Dairy used to be so nutritious back in the early 1900s when the cows roamed the fields feeding on grass, milk men delivered glass bottles door to door… today that’s not the case. With inhumane dairy farms being the major producer of milk, our beloved protein source has been stripped of its key beneficial nutrients and replaced with stress hormones and antibiotics that we do not want in our bodies because remember WE ARE WHAT WE EAT or in this case DRINK! Dairy farms are unhygienic, crowded, the animals are treated less than poor and just imagine the fear, stress, anger, and sadness streaming through that milk. No need to fear, its 2019 where alternative milks are the new diet fad!! However, not all alternative milks are healthy as they claim, just because it’s not dairy doesn’t mean it’s not filled with preservatives, additives or fillers to make it seem more like milk. This post is a guide to know what to look for when shopping for your alt-dairy needs, the following list are ingredients you should avoid:
- Guar gum
- Gellan gum
- Locust bean gum
- Xanthan gum
- Gum Arabic aka acacia gum
- Carrageenan
- Sunflower oil
- Canola oil
- Palm oil
- Sunflower lecithin
- Soy lecithin
- Cane sugar
- Vitamin D2
- Added minerals & vitamins (i.e. Vitamin A & B12)
- “Natural flavors” what could that even possibly contain?? Hmmm??
- Avoid soy milk like the plague!!!
- Avoid anything foreign or chemical sounding or simply if it’s hard to pronounce you don’t want to consume it.
Carrageenan is a thickening agent derived from seaweed that is linked to intestinal inflammation and cancer, since becoming a known fact, companies have started removing this ingredient. However, the “safer” replacement to thicken the milk comes in the form of various gums that are also linked to intestinal discomfort. The vegetable oils take around 15-21 steps to create with toxic, GMO ingredients under high heat and pressure. The vitamin D2 is not a form we need, we need D3 which we get from the suns UVB ray exposure. The other added vitamins and minerals, in addition to being synthetic, added calcium cannot absorb with vitamin D2, it needs D3 to fully absorb, therefore causing more harm than good. I say avoid the plague like soy because it is a highly processed plant which can suppress thyroid function which hinders the metabolism, it can cause problems with protein digestion, and it contains phytoestrogens which disrupts hormones.
The best non-dairy milks I have found include:
- Malk – it’s an almond milk that contains non-GMO, organic sprouted almonds, filtered water and Himalayan salt (I personally drink this, it tastes like real almonds! It is definitely an acquired taste as it doesn’t contain any thickening agents, it’s watery). They sell this at Whole Foods.
- Thrive Market Organic Oat Beverage – Water and organic oats.
- Three Trees Organic Almond Milk – Reverse osmosis filtered water and organic almonds.
- Forager Project Cashew Milk – filtered water, organic cashews, tapioca starch, gluten-free oats, and sea salt (I have also tried this one and it’s fantastic!)
Have a wonderful week everyone!! Shopping for clean foods can be frustrating because everything in the store has some form of preservative in it, but don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s all a learning journey!!
Health Energy 