BODY RESET: FOOD & TIPS

Stiftung Warentest recently compared milk alternatives made from oats, soy, almonds and rice. Unfortunately, pea milk was not yet included. Officially, vegetable milk can no longer be called milk, which is why the article refers to it as a “drink” … In any case, the article is worth reading. 

In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and pollution of water bodies, milk from cows does not fare well. However, almond milk and rice milk use even more water than cow’s milk 371 liters & 586 liters vs. 248 liters for cows.

Oatly Barista scores the best with an overall rating of 1.9. However, it contains 4 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters of milk. The sugar comes from oats. And on average, the brands studied bring 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. “For a 250-milliliter glass, this is equivalent to almost four sugar cubes”. One sugar cube weighs about 3 grams, and with the average glass of oat milk, you’re then ingesting almost 12 grams of sugar.

How does the sugar get into the plant-based drinks?

At vly you can see this quite well. Rice has been added to the two sugary variants (sugar content only less than two grams per 100 milliliters). Rice itself contains virtually no sugar. However, the starch from the rice (and also from the oats) can be broken down enzymatically. And so, although no sugar is added, sugar is produced by food technology processes and makes the drink a little sweeter. That’s why it’s always good to look at the nutritional information. This sugar must then also be shown there.

The following milk alternatives with the sugar indications

• sproud unsweetened – from peas 
• plenish Organic Almond Dairy Alternative Long Life Drink 1L – 0g sugars
• mighty Milkology Whole Dairy Free Oat Milk Alternative 1L – 1.9g sugars
• alpro Soya Long Life Drink 1L – 2.5g sugars
• jord Organic Oat & Hemp Drink 1L – 3.3g sugars
• alpro Rice Long Life Drink 1L – 3.3g sugars

A word about the article from Stiftung Warentest. It says: “Claims that milk is unhealthy are not scientifically proven.” In addition one must know however that – so according to science journalist Bas Kast in the nourishing compass* – a majority of the studies, which are to us to milk at the disposal, were paid by the milk industry. Industry-affiliated studies deliver to 93% results in the sense of the sponsor. There is also an analysis on this. However, there is now a very large independent study from Sweden from 2017, which was published in the renowned American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The comes to the following conclusion:
intake of milk and butter is associated with higher all-cause mortality, and intake of fermented milk – i.e., yogurt – and cheese is associated with lower all-cause mortality (source). For those who want to read more, I recommend turning to the Nutritional Compass* on page 189ff.

Yogurt is also available made from coconut milk, soy milk, lupine milk, almond milk or cashews.

“Are you still allowed” to eat oat yogurt when you reach the grain-free phase? Oat yogurt, such as cow‘s, contains only 0.7 grams of protein per 100 grams of yogurt. That is, it contains a maximum of 0.7 grams of gluten, if we assume that all protein in oats is gluten. But it isn’t. Gluten is only present in oats because gluten from other types of grain has “crept in” through harvesting vehicles, etc. In this respect, I don’t see any problem with oats. In this respect, I see no problem eating oat yogurt. I would only look at the nutritional information because, as we now know, sugar can also be hidden everywhere. By the way, the above also applies to oat milk.

And if you absolutely want to continue eating cheese, you can try the alternatives made from cashews. Just pay attention to the ingredients. I’ve seen a vegan cheese made from chickpeas that was 40% wheat starch. And you don’t want to eat that.

• the 10 best dairy-free cheese alternatives
• Cheese made from cashews* from veganz
• Happy Cashew