Those who do not drink cow's milk but use vegetable drinks for breakfast or as a snack often choose their choice mainly considering taste. There are those who prefer soy drink, others almond, coconut or rice milk. Now a research has gone to analyze which is the best alternative from a nutritional point of view.
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Those who do not drink cow's milk but use them for breakfast or as a snack vegetable drinks often he orientates himself in the choice considering mainly the taste. There are those who prefer soy drink, others almond, coconut or rice milk. Now a research has gone on to analyze which is the best alternative from a nutritional point of view.
Plant-based drinks are often marketed as healthy alternatives to cow's milk. To find out if this is always true, a research team at McGill University in Canada examined the nutrition labels of many unsweetened drinking products made from almonds, soy, rice and coconut that are easily found on supermarket and grocery shelves. .
What the researchers noted is that even these drinks have drawbacks. Comparing the nutritional profiles of the 4 most popular alternatives to ordinary milk, they showed that those based on almonds, rice and coconut lacked a number of nutrients important for our health.
The Canadian team is still convinced that cow's milk is the most complete and balanced source of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but what to advise to those who need an alternative because they cannot or do not want to take it?
The 4 vegetable drinks compared: soy, almonds, rice and coconut
The soy drink (since last year it can no longer be called soy milk) was the one with the highest protein content compared to the others with about 7-12 grams per serving. Experts also point out that this alternative contains phytonutrients known as isoflavones, which have been shown to possess anticancer properties. However, even this drink is not perfect: some people complain about its taste reminiscent of that of beans and the authors of the study express concern about the presence of "anti-nutrients" substances naturally present in soy, such as phytic acid, which can make it difficult for the body to absorb and digest important vitamins and minerals.
Il almond milk, on the other hand, it is low in calories (about 36 per serving) and rich in health-beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids as they have also been shown to lower LDL (so-called bad) cholesterol. But almond milk is low in protein and carbohydrates and therefore nutritionally less balanced than cow's milk or soy drink.
Coconut milk, on the other hand, does not provide proteins. Even though it's low in calories, most of the energy it gives comes from saturated fat. On the plus side, the report said, drinking this type of beverage has been associated with increases in HDL (good) cholesterol and decreases in LDL cholesterol.
La rice drink it is high in calories (about 130 per serving) and relatively low in beneficial nutrients.
Photo: mcgill.ca
The study results were published in the Journal of Food Science and Technology.
On vegetable drinks, you may also be interested in:
- How to choose a good plant milk? The advice of our experts
- The alternatives to cow's milk
- Vegetable milk: the news, tools and accessories to prepare it at home
