The refrigerator section at the supermarket is filled with an ever-increasing number of milk products made from plants: soy, almond, oat, rice, sunflower, and coconut.
Many people prefer these plant-based products, but nutritionally, how do they stack up with cow’s milk?
“If you compare the different types of plant milks across the board compared in terms of nutritional equivalency to cow’s milk, the only thing that would get you closest would be a fortified soy milk,” said Amy Keating, a nutritionist at Consumer Reports.
Keating said almond milk has very little protein, oat milk has some protein and fiber, and sunflower seed milk has some protein and is naturally rich in vitamin E.
But coconut milk is different from the rest.
“Even though it is a vegetable, it is a source of saturated fat,” Keating told me. “So, a cup of coconut milk could be comparable to, say, 2% milk. If you were avoiding cow’s milk because of saturated fat, coconut milk probably wouldn’t be your best choice.”
Keep in mind: Some plant milks have added sugar.
“If you ‘re concerned about added sugars, you definitely want to look for unsweetened on the front of the package, or zero grams of added sugar on the nutrition facts panel,” Keating advised.
More Info: Consumer Reports’ ratings for plant milks