The Future of Milk May Be Spoiled

Has anyone else noticed that humans are the only species to drink milk after their initial infant stage or to drink the milk from another species? Well, it seems that more people are gravitating away from milk lately and milk substitutes seem to have taken over. Popular milk alternatives include: oat milk, soy milk, almond milk & etc.  It’s has been common to cut out dairy milk from one’s diet. Studies show that the percentage of adults drinking milk in the United States decreased about 20% from 2003 to 2014. But why are people drinking less milk now?

Milk from Chaney and other farms is stocked alongside dairy alternatives at IGA grocery store in Bowling Green. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/style/milk-dairy-marketing.html

Side effects of Milk

While growing up many parents preached the consumption of milk by claiming it would make kids stronger and healthier. Milk has healthy components such as protein, B12, and calcium. However, it also brings its share of health complications. Dairy is the top source of saturated fat. As we get older, we can’t easily break down the lactose and sugar from milk as we could as infants. About 70% of the world’s population has lactose intolerance. Some common side effects of this are an upset stomach and gas problems. Milk is also known to cause acne because of all the hormones it contains and can lead to weight gain. Moreover, all of the calcium from milk that’s supposed to help our bones grow stronger actually does the opposite. This is because animal proteins produce acid when they are broken down and calcium neutralizes acid. Therefore, calcium from our bones is getting extracted to neutralize the protein from cow’s milk. Moreover, cow’s milk causes three times more greenhouse gas emissions than any other alternative.

Milk alternatives

Navigating around milk substitutes can be challenging because there are so many options. This might make some wonder, what is the best milk substitute? Soy milk has been the most popular for years because its nutrients are the closest to actual milk and it has the most protein. Oat milk has become the crowd favourite lately since it mixes well into cooking and is sustainable. There are even new substitutes that I’ve never heard about until now like quinoa milk and macadamia milk. In short, no, there isn’t one milk beverage that can be considered “the best” because everyone has vastly different dietary goals. For example, Individuals with nut allergies may want to try rice milk because it’s the least allergenic. Whereas rice milk is absorbed quickly in the gut and raises blood sugar levels rapidly which is not ideal for people with diabetes.

Is Oat Milk Healthier Than Cow’s Milk? | Northwestern Medicine Source: https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/nutrition/is-oat-milk-healthier-than-cows-milk

While regular milk works well for some, it’s nice to have other options especially since cow’s milk may not be as great as we once thought. I expect to see a decrease in other animal products due to the popularity of  Vegan and Vegetarian lifestyles.

-Shilpa Shrestha