Cow's Milk is for Baby Cows...... alternatives to milk

There are great, tasty, alternatives to drinking cow’s milk.

I love the question I got from the mother of one of my daughter’s friends, “If you don’t drink milk…what do you drink?”  As if not drinking milk was somehow un-human!

Luckily, for those who don’t want to drink cows milk because you are:

• cutting down on animal products
• you just don’t like the hormones (natural or otherwise) in it
• concerned about the pesticides you are getting from the cows feed
• you are allergic to lactic acid

there are other choices.

Let’s compare…shall we?

Cows milk

• skim is thin, whole is thick
• calories–146 (60 cal skim)
• fat–8 g (5 g saturated…0 g in skim)
• Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids
• Protein–8g
• Calcium–22% RDA also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, riboflavin, Iron, folate, Magnesium, phosphorus,potassium, sodium,selenium

downsides:

1. animal product containing saturated fat and cholesterol which has proven to promote heart disease.
2. if not organic, you are getting the pesticides from the cows feed
3.  contains hormones, natural or synthetic..even “organic” milk contains natural hormones due to the cow lactating.
4. may contain antibiotics.
5. some are allergic to lactic acid.  See health concerns here.
6. There are also an increasing number of studies linking dairy (specifically casein, the protein in dairy) with Autism.
7. Casein converts to casomorphins in our bodies…yes, like morphine, this substance is nature’s way of keeping the baby coming back for more milk. (6 weeks off milk, and you won’t miss it) No other animal in the animal kingdom drinks milk past “infant” stage.

Rice milk

Ingredients: filtered water, brown rice (partially milled), expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin B12.

• can be substituted in recipes for cow’s milk
• thickness of skim cows milk
• calories–120
• fat 2.5g
• protein 1 g (this is the big difference)
• calcium 30% RDA also has Vitamin B12, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Phosphorus

downsides: not a good source of protein….added vitamins are not absorbed like naturally occurring ones

Soy milk

Ingredients: Filtered water, organic soybeans, organic cane juice,calcium carbonate,salt,vanilla flavor (even the plain), Vitamin A palmitate, carrageenan, riboflavin, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12

• can be substituted for cow’s milk in recipes
• as thick as cows milk 2%
• calories–110, whole…60 skim
• fat–4 g (0.5 saturated)
• protein–7g
• calcium 30% RDA also has vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, riboflavin, iron, zinc, and folate, fiber
• has added benefit of soy. Diets rich in soy have been shown to reduce certain types of hormone related cancers and reduce heart disease

downsides: some don’t like the taste, added vitamin may not be absorbed as well as naturally occurring

Almond milk

Ingredients: Filtered water, almonds, evaporated cane juice, calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, Vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D2, D-Alphatocopherol (Vitmain E)

• can be substituted for cow’s milk in recipes
• as thick as skim cows milk
• calories–60
• fat–2.5 g (0 saturated)
• protein–1 g
• calcium–30% RDA also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Riboflavin, Phosphorus, copper, zinc, magnesium, fiber

downsides: not a good source of protein….  added vitamins are not absorbed like naturally occurring ones….calcium carbonate produces intestinal gas

A side note: Silk brand just came out with their version of Almond milk and it is very thick-great for shakes, but not good on cereal. Blue Diamond brand is thinner.

So as you can see, there are other choices for your “dairy” type drinks.

If you or your family drink a lot of cows milk and switch to almond or rice, you may want to top up on high protein foods to replace the protein your missing in your diet.  Tofu…yeah I said tofu…beans, nuts, fish, lean organic meats (if you eat them), seeds, peanut butter, sunflower butter, almond butter, soy yogurt, etc will help, but is not necessarily necessary if you’re eating a full, well balanced diet as most foods contain protein.

Soy milk has just about as much protein as cow’s.

What I do:

–I can’t consume a lot of soy because of my history with hormone positive breast cancer, so when I do drink milk or use it on recipes, I use rice milk or almond milk.  Coconut milk is wonderful in recipies.

–after 3 years, by 17 year old is finally drinking almond milk.  How did I get her switch?  I stopped nagging her.