Most milk alternatives lack nutritional value of cow's milk: Study

More people are consuming plantbased milk substitutes such as oats soy and almonds but do plantbased products provide the same nutrition as cows milk According to the findings of a new survey the majority do not Cows milk is an important source of calcium and vitamin D both of which are identified in the 20202025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as nutrients of public health concern for underconsumption Cows milk is also a major source of protein in the American dietTo assess how the nutritional content of plantbased milk alternatives compares to that of cows milk researchers examined more than 200 plantbased milk alternative products being sold in the US in 2023 many more products than were included in previous studies Compared to cows milk only 1237 of the milk alternative products contained comparable or greater amounts of all three nutrients studied calcium vitamin D and proteinAbigail Johnson assistant professor and associate director of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health Nutrition Coordinating Center will present the findings atAcirc NUTRITION 2023 the annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 2225 in BostonOur results provide evidence that many plantbased milk alternatives are not nutritionally equivalent to cows milk said Johnson Based on these findings consumers should look for plantbased milk alternative products that list calcium and vitamin D as ingredients They may also want to consider adding other sources of calcium and vitamin D to their dietsThe University of Minnesotas Nutrition Coordinating Center maintains a database of approximately 19000 foods for assessing dietary intake in human research We know from our dietary assessments for nutrition studies that consumers are choosing more plantbased milk alternatives said Johnson This project aimed to increase the number of these milk alternatives available in the Nutrition Coordinating Centers database of foodsThe study included nutrition information from nutrition facts labels and ingredient information for 233 plantbased milk alternative products from 23 different manufacturers For each product the researchers applied a nutrient calculation program to estimate full nutrient information They then compared the nutritional content of different products within a category for example almond milk oat milk and soy milk to each other and to cows milk Compared to dairy milk just 28 of the plantbased alternatives had similar or more calcium vitamin D and proteinAlmost twothirds of the products included in the study were made from almonds oats or soy The researchers found that 170 of the plantbased milk alternatives were fortified with both calcium and vitamin D and that the level of fortification tended to be similar to dairy milk Specifically 7637 of the oatbased products 6937 of soybased and 6637 of almondbased alternatives were fortified with both calcium and vitamin D The median protein content was 20 grams g of protein per 240 milliliters ml of liquid with a large variability that ranged from 0 to 12 g Only 38 1637 of the milk alternatives studied had a protein level greater than or equal to the 8 g per 240 ml found in cows milk Soy and peabased alternatives were more likely to have higher proteinOur findings point to a need to ensure that consumers are aware that many plantbased milk alternative products in the marketplace today are not nutritionally equivalent to cows milk said Johnson Product labeling requirements and dietary guidance to the public are among the approaches that may be helpful in alerting and educating consumersNext the researchers plan to explore other nutrients in plantbased milk alternatives that make them different from cows milk For example many of these products contain fiber suggesting that they may help meet some nutritional needs that cows milk doesntThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever