If adults "don't need" to drink milk and that includes the plant-based alternatives that this article is about, can that be extended to claiming that adults "don't need" to eat almonds, oats, or soy? Is there something special that happens when those things are blended with plain water that renders the resulting liquid unsuitable for adults?
Perhaps what he meant is: you don't need to drink milk to get the following nutrients: Protein, Calcium and Vitamin D. These are often endlessly touted as the reasons why people need Milk (in milk ads and marketing), to the point of where people are now repeating it in health blogs. Even health professionals are repeating it as well (for a long time now).
Throw in a pinch of sea salt -- "admiral style". I've found the salt adds something in that it helps bring out the flavor, and takes the hard, acidy edge off.
But only good sea salt, and only a pinch. Do give it a stir to ensure it dissolves.
It's been well known for some time that dairy has a lot of problems, everything from Puss, to being linked to prostate cancer in men, and it's even been linked to type 1 diabetes, and numerous other health concerns. And, it's not like you can just drink the fat-free variety and be okay. It's the actual dairy proteins that are problematic, not that the fat doesn't have problems either.
Oat milk tastes great and it's good for you, for the most part. The problem with oat milk is, they add a bunch of oil to it. they say it's just 2%, but I think thats by volume or mass. if they go by it's actual proportion (by calories), its nearly 25%!
Almond milk is great for you, but it doesn't taste as good as real almonds, so why drink it?
Soymilk is the one I really like but they add a bunch of stuff to it like calcium carbonate, which really didn't need in the first place. you can find soymilk with nothing added to it, but you really got a go to one of those specialty shops.
Personally, I like to make homemade quinoa milk, it's pretty good and you can adjust how much thickness you want based on the ratio of water. it's easy to make.
But, I remember hearing about it from the talks that Dr Milton Mills (Associate Director of Preventive Medicine with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)) gave.
And, i've heard it in other places as well. For instance in Forks over Knives (the documentary), they were saying that in Japan there 17 cases of prostate cancer (before they started eating dairy) in the entire country, when in the US there was something like 15000.
And, then there was the China study, also mentioned in that documentary. there's some fairly compelling stuff in that documentary, it blew my mind.
> Almond milk is great for you, but it doesn't taste as good as real almonds, so why drink it?
Because there are some foods that only make sense with a milk substance added (eg cereal). Almond milk, alone, isn't very ... tasty. Usually there are variants (sweetened, vanilla, chocolate) because it's not great. Almonds are also terrible for the environment, vis a vis water conservation, given what it takes to grow them.
> Almonds are also terrible for the environment, vis a vis water conservation, given what it takes to grow them.
From the article:
> Even almond milk, a notorious water-hogger, takes less water to produce than dairy – needing on average 371 litres of water per litre of milk produced, compared to dairy milk’s 628 litres. Rice milk follows shortly behind, needing 270 litres of water per litre of milk. Soy and oat, on the other hand, need just 28 and 48 respectively.
Is it though? It's essentially flavored water with a thicker texture and a high percentage of the nutritional benefit of Almonds discarded in the production process.
If "great for you" is lower calories compared to dairy fair enough. If you want to loose weight, drink a lot of dairy and swap to almond milk it will help you reduce calorie consumption.
If great is high nutritional value it's not very good and why many brands fortify it adding additional vitamins etc.
I used to drink Almond milk but avoid it now as it's expensive water, little nutritional value and the environmental impact producing almonds at scale is pretty bad.
Well yeah, everything should be in moderation. Figure out what macros your body needs, and get as much variety in filling those out as is reasonable.
I drink mostly water, but I probably have ~1 cup of milk on average each day (e.g. no milk one day, 2-3 cups another day, etc). I go for whole milk because the higher fat content means I'm having less sugar per calorie, and it makes me feel more full than other kinds of milk. If you like milk, consider increasing the fat content and decreasing the total amount you drink so you're more satisfied when you do have milk.
If you're having multiple coffees everyday with tons of sugar, switching from dairy to non-dairy creamer isn't the right optimization...
Fortunately, if you're not lactose-intolerant, you can just drink real milk, which is highly nutritious and considerably less processed than any alternative.
Best if you drink whole milk, because 2 grams more fat in a glass isn't going to hurt you, and actually makes it taste good.
