Did you know that almond milk can be a great addition to your diet? While you may have never thought about drinking this kind of milk before, the fact is that you stand to improve your health in a great way by switching out your regular dairy milk. Scores of people world-wide have already discovered this, and are enjoying better health and physical fitness because of it. Here are just a few of the main health benefits that you can enjoy.
Is it Good for You: Nutrition & Benefits
The first important thing you need to understand about this beverage is its nutrition fact. Almond milk consists of a lot of minerals, calories, vitamins and also low fat. So, we can say in general that it is good for our health for its beneficial contents.
Since it is a good type beverage which does not offer lactose, people who are lactose intolerant can take such milk as an alternative to dairy product or those who cannot stand with soy milk too. Absolutely, the natural and fresh almond milk without any additional additives will become the awesome source of macronutrients, the same with other milk varieties.
Apart from the above mentioned nutrition, the almond milk intake can be continued as long as it is taken in most appropriate amount. What are the good substances which support this kind of beverage?
Fats and Calories
It is very popular for its very small amount/content of fats and calories. Based on some researches, a cup of almond milk provides you with 60 calories and this kind of beverage is recommended for those who wish to keep their weight stable. Further, it provides zero saturated fats, cholesterol and also trans fat. Those three substances are really detrimental and can possibly trigger the symptoms of heart diseases and blood pressure.
Besides, almost 50% of total calories in a serving of almond milk are obtained from fat sources, but those come in the form of (either) monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. Such kind of fat is healthy indeed to help people coping with high cholesterol levels. That’s why, it’s good to take for you.
Carbohydrate
In this case, a cup of almond milk offers carbohydrate in very low level (approximately 8 grams). The 7 of 8 grams of such carbohydrate are derived from low glycemic sugars. What about the remaining carbohydrate? It comes in the form of fiber and becomes the important aspect which differentiates almond milk from the other types of milk.
This sort of milk consists of low glycemic carbs too and it is helpful indeed for making the blood sugar levels in our body stable. Please keep in mind that the excessive sugar intake can cause some awful side effects for example weight gain and even the kidney and pancreatic damage. So, it will bring its best benefits if you do not add sugar and some other substances which can destruct the nutrition of such natural milk.
The milk still remains some substances too, such as sodium, calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Riboflavin. Low level of sodium (only 150mg/cup) in it will be beneficial for those who follow low sodium diet program.
A cup of the milk supplies almost 30% of calcium and 25% of Vitamin D which are ideally needed by common individuals in daily basis. It is good to support healthy bones, teeth and support the perfect growth of children. The high content of Vitamin E and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) enables people to protect their skin from the danger of direct sun exposure and also maintaining the healthy growth. Now, it is time to start taking the almond milk to complete your daily menu for better and healthier life.
The Dangers : Myths and Facts
Drinking almond milk is probably something new for you and you even want to make it as your new habit to support the effort to live a healthy life. However, such kind of effort cannot be done carelessly and it means that you should understand about its dangers too. So, you finally find the good and bad things of consuming such milk.
In fact people mostly compare it to cow’s milk which is absolutely contains more fats and lactose. Almond milk is naturally healthy, but the instant one on the market is different. Manufacturers will tend to add some chemicals to make the milk tastes better and even use some preservatives.
In this case, the myths refer to the wrong opinions from some people who are mislead about the real truths and thus they should understand about the right ideas or answers to finally get the ultimate benefits and understanding of everything they take or consume in their daily life.
Myth #1: It is Harmless
Some people assume it as the real healthy liquid. Such assumption is soon proven as the wrong idea through some researches which find that the dangers are not the myth at all. People can possibly get some side effects of taking such kind of milk. Almond milk can causes some troubles (especially the instant one on the market) and mostly harm thyroid and less recommended for babies.
Although it is dairy free and also cholesterol free, but it does not mean that you can feel free taking/drinking this liquid which is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and calcium too. The instant almond milk contains a lot of sugar, thus it is detrimental for people with diabetes. Anyway, it is called as goitrogenic food too.
Fact: The claim that almond is goitrogenic food is not something wrong, because such kind of nut contain some chemicals which potentially harm your thyroid. The other goitrogenic foods are such as soy, kale, cabbage, flax as well as broccoli. Those kinds of food make your thyroid to expand and definitely dangerous for long term.
Such kind of dangers will bring harms especially for those who have the high risks of low thyroid function. The goitrogenic toxins from almond based products, however, will not bring the extreme side effects for those who don’t have serious problem with their thyroid function. As long as the almond milk is taken moderately, the risks can be reduced in such a way.
Myth#2: It Can Replace Cow’s Milk for Babies
Fact: Babies need more nutrients than the almond milk can possibly provide for them. In this case, it can be possibly taken only to complete their regular milks and give them new alternatives instead of merely consuming animal based/dairy products. So, it is all right to take such kind of milk for them as long as the parents do not make it to replace the cow’s milk.
Hence, the side effects or dangers for babies refer to the tendency to replace cow’s milk with almond milk. It is true that cow’s milk contain more fats, but this kind of milk offers great benefits too which avoid the babies from malnutrition and even the health complications. So, make sure to balance the supply of breast milk, formula milk (cow’s milk) as well as almond milk for your babies at home.
