More and more consumers are choosing to replace milk from animals with vegetable milk. And, therefore, in supermarkets, it is common to find a wide variety of typologies of milk that are made with plant ingredients as varied as soybeans, oats, rice, hazelnut, coconut, etc.
But within all types of vegetable milk, which one to choose? In this article we want to discover the different varieties that exist, also, we will give you some keys so that you can choose the best for you.
How to choose a good vegetable milk?
When choosing the best vegetable milk for your health, you have to pay attention to three specific aspects:
1. Short ingredient list. And the fewer ingredients there are, the less processed the milk is and therefore the healthier it is. The most recommended is the one that only has the plant product and water.
2. More than 8% of the main vegetable. Ideally, it has 8 to 15% of the main ingredients with which the drink is made (soya, oats, coconut…). In case you don’t see the percentages, see them appearing in the top positions of the ingredient label, because they are ordered from highest to lowest.
3. Check the sugar. It’s another aspect you should take into account when you buy your vegetable milk. Ideally, it has less than 5 grams per 100ml of drink, something that usually meets soy milk, but that hardly meets oats.
Different types of vegetable milk:
Now that you know how to choose your vegetable milk, we’re going to discover the different types of vegetable milk that currently exist on the market. These are:
– Soy milk. It is the most popular and the most consumed today. It has a rich contribution in calcium and proteins and its nutritional contribution is similar to that of cow’s milk.
– Oat milk. It is another of the most consumed vegetable milks today. It’s a good alternative because it doesn’t have milk protein or lactose. In addition, oats are a very satiating and highly nutritious cereal.
– Coconut milk. It is a widely consumed drink also for its sweet flavor and its peculiar texture. The main problem with this drink is that it does not have vegetable proteins, therefore, vegans have to know this information to properly compensate for their nutritional deficiencies.
– Almond milk. It is another type of vegetable milk that offers us a good nutritional balance. It gives us essential macronutrients and few calories, so it’s a good alternative for people who want to lose weight.
– Rice milk. It is another of the most consumed varieties today and is the most suitable for people who have intolerances to lactose and nuts. It has a great contribution of calcium, although its contribution to carbohydrates is very high.
What experts recommend is that, before we buy our vegetable milk, let’s check the label well. And that, whenever we can, we opt for organic or ecological milk to ensure a purer and unmanipulated nutritional contribution.