Icky additives in non-dairy milk
Almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, hempmilk… new varieties of non-dairy milks have been popping up all over grocery store shelves. But are these milk substitutes healthy? Well, not really. While these milk substitutes sound good according to the claims on the packages (things like as much calcium as milk and heart healthy), the ingredients in these processed products tell a different story. Here are seven reasons to think twice before buying non-dairy milks:
1. Carrageenan
This seaweed-based additive is extremely inflammatory and should be fastidiously avoided. As a matter of fact, carrageenan is so caustic to the digestive tract that researchers use it to induce colitis in lab animals! The World Health Organization classifies one type of carrageenan as a “possible human carcinogen” (learn more about carrageenan here). Lesson? Just because a carton of Almond Milk claims the titles “organic” and “heart healthy” does not mean it should be a part of your diet.
2. “Natural flavors”
This term conveniently eliminates the need to list unsavory additives on the ingredient list. “Natural flavors” can even mean forms of MSG and artificial sweeteners. I want to know EXACTLY what is in the food that I eat. That is why I prepare most of my food from scratch and only purchase ingredients from companies who have the rare integrity to list every single ingredient on their product. I feel a visceral distrust of a company that puts “natural flavors” on their ingredient list.
3. Vegetable oils
Most nut or seed milks contain canola oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, and/or soybean oil which are all bad news. Vegetable oils are a freak of nature… after all, it takes a lot of effort to get a gallon of oil from corn! Vegetable oils are extracted with toxic solvents as well as high heat and pressure, agents that rancidify the delicate chemical structure of the fatty acids. Further, corn and soy oils are most likely from heavily-sprayed and GMO crops.
To prove my point, watch this video on How Canola Oil Is Made. You won’t believe it until you see it! Canola oil is simply not fit for human consumption (or animal consumption, either, for that matter).
Vegetable oils = icky. Period.
4. Soy
When it comes to non-dairy milk options, soy milk is by far the worst choice. For the sake of keeping this post a reasonable length, I am just going to give you some of the detrimental health consequences of soy in a nutshell:
- Soy contains high amounts of phytoestrogens which may cause estrogen dominance. Pre-pubescent boys are most susceptible to (often irreversible) hormone damage by consuming soy products and parents should make a careful effort to never feed their babies soy-based formulas.
- Soy impairs thyroid function which lowers metabolism. This leads to hair thinning, skin problems, and weight gain.
- Soy contains substances that interfere with protein digestion. This can cause serious pancreas problems, including pancreatic cancer.
- Soy is super high in mineral-blocking phytic acid.
Want more details and studies on the horrors of soy? I recommend The Whole Soy Story by Dr. Kaayla Daniels.
5. Vitamin D2
The natural vitamin D in real milk, as well as the D the human body produces from sun exposure, is D3. Vitamins in a whole-food form, such as in raw milk, provide an easily-assimilated form of the nutrients along with important cofactors for absorption. Vitamin D2 is a synthetic and isolated form of the vitamin and, as a result, is extremely poorly absorbed (here’s the study). It offers no viable benefit to the body and may actually be harmful.
Some experts believe that D2 actually desentitizes the D3 receptors, making us more prone to vitamin D deficiency! Stay far, far away from the D2.
6. Other isolated vitamins
When it comes to processed foods, the sum of the parts does not equal the whole. Here’s what I mean in the case of milk substitutes: companies isolate forms of vitamins and minerals and add it into the milk substitute base. But just because a rice milk claims to have as much calcium as regular milk does not mean the body absorbs and utilizes the calcium from both items the same way. I believe nutrients are always better absorbed in the whole-food form.
For example, real, whole milk provides adequate saturated fats to help the body utilize the calcium and fat-soluble vitamins in the milk. Non-dairy milks offer no natural co-factors to allow assimilation of the vitamins.
As another example, non-dairy milks often contain synthetic vitamin A. While naturally-occuring (non-isolated, food-source) vitamin A only creates toxicity in uber-extreme doses, moderate overdoses of synthetic vitamin A can cause toxicity (read more about synthetic vs. natural vitamin A). This is because the body cannot assimilate the synthetic version of the vitamin.
7. Bonus: Phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors
(Not an additive, but natural anti-nutrients)
As explained in Nourishing Traditions, traditional cultures soaked their nuts and seeds in a salty brine and then dried them in the sun. This reduced the phytic acid content (a substance which impairs mineral absorption) and the naturally-occuring enzyme inhibitors (which cause digestive distress and impair protein digestion). I know that many of you are already fans of soaking and dehydrating your nuts/seeds to make the nutrients more bioavaiable. Unfortunately, commercially-prepared non-dairy milks are not made from properly prepared nuts/seeds.
Let’s take a more detailed look at the ingredients in popular non-dairy milk options.
Soymilk (Filtered Water, Whole Soybeans), Cane Sugar, Sea Salt, Carrageenan, Natural Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12.
