If you’re looking for a healthier version of your morning meal, whether it’s a bowl of cereal, a cup of tea or coffeea good idea is to replace cow’s milk with soy milk, argue Canadian researchers in a new review published in BMC Medicine.
THE soy milka plant-based alternative, it first gained popularity in the 1990s as an alternative to traditional cow’s milk. However, its appeal has waned in recent years, mainly due to its official designation “highly processed foods”due to the high added sugar content. At the same time, other dairy alternatives, such as almond milk and oat milk, have also become popular.
However, the new study from the University of Toronto confirms soy milk, emphasizing that it is still associated with it remarkable health benefits. Researchers conducted an in-depth analysis of 17 studies, involving more than 500 people, to examine the effects of replacing cow’s milk with soy milk. Each study lasted about 4 weeks, during which participants consumed an average of 500 ml of milk (cow or soy) per day.
The results were surprising: in all studies, the replacement of cow’s milk with soy milk was associated lower cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, and reduce markers of inflammation. These benefits are enough, researchers say, to support declassifying soy milk as a “highly processed food,” noting that this categorization is misleading. In support of this claim, researchers typically report that soy milk contains ca 60% less sugar than beef. This, combined with the health benefits, strengthens the claim that soy milk is a healthier choice.
It is worth noting, however, that both soy milk and other Plant-based options are lacking in some nutrients compared to beefeach with a different nutritional profile. In particular, numerous studies have highlighted pea milk as the closest vegetarian alternative to cow’s milk in terms of nutrient content. Among the various plant-based options, such as almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, oat and rice milk, pea milk had the highest levels phosphorus, zinc AND seleniumwhile soy milk is the richest magnesium. All plant-based milks, however, were found to be nutritionally inferior to cow’s milk overall.
Considering the various health benefits associated with plant-based options, choose the one that best suits your nutritional needs. However, next time you fill your morning cup, try topping it with soy milk. This could be a much more beneficial move than you think.