Milk: Which is best for you?

Milk has been recently brought to my attention as a controversial topic. Although sometimes I want to strangle people when they say something is
"bad for you", I am learning to be patient with people. That scene from Mean Girls goes off in my head... However, people can have their opinions if they want.

I am not going to reveal which milk is best for you, but instead I am going to go over the pros, cons, and nutrition facts of each one.

1. Cows Milk
So we know that the lower the fat percentage, the better choice it is when it comes to regular cows milk. In my household, we currently drink 2%. With two grown men, it'll be difficult to go down any further. But I am okay with this choice because it is a nutrient-dense drink with all your macronutrients and important micronutrients like Calcium and  Vitamin D. Regular milk has 8-10 grams of protein in 1 cup depending on which brand you purchase.  And milk has a little over 110 calories for a cup.
I am aware that there are plenty of people who are lactose intolerant and regular cow's milk is obviously not the choice for you.

2. Almond Milk
 So here's the deal with almond milk... Almond "beverage" I should say actually. Almond beverage is a great choice for a low calorie drink to put in a smoothie or protein shake. However, the reason I stopped drinking almond milk is the protein content. There is 1 gram. An analysis done in the UK on an almond beverage found that there was only a handful of almonds per container.
If you want a low calorie milk for your cereal or protein shakes, and you are not concerned with protein intake, almond milk is the choice for you!

3. Soy Milk
Okay, so soy milk is SUPER controversial. I won't get into all that for the sake of the point of this blog post.  This is also not a "Milk" but rather a "beverage".  I drink soy beverage occasionally with my protein shakes. The protein is as high as cows milk at about 9 grams per cup.  There is less carbohydrates/sugar than cows milk. The calorie range is right in between almond milk and regular milk at about 90-100 calories per cup. However, there is no calcium.

So it seems to me that each kind of "Milk" is missing something...

                                                                                                             

The Missing Nutrients

Soy Beverage: Calcium 

Almond Beverage: Protein

Cows Milk: Not missing... but Excess saturated fat.

One might argue, well Almond milk has almost as much calcium as regular milk. Well, you are correct. However, after taking food science and multiple other classes on metabolism, cows milk calcium has a better absorption rate. This means that calcium from cows milk is absorbed better in our body than from calcium in almond milk (or any other foods with calcium: leafy greens). 

Calcium is a very important nutrient. It may not seem like it now when you are moving properly and you don't fracture your hip when you bump into a counter, but one day you will. Calcium keeps our bones dense. Nourish your body now while you are healthy, so when you become older, you can still have independence. 

To understand the importance of protein, you can refer back to my protein blog post. 

Now that you know the difference between 3 popular beverages, please understand the benefits to each.  Every person has a different body. 

P.S. For those that drink rice milk, cashew milk, and other "milks", look at the nutrition facts next time you pour a glass and look out for calcium and protein.