Well, the first ingredient is soy. Need we read further down the ingredient list before we place the product back on the shelf? No, but let’s anyways, out of morbid curiosity. I see carrageenan, that caustic carcinogen that we discussed earlier. I also see isolated calcium and vitamin A, which aren’t going to be optimally absorbed by the body. And there is that useless vitamin D2. The verdict? Don’t touch this stuff.
Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Almond milk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Locust Bean Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Acetate, Zinc Gluconate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D2.
The real red flags here are the foreign-sounding ingredients. Locust bean gum – what in the world is that? Here’s the explanation from Wikipedia:
“[Locust bean gum is a] vegetable gum extracted from the seeds of the carob tree […] The long pods that grow on the tree are used to make this gum. The pods are kibbled to separate the seed from the pulp. The seeds have their skins removed by an acid treatment. The deskinned seed is then split and gently milled. This causes the brittle germ to break up while not affecting the more robust endosperm. The two are separated by sieving. The separated endosperm can then be milled by a roller operation to produce the final locust bean gum powder.”
That is definitely not an ingredient that can be prepared by the home cook! Even if it is from a natural product like a carob pod, I know it is not truly “natural” if it requires such strange and complex extraction methods. The same goes for the sunflower lecithin (a highly processed byproduct) and the gellan gum (a product of a bacterium).
And there is that ominous “natural flavor” label… that’s bad news. The verdict on this popular almond milk option? Avoid it.
Rice Dream Unsweetened Rice Milk
Organic rice base (filtered water, organic rice), organic tapioca starch, organic expeller pressed canola oil and/or safflower oil and/or sunflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, carrageenan, natural flavors, sea salt, xanthan gum, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin B12.
Okay, so we have some red flag ingredients discussed above like vegetable oils, carrageenan, natural flavors and D2. It also lists xanthan gum, a highly processed, bacterial byproduct ingredient. It certainly doesn’t pass the test of “would your great-grandmother have recognized this as food?”
Hemp nut base (filtered water, hemp nut [shelled hemp seed]), natural flavors, sunflower lecithin, tricalcium phosphate, carrageenan, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, riboflavin, vitamin B12. Contains a trace of sugar.
Like other nuts and seeds, hempseeds are a whole food that has been enjoyed by traditional cultures. And the good news is that hemp seeds do not contain phytic acid, so they do not need to be soaked. But unfortunately, this commercial non-dairy milk contains that darned and dangerous carrageenan as well as the red flag ingredients of natural flavors, sunflower lecithin, and D2. Verdict? Pass on this one.
What about coconut milk?
I frequently use coconut milk in my recipes on Empowered Sustenance. Although it is a seed, coconut has an excellent fatty acid profile with lots of metabolism-boosting medium chain fatty acids and very little PUFA. But we have to be careful when buying coconut milks because they can have the same problems of other milk substitutes. I don’t recommend buying cartons of coconut milk, because these often contain carrageenan.
The best option is additive-free coconut milk in BPA-free cans, although the can lining likely still leaches chemicals into the milk. I feel totally comfortable consuming 1-3 cans of coconut milk per week.
In my option, the best non-dairy milk is homemade coconut milk. You can also make coconut milk at home from unsweetened coconut flakes. Make a couple of batches and keep some in the freezer. It will lasts months in the freezer and about 4 days in the fridge.
What milks and milk substitutes are best?
I believe the most nourishing option is real raw milk. Why is raw milk so special? So many reasons! I explain the benefits of raw milk in my post here. That post also debunks the myths about the “risks” of raw milk consumption and addresses the question “isn’t cow milk for baby cows?” If you think you are lactose intolerant or believe you can’t tolerate dairy milk, I encourage you to give raw milk or raw goat milk a try. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well you can tolerate it!
If you still want a nut/seed milk, then the best option is making it from scratch. Again, I recommend homemade coconut milk because it contains the healthiest fats and is free of anti-nutrients like phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors.
If you choose other nuts/seeds, it is best to soak and dehydrate your nuts/seeds according to the directions in Nourishing Traditions. This reduces the problematic phytic acid (remember, it prevents mineral absorption) and enzyme inhibitors (remember, those harm your pancreas). Then blend up the nuts/seeds with filtered water and strain it through a nut milk bag. You can find unlimited recipes for homemade nut milk on the internet.
What kinds of milk do you drink? Are you going to make the transition away from commercial nuts milks?
I find when I freeze my coconut milk, it’s all lumpy and separated when thawed. How do you solve that?
Are there any good non-dairy milk types we can purchase?
Hard to find time to do all this “from scratch” stuff as working mother 🙂
Thanks!
Check out this site: http://malkorganics.com/
I’m allergic to cows milk but I’m also allergic to the oils they put in all these dairy free milks plus lecithin as well. They give me an itchy rash!!!!!
