Real dairy or plant-based milks?

Growing up every kid and many adults enjoyed a glass of real dairy milk at every meal.  Then plant-based milks started to come on the market and many people switched to these milks thinking they were healthier.  Are they?  Teaching nutrition I often talked about the nutritional differences of real milk versus the fake plant-based milks.  Some students asked what “real milk” was.  Real milk is dairy – milk from a cow.  Plant-based milks can be made from almonds, oats, or soy.  Which is healthier?  Real dairy milk or plant-based milks?  Which milk does the United States Department of Agriculture count as a serving of milk? 

Consumer Reports has a great article Which Milk Should You Drink?  that answers many of these questions.   

Should you drink cow’s milk? 

Good news for nutritionists is that 79% of 2,121 US adults polled are still buying cow’s milk.  Unfortunately, people are drinking less real cow’s milk as consumption has declined from 8.2 gallons per year in 2000 to 5.9 gallons in 2021. 

You may have read conflicting things about cow’s milk.  Consumer Reports states, “The truth is, cow’s milk has mostly benefits and just a few drawbacks”.  Cow’s milk is loaded with many nutrients young bodies need for growth and adults need for muscles and strong bones.

Nutrients in cow’s milk: 

•           Protein – each cup of cow’s milk provides 8 grams of protein.  And not just any protein but a very high-quality protein.  As noted in my blog, How can you add some high-quality protein foods to your day? , the egg is the gold standard for protein quality.  But second is cow’s milk protein.  Why?    Cow’s milk protein consists of casein and whey – both are very high-quality protein sources.  In fact, many body builders buy protein powders with casein and/or whey because they are such high-quality proteins.  But you can skip the powders and enjoy a glass of cow’s milk or yogurt made from cow’s milk.  “Approximately 80 percent of the protein in milk (cow’s milk) is casein protein, while the other 20 percent is whey protein.”  

• Calcium – each glass of cow’s milk provides about 300 mg of calcium.  About 25% of what one needs each day. 
• Vitamin D – all cow’s milk in the US is fortified with vitamin D and most cow’s milk yogurts are fortified with vitamin D.  Each cup of cow’s milk provides at least 100 IU of vitamin D.  Drinking a glass of cow’s milk at each meal or enjoying yogurt made with cow’s milk is a great way to add some vitamin D to your day.  So important as many Americans, adults and children, are deficient or have low vitamin D levels.  Not only do our bones need vitamin D, but so do our muscles, nerves, and D even helps our immune system. 
• Other minerals – cow’s milk provides other minerals including potassium, magnesium, zinc and more.  

What about the saturated fat in cow’s milk? 

Many people have heard that the saturated fat in cow’s milk is linked to heart disease, inflammation, and type 2 diabetes.  But is this true?  According Beth Bradley, PhD at the University of Vermont, “Current research indicates that the fats in [cow’s] milk are not associated with weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease or inflammation.”  If you want to cut back on calories but not on nutrition, one can enjoy low-fat or fat-free cow’s milk.

What if drinking cow’s milk leads to bloating, gas, or as my daughter calls it, “bubble gut”.  Cow’s milk naturally contains the sugar lactose and some people have trouble digesting this sugar.  One can easily solve this by drinking a lactose-free milk.  Fairlife milk is a good choice as it is lactose free and made from cow’s milk and provides all the nutrients cow’s milk provides. 

Plant-based milks – are they healthier?

So many people buy plant-based milks thinking they are healthier.  I know many parents are giving plant-based milks to their kids instead of real cow’s milk. 

Experts are now saying plant-based milks are not healthier than real cow’s milk.  The only plant-based milk that comes close is soy milk and only if it is fortified with calcium and vitamin D.  In fact, USDA considers the dairy group to include cow’s milk, yogurt made from cow’s milk, cheese, lactose-free cow’s milk and fortified soy milk and yogurt.  Except for soy, plant-based milks are not part of the dairy group that we all need for good health.  Why doesn’t the USDA consider other plant-based milks to be part of the dairy group?  “Other products sold as “milks’ but made from plants like almond, rice, coconut, oat and hemp “milks” may have calcium.  But they are not a part of the Dairy Group because their nutrition content is not like dairy milk and fortified soy milk.”  Emma Laing, PhD from the University of Georgia states, ‘most other plant-based products do not contain the nutrients comparable to dairy milk.” 

According to Insider, “Scientists found that plant-based milks often have less vitamin D, calcium and protein”. 

• Protein – cow’s milk provides 8 grams of high-quality protein per cup.  Plant-based milks only provide about 2 grams of protein per cup and the protein is not the high-quality proteins of casein and whey. 
• Other concerns about plant-based milks:  Not only do plant-based milks lack the nutrients in cow’s milk, they often contain added sugar and thickeners not found in cow’s milk.  One has to choose unsweetened plant-based milks or you could be adding 13 grams (52 calories) of added sugar to your diet for each cup of plant-based milk you drink.  In fact, almost half the calories in original Almond milk are from added sugar. 
• Thickeners – many plant-based milks contain thickeners like guar gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum to make the consistency like cow’s milk.  Original Almond Milk contains the thickener, gellan gum.  According to Laing, “Some studies have shown an adverse association between these additives and inflammation of the GI tract.”
• Children’s height:  A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition noted that drinking cow’s milk in kids is associated with increased height.  They studied plant-based milks as many kids are drinking these milks but these milks provide less protein and fat than cow’s milk.  The study found that children drinking plant-based milks were “shorter in height than those consuming cow’s milk.”  

Conclusion:  Plant-based milks continue to grow in popularity.  You won’t find any plant-based milks in the school lunch program because these milks aren’t “dairy” and USDA only considers cow’s milk or soy milk as “dairy” for the School Lunch and Breakfast programs.  I drink real cow’s milk and choose yogurt made from cow’s milk in order to get my calcium, vitamin D, high-quality protein and many other nutrients.  People choosing plant-based milks, especially for their children should take time to understand the pros and cons of plant-based milks.  People who are lactose-intolerant may want to try Fairlife milk.  A relative is lactose intolerant and she enjoys a glass of chocolate Fairlife milk and has no stomach issues. 

Sources:    Which Milk Should You Drink? , How can you add some high-quality protein foods to your day? , protein , whey protein , University of Vermont , Insider , Plant-based milks , Almond milk , Almond Milk , According , American Journal of Clinical Nutrition  Images:  Cow’s milk protein ,  Cow’s milk nutrients  , Protein in milks