Got (Almond) Milk?

I love milk. Most “clean eating” people I’ve met, are pretty opposed to milk and dairy products with the exception of non-fat Greek yogurt. But why? What’s so bad about milk?

Problems With Milk: (from the Harvard School of Public Health)http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/calcium-full-story/

Lactose Intolerance
High Saturated Fat
Possible Increase of Ovarian Cancer
Probable Increased Risk of Prostrate Cancer

I’m lactose intolerant and according to a September 15, 2009 USA Today article, 60% of people can’t digest milk. Apparently we are not even supposed to after the age of 5! No other animals drink milk after childhood. Here is the article for your reference: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm

But milk tastes really good and is a convenient source of calcium to help avoid osteoporosis, right? I always heard that a woman should drink 3 glasses of milk per day. Not so! Per Harvard:

“Currently, there’s no good evidence that consuming more than one serving of milk per day in addition to a reasonable diet (which typically provides about 300 milligrams of calcium per day from nondairy sources) will reduce fracture risk. Because of unresolved concerns about the risk of ovarian and prostate cancer, it may be prudent to avoid higher intakes of dairy products.”

Only 1 serving a day? Well that’s sort of a bummer! My trainer, Daniel, suggested I try almond milk instead. I bought some last week and it’s actually pretty good. It’s thicker than regular non-fat milk, but since I drink Lactaid milk anyway it wasn’t a big deal for me to try the new taste. The unsweetened flavor from Breeze is 70 calories per serving (a serving is one cup.) Silk also makes unsweetened almond milk now and a one cup serving of that is only 40 calories. They also make it in vanilla flavor so I’m using that in my morning coffee now. Daniel says to watch out for the fat content so he only wants me to use 1/2 cup if I’m going to drink it. Fair enough.

Want to know some other non-dairy sources of calcium?

Vegetables: spinach, kale, soybeans, turnips, pak-choi, collards, okra
Fish: salmon, blue crab, Atlantic Ocean perch, clams, rainbow trout
Other: fortified oatmeal, fortified cereals, tofu, supplements

Here is the link from Health.gov with the above mentioned food and the calorie count. http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/appendixb.htm

In summary:

You should have one serving of dairy per day. You should get additional calcium through non-dairy sources. A good substitute for the flavor of milk without all the negatives of regular milk is almond milk.

Hope you found this useful!

Lisa

Got (Almond) Milk?

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