Preach! Can’t have dairy. Can’t have sunflower (seed, oil, or lecithin).
Not fun ?
Looks like it’s gonna be DIY coconut milk from here on out.
Hi Kevin, most carton plant based milks are bad for us!! They contain nasties like carrageenan, D12, sunflower oil, additives, and stabilisers!! The best and cheapest way is to make your own coconut milk! All you require is shredded coconut (organic if possible), hot water (not boiling) a nut milk bag and stevia (personal choice for sweetness) and a blender!! Research it! Cheaper and good for you and this is what many island countries do!! Or you can also buy a good quality canned coconut milk in a bpa Free can And without any additives or numbers and use that!! All the best❤️??
I’m afraid stevia is not all good for you especially if you are young and want to have children😏
I know this is an old comment but I found out you can make oat milk. Doesn’t look too annoying to make. Look on pinterest for recipes. Good luck.
That’s because they shouldn’t be in there!! Or carrageenan, D12 Or sunflower oil! If you are going to have coconut milk, the best is to buy from a can but a bpa Free can And non gmo and that contains no additives or numbers! OR you can simply make your own coconut milk using shredded coconut, hot water (not boiling) stevia (optional) and a blender and a kit milk bag!! That’s it!! Stores in the fridge for up to 3 days!!! Do not touch soy milk!! All the best ??❤️
I have been drinking regular milk for years and still ended up with a vitamin D deficiency??? The hemp milk i drink now is dairy free, carrageenan free and has vitamin D2.
So basically as long as you personally don’t recognize it, it’s bad. Hm.
The soybean has been a healthy and integral part of an Asian diet for thousands of years, whilst many have witnessed firsthand the multiple health benefits associated with the consumption of soybeans and the related products. So the soy milk companies are brainwashing us you say? What about the dairy industry then? You are here preaching how bad soy milk is (who is paying you?), Whilst there currently are no studies that can definitively prove phytoestrogens are detrimental to our health however there are many supporting soy’s health benefits. I think you may be uneducated and need to spend a little more time researching other than buying a $17.90 book. maybe sucking on a cows tit or eating fermented goats milk sound natural to you however your not living in my reality. Thank you for this rediculous money grab of an article, praying on those who know no better.
The information contained in her article is very correct. I know, because I have also come to these conclusions looong before reading her article. I used to drink soy milk and wondered why I had serious breast tenderness, it was because of the phytoestrogens in soy – eating any form of soy causes bodily hormonal disruptor sensitivity in many women (males, too). Once you take it out of your diet, it goes away. Any form of synthetic vitamin or minerals, are not absorbed by our bodies, they just sound good on a package.
I finally stopped drinking over the counter nut milks because I read somewhere that the thickeners cause stomach distress. I have been diagnosed with gastritis recently and colon cancer 10 years ago. I stopped drinking it and my burning painful stomach problems were gone in a week. WOW! I have been drinking nut milks for 25 or more years. I love, love, love milk in my morning tea or coffee. I am making my own almond milk with MYLK brand grown especially for milk. Yum, so delicious. After reading your article I will try coconut milk or a mix of nuts. It’s so much more delicious that store bought with only a few minutes of work.
I don’t tolerate coconut oil or milk. Gives me lots of GI issues. Is there a way to overcome this??
Thanks
You conveniently left out the horrible effects of drinking Cow’s milk. Cow’s milk contains estrogen too! Looks like a paid post by the Dairy Industry. Also Cow’s milk has some amount of blood puss etc mixed in it. Not to mention the antibiotics and cancerous growth hormones they give to Cows to produce more milk.
Store bought cows milk does not have antibiotics in it. If a farmer accidentally adds milk from a cow that was on antibiotics for mastitis to his milk tank he is liable to buy the whole truckful of milk . which can cost more than $15,000. Farmers are extremely cautious and test their treated cows milk before it goes in their tank. The growth hormone you mentioned is a natural hormone all cows produce and it is no longer available even for beef cows who may need it to feed their own calves. When a cow is milked each teat is milked 3x to check for infection.
It looks like I’m back to soaking cashews and making cashew milk. I quit when I started school because of how long it takes. Can cashew milk be frozen and thawed and still be good? I’m looking for shortcuts, if you know any I’d appreciate it.
What would be the best kind of milk for my 2 year old?
I am hoping someone can help me with this issue I am dealing with , I was diagnosed with 4’th stage thyroid cancer 43 years ago and after treatment developed allergies to pretty much everything on the planet. I have now celiac , I do a gluten free diet and stay away from processed foods .I do antibiotic free non gmo hormone free foods & soy as it is a plant based hormone which can stimulate hormone driven cancers such as thyroid .I am just trying to find a milk substitute I can not do canola oil safflower oil or sunflower oil or any nut based !! I was doing rice milk but found it now has sunflower & canola oil ! I would just like to find a non dairy without all of these addictives !!!!! Thanks