In the politics of food, almond milk has become almost as controversial as dairy. You may have heard reports about its so-so nutritional benefits and the huge amount of water that it takes to grow a single almond. Which begs the question—is almond milk the health-food superstar it's often portrayed as, or are you being duped? Here's what you need to know before you buy your next carton.
This story was originally published by our partners at RodalesOrganicLife.com.
It's true that nuts are high in protein, but don't make the mistake of thinking the same goes for nut milks, which are diluted with water. Dairy milk packs about 8 grams of protein per cup, while almond milk has just 1 gram per cup, according to Julie Lee, RD, who works with Binghamton University Dining Services. If you decide to go the non-dairy route and start eating your morning bowl of oats with almond milk, just make sure you're making up the lost protein from other food sources. (Consider adding one of these unsweetened, unflavored protein powders to your morning smoothie.)
You've probably heard that you should shun almond milk because increased demand for almond products has been a huge strain on drought-stricken California, where over 80% of the world's almonds are grown. To find out how true this is, and if we should swap out almond milk in favor of something else, we reached out to Claire O'Connor, who studies agriculture and water usage at the Natural Resources Defense Council. She says that while it's true that almonds are a water-intensive crop, that's not the biggest challenge facing California growers. "The biggest challenge with almonds and other permanent crops is that they are far less flexible than vegetables and other row crops," she explains. "Farmers can't just fallow almond groves during dry years." There's no way to pull out almond trees and start over next year like you can with tomatoes or corn. Either you keep watering your trees to keep them healthy and producing, or you abandon them.
But it's important to remember that there's a significant upside to almond farming, too. According to O'Connor, almonds are a highly profitable crop for growers, which means each drop of water used in an almond orchard yields a big return. Plus, almonds consume less water than is needed to raise dairy cows and other types of animal protein.
If you're concerned about how the drought is impacting California's crops (and we all should be), O'Connor says that instead of vilifying almonds, the biggest thing you can do to help is to make sure you're not wasting any food. "About a third of the water we use to grow crops in the US goes to grow food that never gets eaten. Wasting food wastes water."
Carrageenan is a popular "natural" food additive derived from seaweed that's used to thicken foods like yogurt, ice cream, and plant-based milks. Carrageenan came under fire several years back for being linked to gut irritation and inflammation, as well as for being a potential carcinogen. However, these days you don't have much to worry about, at least as far as almond milk is concerned—most major brands have removed carrageenan from their products. Lee says now it's more common to see locust bean gum or gellan gum used in its place, both of which have been proven to be safe.
Almond trees need pollinators in order to produce—two hives of honeybees per 1 acre of almond trees, to be exact. As you probably already know, honeybees are in serious decline due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), the cause of which is still unknown. That means trouble for California almond growers, who rely on hired colonies to pollinate their crops. Once almond pollination season is over, these hired hives move on to another crop, crisscrossing the country all year long, pollinating the crops we eat. Some researchers argue that the stress of migratory beekeeping could actually be one of the factors contributing to CCD. Bringing so many hives together spreads viruses, mites, and fungi that plague colonies, and being forced to feed on the pollen of a monocrop limits bees' nutrition. Plus, regular contact with the pesticides routinely used on almonds and other crops weakens their health. Still, it's not all doom and gloom—researchers are looking into how wild bees can support and actually improve honeybees' pollination, and NPR reported earlier this year on a new variety of almond tree, aptly named Independence, that can rely on wind for pollination because the flowers breed with themselves rather than other flowers.
Sure, almond milk is a trendy health food, but that doesn't mean it's all good for you—it depends on the kind you buy. If you're a newbie to the world of almond milk shopping, you'd be forgiven for thinking that "original" is the best no-frills option. But actually "original" almond milk is typically loaded with added sugar—as much as 16 grams per cup, according to Lee. "Unsweetened" is the way to go, though you should always check the label for the sugar content. (Or avoid the issue entirely and learn how to make your own homemade almond milk.)
In a side-by-side comparison, it may look like almond milk and dairy milk have a very similar calcium content. But the nutrition label doesn't tell you the whole story. Lee explains that almond milk is fortified with calcium carbonate, which can be harder for our bodies to absorb than the calcium found in whole food sources, like dairy milk.