John Myers
You can find out here how healthy and sustainable oat milk is and what you need to look out for if you want to use it as a milk substitute. Oat milk offers many health and environmental benefits over other milk alternatives, but it’s not for everyone.
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Oat milk: how healthy is the milk alternative?
In addition to soy and almond milk, oat milk is a popular vegan substitute for conventional cow’s milk. On the market, oat milk can usually be found under the product name ‘oat drink’ or a special brand name, since according to EU guidelines only animal products can be labeled ‘milk’.
- In the production of oat milk, the oats are dehusked and ground. The oat flakes are then mixed with water, soaked and fermented, depending on the process. After that, the porridge is filtered. Various additives are then added to the oat milk, which has been freed from filter residues in this way.
- In addition to vegetable oils, which ensure that the still quite watery oat milk forms a white, milky emulsion, vitamins, thickeners, preservatives or acidifiers are added depending on the type of production. Ultra-high heating gives the oat milk a longer shelf life so that it can be stored without refrigeration.
- Oats are an extremely nutritious and healthy starting product. It contains a high proportion of fiber, eight essential amino acids and many vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, zinc, iron, vitamin E, K and a number of B vitamins.
- A large part of these valuable minerals, vitamins and trace elements are lost during the production of oat milk, which is why they are often artificially added to the end product.
The benefits of oat milk as a milk substitute
Oat milk is good for cooking and baking, as well as for frothing. In addition, in contrast to other milk alternatives such as almond or soy milk, it has a relatively neutral taste and only has a slight cereal aroma.
- Fiber: The fiber contained in oat milk not only fills you up, but can also help to stabilize blood sugar levels, which is particularly beneficial for diabetics.
- Lactose: Since oat milk as a vegetable product contains no milk protein and no lactose, it is well suited for allergy sufferers or those with intolerances.
- Soy: Oat milk is also a good alternative for people who are allergic to soy, avoid soy products due to their possible hormonal effects or cannot tolerate them for other reasons.
- Cholesterol: Since oat milk, as a purely plant-based milk substitute, has no cholesterol contains, it can help to lower cholesterol levels.
- Environment: Oat milk leaves a smaller ecological footprint than soy products, for which rainforests are often cleared to grow. In contrast to other milk alternatives such as almond milk, less water is also used for the industrial production of oat milk.
- Origin: Since the oats for the cereal milk are mostly grown in Germany and often come from organic farming, oat milk is one of the most sustainable milk alternatives.
- Cultivation: In addition, oats are comparatively resistant to pest infestation and weeds, which keeps the use of environmentally harmful herbicides and pesticides low.
- Sustainability: Compared to cow’s milk, according to a study by the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, the energy consumption in the production of oat milk is 60% less and the land consumption is only 20%. Overall, the ecological footprint of oat milk is 70% smaller.
Adverse properties of oat milk
Although oat milk is a healthy and sustainable alternative to cow’s milk and other plant-based substitutes, grain milk is not always the right choice.
- Gluten: Oat milk is not suitable for people who suffer from celiac disease or want to follow a gluten-free diet, as oats are a type of grain that contains gluten.
- Sugar: The starch contained in oats is partially converted into sugar during the production process of oat milk, which means that the grain milk is not exactly low in calories.
- Calories: While whole milk contains around 60 kcal per 100 ml, oat milk only has 30 to 50 kcal, but it is still not recommended as a source of liquid because, compared to soft drinks such as cola, which contains 40 kcal per 100 ml, not exactly low in calories.
- Babies: Although oat milk is generally well tolerated by small children and babies and also has a digestive-regulating effect, it can not adequately replace the natural nutrient balance of proteins, vitamin B12 and calcium found in cow’s milk.
- Additives: Various vitamins and trace elements can be added to oat milk and balance the nutrient balance, but industrially produced oat milk also contains other substances such as emulsifiers or is artificially mixed with sugar, which can quickly make the milk substitute unhealthy, not only for small children and babies.