In fact, I think I would. Sure, the butterfat floats on top when you've squeezed it from the teat into a pail, but it's not like it's some bizarre engineered substitute.
Milk was one of the last animal products besides eggs in my diet — mainly in ice cream, and lattes. Not a fan of almond milk with espresso drinks. Too rancid or bitter to my taste. Oat milk did the trick with the coffees. It froths well, and can make nice latte art.
Oatly now makes ice cream, which I love. They make a plain oat flavor one that’s really delicate and nice.
Bringing it back to the subject of the article, organic can really make a difference with tree crops - less pesticides wreaking havoc with pollinators, etc. If you really don’t want to give up dairy, pasture raised can be a part of regenerative agriculture, if done at a sustainable scale.
Unpopular opinion: If you can digest milk in your adulthood, then drink a glass of whole fat milk everyday. The nutrition and fat in it is wonderful for you.
That's A. not true as many studies have shown and B. very bad for the environment and for the cow and the calf that were required (to be killed) to get that glass of milk.
You're really not thinking this through. There's an entire supply chain of suffering behind that milk. If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider looking at any footage from the inside of a dairy farm. It's not pretty.
When did cows become the great climate scapegoat ?
A calf is not killed to provide milk. They're weaned from an early age while the mother continues to provide milk for up to 2 years. Milking cows will provide up to 40 liters twice a day.
The calf, like the mother, will eventually be killed for meat, but that is the reality of all meat we eat.
As for drinking milk, the official recommendation in Scandinavia is drinking 0.5L/day.
It might be so where you live, but that’s not how it works here. Bulls are allowed to grass until they’re 12+ months, and then slaughtered. Female cows becomes dairy cows, and old dairy cows becomes food.
> When did cows become the great climate scapegoat ?
Since the whole process is highly inefficient. The cow needs more than 100 litres of water a day. It eats a lot, it produces methane. All that, just for your 80 litres of milk a day.
So let me get this right. Because humanity has been pumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere for centuries up to a point where it threatens our very existence, there suddenly isn’t room for cows anymore ?
Yes, a cow produces methane, so did the millions of buffaloes roaming the prairies a couple hundred years ago. And so does just about every other herbivore. It’s natural.
What’s not natural is humanity’s insistence on being transported around to just about everywhere, preferably alone, in a vehicle that has room for 6 or more.
The other day I was shopping and came across a cheese that said, manufactured in Denmark, packed in Poland. I’m guessing the cheese produced way more greenhouse gasses on its way to and from Poland than the cow did producing the milk that went into the cheese.
Just read up on the emissions of animal agriculture and transportation and be enlightened my friend. You will see their emissions are not that different in size.
I'm aware they're almost similar, but in my optics only one of them is really needed. The other is "nice to have".
That being said, at least in the EU, emissions from agriculture is about 40% less than the transport emissions, and still dropping while transport is increasing.
I also recommend this. Choosing the higher fat option might actually lead to lower calorie intake overall, as fat is more satiating. However, cow's milk in general is good as it does not cause a significant insulin response, which is what leads to weight gain.
How about diy Rice milk. The recipe below is by Scott Jurek:
Rice Milk
1 cup cooked brown or white rice
4 cups water
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sunflower oil (optional)
Combine the rice, water, and salt in a blender. If you want a creamier milk, add the oil. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth. Pour into a container, cover, and refrigerate. Rice milk will keep for 4 to 5 days.
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 121 ms ] threadBut only good sea salt, and only a pinch. Do give it a stir to ensure it dissolves.
Oat milk tastes great and it's good for you, for the most part. The problem with oat milk is, they add a bunch of oil to it. they say it's just 2%, but I think thats by volume or mass. if they go by it's actual proportion (by calories), its nearly 25%!
Almond milk is great for you, but it doesn't taste as good as real almonds, so why drink it?
Soymilk is the one I really like but they add a bunch of stuff to it like calcium carbonate, which really didn't need in the first place. you can find soymilk with nothing added to it, but you really got a go to one of those specialty shops.
Personally, I like to make homemade quinoa milk, it's pretty good and you can adjust how much thickness you want based on the ratio of water. it's easy to make.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11566656
But, I remember hearing about it from the talks that Dr Milton Mills (Associate Director of Preventive Medicine with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)) gave.
