How to Choose the Best Milk Alternative

A lot of my clients and myself notice we get congested when we eat dairy. I like to use a milk alternative such as hemp, almond, rice, soy, coconut, oat or flaxseed... but that's the problem: there are so many kinds to choose from! Which is the best?

I recommend brown rice milk or almond milk because they taste similar to the real deal, they are affordable and they don't have too many additives.

Definitely opt for the unsweetened kind to avoid unnecessary calories and sugar!

A few tips when choosing milk alternatives:

Select a product that is made primarily of a whole plant food. Some options are brown rice, oats, mixed grains, almonds, or hemp seeds.

Look for a milk that has a low percentage of calories from fat

The mg of sodium in a serving should be no greater than the calories per serving.

Try to find a product that contains 3 or 4 grams of fiber per serving.

Things to avoid in milk alternatives:

Added oil. A good milk substitute will only have fat which occurs naturally in the main plant ingredient such as the almonds in almond milk.

Added sugar. Sugar is just more extra calories and is detrimental to our health. Get used to the taste of an unsweetened milk! Add some honey or other healthy sweeteners if you'd like.

Isolated soy protein also called soy protein isolate. Manufacturers use hexane and other dangerous chemicals to isolate the protein from soybeans. Because the soy protein is so concentrated, it raises blood levels of insulin-like growth factor which increases our cancer risk. Scary!

Carrageenan. This has been linked to intestinal inflammation and irritable bowl disease.

Artificial flavors, colors, or other chemicals.