So Is Almond Milk Actually Good For You?
Almond milk, or 'mylk'. Already seems wanky enough thanks to the 'y' in place of the traditional 'i' in 'milk' (medieval stylings), but you can't judge a book by its cover, right?
Many people preach the health and taste benefits and dietary alternative quality of the nutty milkiness in today's diet, but what's it about and is it actually good for you?
A lot of that depends on the type of almond milk you're buying and whether the kind you're buying in the supermarket is plain almonds, or loaded with fillers, sugars, stabilisers and gums to give it a more milky consistency and longer shelf life. Beware of those. Not that they're harmful or 'bad', but they can conflict with you if you're on a particular diet or trying to cut things from your diet for health reasons (you should see a doctor or naturopath before you make this commitment, too).
Anyway, this is what's up in the 'good' and 'bad' piles:
Benefits:
- It's low in kilojoules! YAS! Compared to a cup of whole milk, one cup of almond milk has one fifth of the total kilojoules.
RELATED: 5 Reasons You're Gaining Belly Fat
- There's NO soy. If you can't do dairy and you're not vibing on soy, almond milk is a great alternative.
- No sugar. If you're into the better version of the milks available in the shops that are plain and unsweetened, then the zero sugar element of a good almond milk is handy.
The possible shortcomings:
- Where the protein at? Almond milk has about one gram of protein per serving, compared to dairy's eight grams per serving. Do the maths.
- It's processed af. If you're trying to cut-out processed things from your diet, almond milk is your worst enemy. And we all know the people toting almond milk smoothies are generally the ones trying to live a ~clean~ lifestyle.
RELATED: The ULTIMATE Proof That Calorie Counting Is Sabotaging Your Fitness Goals
- There ain't no calcium. That's kinda it. Some brands add some fake stuff in there to act the same way, but it's nothing like the real deal.
At the end of the day, it's about you, your body and what it needs. If you can't hack milk or you're vegan, obviously don't drink it just for calcium's sake. You'll miss some key vitamins and minerals from milk, obviously, but you can make that up elsewhere in your diet. You do you!
