Almond, oat and soy drinks are not nutritionally the same as animal milk, despite looking similar, according to Dr. Ideiny Matías, a specialist in Clinical Nutrition with a master's degree in Obesity and Dietetics. Matías addressed the question as World Plant Milk Day was observed on August 22, an occasion she said is well suited to clearing up the confusion many people have about whether plant-based drinks can truly be called milk.
Clinical nutrition specialists like Matías focus on how diet affects the prevention and management of disease, an approach often applied to conditions such as obesity. Plant-based drinks have grown in popularity in recent years, often marketed to people with lactose intolerance, dairy allergies or dietary preferences that exclude animal products, which has blurred the line between drinks that merely resemble milk and milk itself.
Matías explained that plant-based products, which are white and dense like milk, are in fact heterogeneous beverages prepared from a range of plant-based raw materials. These include grains such as rice and oats, legumes such as soy, and nuts such as almonds. Although these drinks resemble cow's milk and have popularly come to be seen as substitutes for it, Matías said, they are not.
Animal milk, she said, is a liquid produced in the mammary glands that contains specific elements not found in plant-based drinks. These include lactose, fats and lipids, proteins such as whey and casein, minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and zinc, and vitamins B, A, D and E.
How plant drinks compare with milk
According to Matías, plant-based beverages made from almond, oat, soy and coconut are nutritionally inferior to milk. Milk provides more energy than these drinks, which she said is useful during stages of growth. Only soy comes close to matching milk's protein content, she said, and milk overall has proteins of higher quality and better absorption. Soybeans are among the few plant foods that contain a full range of essential amino acids, which is one reason nutritionists often single soy out as the closest plant-based match to dairy protein.
Matías laid out several specific differences between milk and plant-based drinks:
- Milk contains beneficial bioactive lipids as part of what nutritionists call the milk matrix.
- Oat drinks tend to contain added sugars.
- Milk offers better absorption of calcium.
- Only fortified soy drinks provide any vitamin B12.
- Plant-based drinks tend to contain more added salt.
In summary, Matías said, plant extracts only resemble milk because of their color and density. She said consumers should understand that these drinks will not provide the nutritional requirements needed for optimal health, because they lack high-quality proteins as well as vitamin B12, zinc and iron.
Milk and children's health
On feeding infants and children, Matías said exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life. This mirrors longstanding guidance from health authorities such as the World Health Organization, which recommends exclusive breastfeeding for a child's first six months. After that period, during school age, Matías said breast milk or cow's milk are the ideal choices.
Matías said studies have shown that these reduce cardiometabolic risk in children, provide calcium and protein, and improve glucose and insulin levels after consumption. She added that growth in children has been associated with greater height when these are consumed.