And, i've heard it in other places as well. For instance in Forks over Knives (the documentary), they were saying that in Japan there 17 cases of prostate cancer (before they started eating dairy) in the entire country, when in the US there was something like 15000.
And, then there was the China study, also mentioned in that documentary. there's some fairly compelling stuff in that documentary, it blew my mind.
Because there are some foods that only make sense with a milk substance added (eg cereal). Almond milk, alone, isn't very ... tasty. Usually there are variants (sweetened, vanilla, chocolate) because it's not great. Almonds are also terrible for the environment, vis a vis water conservation, given what it takes to grow them.
I currently prefer Flaxseed milk.
From the article:
> Even almond milk, a notorious water-hogger, takes less water to produce than dairy – needing on average 371 litres of water per litre of milk produced, compared to dairy milk’s 628 litres. Rice milk follows shortly behind, needing 270 litres of water per litre of milk. Soy and oat, on the other hand, need just 28 and 48 respectively.
Is it though? It's essentially flavored water with a thicker texture and a high percentage of the nutritional benefit of Almonds discarded in the production process.
If "great for you" is lower calories compared to dairy fair enough. If you want to loose weight, drink a lot of dairy and swap to almond milk it will help you reduce calorie consumption.
If great is high nutritional value it's not very good and why many brands fortify it adding additional vitamins etc.
I used to drink Almond milk but avoid it now as it's expensive water, little nutritional value and the environmental impact producing almonds at scale is pretty bad.
I drink mostly water, but I probably have ~1 cup of milk on average each day (e.g. no milk one day, 2-3 cups another day, etc). I go for whole milk because the higher fat content means I'm having less sugar per calorie, and it makes me feel more full than other kinds of milk. If you like milk, consider increasing the fat content and decreasing the total amount you drink so you're more satisfied when you do have milk.
If you're having multiple coffees everyday with tons of sugar, switching from dairy to non-dairy creamer isn't the right optimization...
Optimizing the dairy while loading in the sugar is completely wrong from a health perspective.
Best if you drink whole milk, because 2 grams more fat in a glass isn't going to hurt you, and actually makes it taste good.
Oatly now makes ice cream, which I love. They make a plain oat flavor one that’s really delicate and nice.
Bringing it back to the subject of the article, organic can really make a difference with tree crops - less pesticides wreaking havoc with pollinators, etc. If you really don’t want to give up dairy, pasture raised can be a part of regenerative agriculture, if done at a sustainable scale.
Milk is nice. If you can drink and enjoy it, enjoy it. Sounds simple.
A calf is not killed to provide milk. They're weaned from an early age while the mother continues to provide milk for up to 2 years. Milking cows will provide up to 40 liters twice a day.
The calf, like the mother, will eventually be killed for meat, but that is the reality of all meat we eat.
As for drinking milk, the official recommendation in Scandinavia is drinking 0.5L/day.
Since the whole process is highly inefficient. The cow needs more than 100 litres of water a day. It eats a lot, it produces methane. All that, just for your 80 litres of milk a day.
Yes, a cow produces methane, so did the millions of buffaloes roaming the prairies a couple hundred years ago. And so does just about every other herbivore. It’s natural.
What’s not natural is humanity’s insistence on being transported around to just about everywhere, preferably alone, in a vehicle that has room for 6 or more.
The other day I was shopping and came across a cheese that said, manufactured in Denmark, packed in Poland. I’m guessing the cheese produced way more greenhouse gasses on its way to and from Poland than the cow did producing the milk that went into the cheese.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
That being said, at least in the EU, emissions from agriculture is about 40% less than the transport emissions, and still dropping while transport is increasing.
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport_en
What? My family had a milk cow during my childhood and we never had to kill the cow or her calves to get milk from her. Patently untrue.
Rice Milk 1 cup cooked brown or white rice 4 cups water ⅛ teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon sunflower oil (optional)
Combine the rice, water, and salt in a blender. If you want a creamier milk, add the oil. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth. Pour into a container, cover, and refrigerate. Rice milk will keep for 4 to 5 days.
Makes 5 cups