Remember when the color of the lid was the only distinction between milk types? It can be daunting to scour the modern milk aisle, so we're here to help you distinguish which milk to pick up next time you're in the market.
Review our guide for the best choice below. Always provide lots of non-dairy sources of calcium in your diet, whether or not you want dairy milk, such as canned salmon and sardines, green leafy veg, nuts, and seeds, including almonds and sesame seeds. Vitamin D helps the body make the most of calcium by mixing certain foods with vitamin D supplements, such as eggs and fatty fish.
Dairy Milk
The best-absorbed form of calcium determined by studies examining the body's ability to digest and use calcium is dairy milk and its derivatives.
While there are several unhealthy fats in dairy foods, the fat in dairy does not seem to be excessively risky for heart health. A large study released in 2018 involving people from 21 countries showed that dairy intake was associated with a lower risk of heart failure and death.
While dairy milk has a high nutritional value, if they prefer not to, there's no excuse why people ought to drink it. You can receive all of the nutrients in milk elsewhere in the diet.
Almond Milk
There are primarily groundnuts and water in nut drinks, such as almond. The almond drink is slightly lower in protein and calcium than dairy milk, despite almonds being a healthy plant source of protein. An almond drink should be taken care of by consumers to ensure that important nutrients are met elsewhere in the diet.
For those who are intolerant to both dairy milk and soy, almond drink can be ideal but is not safe for those with nut allergies.
Soy Milk
If you're looking for a dairy-free option, soy is a reasonable choice (although certain individuals might be soy intolerant). It is made from soybeans or soy protein powder, water, and vegetable oils and is typically supplemented with calcium, plus vitamins and minerals.
In terms of nutritional profile, a 2017 report showed that soy did slightly better than other milk substitutes, including almond, soy, rice, and coconut varieties.
Soy is a good source of plant protein, nutrients, B vitamins, and most are calcium-fortified, making it equivalent to milk nutritionally. The body's ability to digest the additional calcium in a soy drink is similar to that of milk. One study suggested that 75% of the calcium production from cow milk was absorbed by calcium from fortified soy drink, but there seems to be scant evidence on this.
Ultimately, you should select fortified and ideally unsweetened varieties when choosing which plant-based option to drink. Look for those with a calcium content of as near as possible to 115-120 mg per 100 ml, since this is comparable to dairy.
Your preference should also take your total nutrition and nutritional needs into consideration. This is particularly important for children, teens, older adults, and those on a restricted diet.
