Plant-based beverages are expensive and offer only a fraction of the nutritional value of milk, according to new research.
The study, published this month in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, evaluated the nutritional profiles of various plant-based beverages, including soy, oat, coconut, almond and rice drinks, and compared them to standard milk. .
Researchers collected 103 plant-based products from supermarkets in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Beverages were found to contain much less of the 20 measured nutrients, including calcium and protein, and to be much more expensive than milk.
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The research was conducted by scientists at the Lyddette Institute at Massey University in Palmerston North.
The Lidett Institute is a Center of Research Excellence sponsored by Massey University, focused on basic and advanced food research.
One of the study’s authors, Warren McNabb, a professor of nutritional sciences at the Lidett Institute, said plant-based beverages are often marketed as alternatives to ruminant milks, such as cow’s milk, and consumers are more likely to buy them. can be easily believed to be nutritionally interchangeable.
He said new research shows they’re not the same, and in fact, replacing cow’s milk with plant-based products is “nutritionally risky” for nutritionally demanding consumers like pregnant women and young children. is.
“Milk as a food provides 49% of the world’s calcium. This is one of the most important things about milk.”
An independent study first examined product pricing and nutrition labeling, then analyzed nutritional content at an external, accredited laboratory.
Selected almond, coconut, oat, rice and soy products were tested for macronutrient and mineral content.
“One of the researchers noticed that when stored, a very thick semi-solid layer formed at the bottom and a layer of water formed on top. I wondered what happened.”
Further testing was done before and after shaking the product and found that many of the nutrients such as protein and calcium remained as a sediment in the plant-based beverage when the product was not shaken before drinking. rice field.
This was not the case with milk.
Milk protein content ranges from 3.3 to 3.9g per 100g, McNabb says only soy drinks have comparable protein content to milk, while all other plant-based drinks average 1.1g per 100ml. Contains less protein than
Most plant products are ultra-processed and fortified with calcium and minerals, including additives such as sugars, fats, hydrogenated oils, hydrolyzed proteins, flavors and thickeners.
The oat and almond beverage contained the equivalent of 1/2 cup of oats or 6 almonds in 250g of product.
Plant-based beverages were often touted as having no added sugar, but McNabb said milk is also sugar-free.
“Lactose[in milk]is also difficult to convert into glucose in the body, so milk generally contains very little sugar.”
He said plant-based beverages contain plant equivalents of sugar that are converted to glucose in the body.
“That’s why plant-based beverages often have a natural sweetness and don’t need added sugar. But they’re not low in sugar.”
McNabb said the arguments that alternatives are more environmentally sustainable also disagree, given the amount of the product that must be consumed to achieve the same nutritional benefits as conventional milk.
Some plant-based beverages require 18 cups of milk to provide the same amount of protein as one cup of milk, for example.
This comes at a much higher cost to the environment and your wallet.
But it wasn’t all bad for the options. McNab says plant-based beverages provide nutrients that milk doesn’t, such as fiber.
“Our final conclusion was that plant-based beverages and milk are not nutritionally similar at all.
“It’s a completely different food. If you want to use alternatives, use them, but don’t consume them believing they are nutritionally similar alternatives to milk.”
This was the first study to analyze the actual content of plant-based milks available in New Zealand.
