Is Oat milk Good for Me?
You thought oat milk was healthy, right? 🤷
You heard it was a better alternative to mucous forming dairy, right? 🤷
Unfortunatley, that’s not always the truth.
“A latte made with Oatly Barista is the toxic and inflammatory equivalent of a medium serving of french fries”
Ok, we all know eating chips isn’t healthy, but who knew having a latte was going to be so problematic!
I certainly wasn’t aware of this issue until recently and have been busy researching since I heard that comment made on this podcast.
It’s so hard for the consumer to understand. My poor clients message me being so pleased with themselves because they’ve made the switch from dairy to plant milks and I’m like hang on… we need to talk some more!
One word – and it’s marketing!
The issue is not with the oats. It’s with the oil that is added into the milk. Which is added to serve as an emulsifier between the oats and the water, which is why oils are even more likely to be found in the ‘barista’ version of a brand to help them froth well.
Vegetable oils (what we know as vegetable oils, but are actually seed oils) such as:
- Rapeseed (canola oil)
- Cottonseed oil
- Sunflower oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Safflower oil
….. aren’t natural (the whole food equivalent e.g. sunflower seeds are)
Vegetable oils are often extracted with toxic solvents (although Oatly says the rapeseed oil they use is extracted using high heat and pressure)Either way – unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are very unstable and they degrade and become rancid in the presence of:
- Light
- Oxygen
- Heat
- Pressure
This means that many of those unstable omega-3’s are already oxidized before they make it to the production facility. It also means that the milk has become higher in omega 6 fats which is problematic because our cells and brain are made of fat and we need to consume the correct ratio of omega 3-6 (as nature intended) not have a product that has had all of its omega 3’s blasted it out of it, leaving it high in omega 6. Too many omega 6s drive inflammation in the body which can cause issues such as eczema, joint pain, digestive and hormonal issues.Inflammation is at the heart of every single ailment, illness, and chronic disease in Western society. The less inflammatory foods we eat, the better we’ll feel — I’m just sure, that you, like me didn’t know that your plant-based milk was inflammatory!
So what plant-based milks can you add to your morning coffee, pour over your granola, or make your smoothie with?
ANY that don’t contain added oils (or sugar, gums or preservatives).
- Making our own is without question the most delicious and most nutritious -and it’s really easy to do – see this blog on how-to.
But nonetheless, convenience still wins out most of the time in my household.
The best brands that I’ve discovered are:
- Plenish (comes in a range of flavours, including almond, cashew and hazelnut).
- Rude health coconut, hazelnut, cashew, and almond (the white one). Their other flavours contain cold-pressed sunflower oil which isn’t as bad as rapeseed oil, but still not ideal.
- Oatly organic (the ‘fresh’ version contains rapeseed oil, the Long life one does not.
- Innocent (comes in a range of different flavours including coconut, almond, and hazelnut.
The bottom line is that as dull as it might be, we’ve got to check the labels.
As I always say to our Reset participants progress over perfection. I definitely will still have an occasional oat milk flat white but interestingly I have become more aware that it makes me really thirsty and often bloated afterward. It no longer seems such an appealing treat! I’m really hoping this blog hasn’t ruined your day! I do try to be the bearer of good news, not bad — but I also want to share what I’m learning to help you feel informed – I know how confusing it can be.
