Milk has a good nutritional content for human needs. Milk is also considered important to meet the nutritional needs for the development of children’s growth. Most of the milk sold and its derivatives comes from cow’s milk.
Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to drink cow’s milk. Lactose intolerance causes quite a lot of people cannot drink cow’s milk. For this reason, several variants of milk have emerged as an alternative to cow’s milk. One of them is almond milk.
Almonds can be consumed as a snack or processed into milk and are known as almond milk. Almonds themselves contain many important nutrients that are good for the body including fiber, protein, fat (predominantly unsaturated fat), vitamin E, and carbohydrates. It has only 161 calories, which is very low in value so it is safe to eat as a snack.
Ground almonds are then mixed with water, then filtered is the step to make almond milk. The solids from the ground almonds are removed and only the water is taken which then produces almond milk. High protein and low calories make almond milk an alternative to cow’s milk.
1. Alternative to Cow’s Milk for People with Lactose Intolerance
Many people cannot consume cow’s milk because they suffer from lactose intolerance. This condition is characterized by diarrhea, flatulence, and frequent flatulence. Digestion is disturbed because the body cannot digest lactose from cow’s milk. This is the cause of lactose intolerance.
2. It Is Safe for Diet and Can Be Consumed by Vegans
Almond milk is the menu of choice for those who are on a diet. The low carbohydrate content makes almond milk a mandatory menu for your diet. Because almond milk comes from grains, it has zero lactose content. For this reason, vegans use almond milk as an alternative to milk for their daily nutritional intake.
3. Rich in Antioxidants
Almond milk has a high vitamin E content. This vitamin is fat soluble and functions as an antioxidant that can protect itself from free radicals. In addition, vitamin E is also useful for improving skin health as well as hair. Skin looks fresher and healthier and is also beneficial for hair growth.
4. More Stable Weight
The calorie content in almond milk is relatively low when compared to cow’s milk and milk from other types. Almond milk is suitable for consumption by those who want to maintain a stable weight. Almond milk manufacturers usually dilute this milk with water. As a result, the fat produced by almond milk is lower, even reaching up to one percent fat content.
However, some almond milk that is sold has a supply of added sugar. Some almond milk manufacturers sometimes add added sugar and salt to add flavor to almond milk. Therefore, you should still check the nutritional content on the nutrition label of each package.
5. Beneficial for Bone Health
Almond milk can also meet the needs of vitamin D in the body. Vitamin D functions to maintain bone density so that bones are not easily porous or commonly known as osteoporosis. In one cup of almond milk there is a vitamin D content of 25% which can meet daily needs. In addition, a cup of almond milk also contains 50% calcium which is equivalent to the daily calcium requirement.
6. Maintain Heart Health
There are many nutrients in almond milk, such as vitamin E and good fats. Both nutrients are included in antioxidants. Antioxidants are responsible for counteracting free radicals in the body. Vitamin E, which is in charge of counteracting free radicals in the blood vessels. Clean blood vessels can reduce the risk of heart disease.
In addition to vitamin E, the good fatty acids in almond milk also play a major role in maintaining heart health. Unsaturated fats in almond milk are responsible for maintaining heart health.
In addition to being an alternative choice for drinking milk, there are a lot of nutritional content in a cup of almond milk. Because it comes from grains, automatically almond milk does not contain lactose. The number of people who are allergic to lactose is preventing people from drinking milk. Even though the nutritional content in cow’s milk provides extraordinary benefits for maintaining health.
The presence of almond milk provides an alternative choice for people so that they can still drink milk without worrying about lactose intolerance. Besides having zero lactose content, almond milk is also low in fat and low in calories. This makes almond milk a menu choice when undergoing a diet program. Keep in mind, although almond milk can be used as an alternative to cow’s milk, the basic ingredients of almond milk made from nuts can harm those who have allergies to nuts. In addition, almond milk is not recommended to be given to infants and children because of the low protein content in almond milk. Children who are still growing need enough protein so that they can grow to their full potential.