Almond milk is basically a drink made from the mixture of ground almonds and water. The almond milk is a popular alternative to cow’s milk. Many believe that almond milk nutrition is far better than cow milk. Is that so? Let’s have a look about almond milk nutrition facts in the article below.
Almond milk nutrition facts
According to Jenny Heap, a registered dietician at California’s Almond Board, almond milk has existed for a long time. In fact, it has existed since the middle ages when the noble families favoured it over milk from animals. The revelation of almond milk nutrition and its benefits in the last five years, however, has gained the product a much more appreciation from the mainstream public. In 2014, for example, almond milk had surpassed soymilk as the most popular non-animal milk drink, according to a survey by the Boston Globe.
Almond milk, despite being called “milk” and is located in the “dairy” section in shopping malls, is not a dairy product. It is, in fact, a dairy-free, lactose-free and soy-free product. Almond milk is produced by mixing almonds with water in a blender and straining them. You can add sweeteners or salt if you like. Commercial almond milk usually has vitamins and other nutrients along with thickening agents added into them.
How to make almond milk and get the almond milk nutrition
Making almond milk to get the most of the almond milk nutrition is very easy and cheap. Here is an easy almond milk recipe for you:
- Soak a cup of almonds in water and keep them for two days.
- Drain the almonds from the water and rinse the almonds.
- Mix the almonds with two cups of fresh water in a blender.
- Strain the mixture and add some flavours of your choice.
Almond milk nutrition versus cow milk nutrition
Commercial almond milk products usually have vitamin A and D while home made and raw almond milk products do not have these vitamins. This is normal because producers always try to create almond milk as similar to cow milk as possible. People also use almond milk as a substitute for cow milk. So, how does real almond milk nutrition stack up against cow milk?
The USDA said that almond milk has only one gram of protein per cup, while cow milk has eight. This means that if you purchase calcium-fortified almond milk, then its calcium levels will at least match cow’s milk. This is not the case with home-made almond milk. The almond milk nutrition made at home can contain more levels of vitamins A, D, E and B12. Home-made almond milk also has slightly more sodium than cow milk.
Almond milk is also cholesterol-free and does not contain saturated fats, unlike cow milk which contains these substances in different levels depending on the type of the product. A report by The Washington Post revealed that almond milk nutrition also contain healthy fat, something that cannot be said about cow milk except if it is a skimmed and fat-free dairy product variation.
Almond milk nutrition also has smaller amount of calories than cow milk. But this entirely depends on the amount of sweetener you add to your home-made almond milk.
Another thing to note about almond milk nutrition
Due to the fact that almond milk has very low protein, then if you decide to consume it, you must also be cautious in looking for alternative sources of protein for a well balanced diet.