I like to give grub grades to provide some context. If an almond is an “A+” food, and you need a liquid to cover your Grape Nuts, almond milk is a solid “B” option. From livestrong.com:

Many almond milk products are supplemented with vitamins A, D and B-12, so they provide a significant percentage of your recommended dietary allowance for those nutrients. One cup of almond milk contains 500 IU of vitamin A, 100 IU of vitamin D and 3 micrograms of vitamin B-12, which fulfills 100 percent of your B-12 requirements and roughly 20 percent of your vitamin A and D recommendations for the day. Vitamins A and D are important for maintaining a healthy immune system, and B-12 is an essential nutrient for critical functions in the body such as blood cell formation and DNA synthesis.

Of the posers on the market, I’ll give almond milk the best of class label, but only because its soul is the almond. If you need your almond milk, I’m going to push you in the direction of making it at home to avoid any preservatives or thickeners. There are numerous, helpful step-by-steps online. A simple search for “make almond milk home” will give you endless options. My best suggestion, however, is still to eat some almonds and drink some water, but I hear ya.

Kap

  • max

    Really like your blog. I know you said no getting your feelings hurt. But I want to point something out…

    People talk soy products and the like as if they were “unnatural” or “substitutions.” It’s true that they are used as substitutes in place of traditionally animal-based foods like milk and meat.

    However, soy is a bean. Soy milk is made from boiling soy beans. I have made it myself. Milk is made from milking udders and flash boiling the liquid. Both have “additives.”

    Describing one of things as more “normal” than another is inaccurate and reveals some cultural bias. For instance, more than 90% of South Asians are lactose intolerant and 75% of African American are (that information comes from Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Cornel University, respectively).

    There is nothing more natural about either one of these foods. In fact, the majority of the world’s population suffers from some lactose intolerance.

    I agree that some store bought soy milk (or other milks) may have added sugars and other bad things, but this is not a criticism that holds true for all milk alternatives. Nor is it one that is inherent in drinking milk alternatives.

    • Gabe Kapler

      Max,

      Solid, well thought out reply. I don’t think one (animal milk, substitutes) is necessarily more normal than the other. In fact, you may have prompted a future blog on animal milk.

      In any event, thanks for providing food for thought. I always carefully think through my posts and usually lean on intuition coupled with some data.

      Warmly,
      Kap

      • max

        Thanks for the reply. I see I misread / misinterpreted some of your argument. Your second paragraph led me to think you were casting all milk alternatives as unnatural. I see now it was more of a general statement on processed foods and how some “health foods” are also very processed and light on nutrition.

        I look forward to your thoughts on animal milks and other future blogs

        Thanks!

  • http://Facebook JimSoxx

    What are your thoughts on sweet acidophilus milk?

  • David

    Kap, what about Coconut Milk??

  • Cole

    Kap, what is wrong with regular milk from a cow? I’m a big milk drinker but if it’s unhealthy then I should probly cut it out.
    Thanks

    • Gabe Kapler

      I’m a fan, too. Need to put some thought into the topic, Cole.

  • Kenny

    Off topic question. Sugar is the arch enemy as we know, but should I refrain from fruits due to the natural sugar content they have? Love my bananas n apples but maybe that is to my bodyfat % demise? Anyone’s thoughts?

  • Gabe Kapler
  • Jim

    Gabe,

    I choose to not consume dairy, but I’m also allergic to tree nuts. I’m aware that almond milk seems to be the healthiest milk substitution on the market but sadly I cannot partake. When purchasing milk, I traditionally go for an organic and unsweetened soymilk that actually has real soybeans in the ingredients (not some sort of soy powder). However, I’ve heard much about the benefits of coconut and hemp over soy. All of the coconut milk I’ve found appears to be full of additives and sweeteners, but I just started purchasing hemp. Do you have any experience with either of those two or do you recommend one over the other? I really enjoy reading your blog, thank you for all the insight.

    Jim

  • Jim

    Great, thank you very much!

  • Izaak

    Thanks a lot for posting definitely almond milk is better
    than all other dairy products available on the market these days. I love almond
    milk and I am greatly fascinated by its health benefits around us. Here I also
    have some info regarding almond milk that will be a great value to all its
    readers.

    http://www.body-in-balance.org/blog/nutrition/health-benefits-almond-milk/