“Would you like milk in your coffee?” isn’t as straightforward a question as it once was. These days, milk (or maybe mylk, as it’s called at times) can come from many different sources. After I tried an oat milk latte for the first time, I couldn’t imagine my morning caffeine any other way. I’m not lactose intolerant, nor do I follow a vegan diet—oat milk just tastes good to me. I know I’m not alone; oat milk has become a permanent fixture at local coffee shops and an essential to millions of people’s morning coffee.
Is oat milk healthy?
If you love an oat milk latte as much as I do, you should know that you may not be doing your body any favours when it comes to a morning kick of caffeine (and then some). More precisely, your blood sugar levels may be paying a price. For a long time, nutritionists and doctors thought it was only important for diabetics to pay close attention to their blood sugar levels, but it has become increasingly clear that fluctuations can impact everyone’s health and mood.
An imbalanced blood sugar level (called hypoglycemia) can cause cravings, a lack of energy and fatigue, acne, poor sleep, and brain fog. There is sugar in all types of milk (including cow’s milk), but the amount varies depending on the source and manufacturing process. According to the US Department of Agriculture, unsweetened oat milk has 7.01 grams of sugar per cup, and here’s how the other milk types stack up:
- Whole cow’s milk: 11 grams of sugar per cup
- Semi-skimmed cow’s milk: 11 grams of sugar per cup
- Skimmed cow’s milk: 12 grams of sugar per cup
- Unsweetened almond milk: 2 grams of sugar per cup
- Unsweetened coconut milk: 6 grams of sugar per cup
- Unsweetened cashew milk: 2 grams of sugar per cup
After reviewing these stats, you may think it is the best option because it has markedly less sugar than cow’s milk and not much more than the oat alternative, coconut. Keep reading.
How is oat milk unhealthy?
Confused by how oat milk could potentially be a villain in your morning coffee? French biochemist Jessie Inchauspé—the self-proclaimed Glucose Goddess—explains. “When we want to know if a food will spike our glucose, we’re not only looking at sugar content but also starch content, which turns into glucose as it’s digested as well,” she says. “Fat and protein content are also important to factor in since they reduce the spike.” So when it comes to choosing the healthiest milk, it’s not just about looking at the sugar content but rather the entire composition.
Similar to fruit juice, most of the plant fibre is filtered out of oat milk when it’s produced, so it contains little to no fibre, while all the natural sugars remain. Think of fibre as a slowing agent—it slows the speed of sugar entering the bloodstream, therefore flattening the curve. It’s the same reason nutritionists will recommend you eat a breakfast that prioritises protein, fat and fibre–as it helps keep the supply of energy steady throughout the morning, avoiding large peaks and troughs that cause energy slumps, cravings and irritation.
Is regular milk better for you than oat milk?
According to Inchauspé, cow’s milk is markedly better for you. “Milk from cows essentially consists of proteins and fat,” she says. Comparatively, oat milk contains starch with relatively little fibre, protein, or fat to offset the blood sugar spike. “Similarly, milk made from nuts is very low in starch, which makes both cow’s milk and nut milks better options for a balanced glucose content than oat milk.”
Is it okay to drink oat milk every day?
If you can’t bear to give up your daily latte habit, there are a few ways to tweak the drink to keep your blood sugar in balance. “Consider having breakfast first, instead of drinking it on an empty stomach, or go for a walk after drinking oat milk,” Inchauspé suggests. Studies show that moving around after eating, such as by going for a short walk, can help improve digestion and regulate blood sugar by nudging your muscles to actually use the sugar (and dampen the spike).
This story was originally published on Vogue.com.
