Are Nut Milks Destroying Our Gut?

Why oat and almond milk aren't as healthy as you think

In high school, I insisted that my mom throw out the low-fat skim milk she was buying and replace it with almond milk. There had to be a more humane solution that was also better for our health.

For years, I drank almond milk instead of regular milk. I thought I was making my health better but I only made my suffering worse.

Candy has been replaced with brands like Smart Sweets which claim to be “healthier” but whose products are still spiking blood sugar. Beef burgers have been replaced with Beyond Meat burgers, a chemical cocktail of bad oils and processed junk.

The truth is these replacements aren’t any better for us than the original food item. They are just more processed and are now patentable by corporations.

And I know what you’re thinking. Well, what am I supposed to drink then? Maybe you are lactose intolerant or don’t wish to support an industry that treats its animals so poorly.

Trust me, I’m right there with you. I’ll share how I’ve navigated this at the end of the article.

My journey with almond milk

I’ve had a long history of dealing with chronic illness and using nutrition to heal myself. I started off as Pescatarian and then became vegan, and now I am eating a little bit of everything.

About a year into being vegan, I noticed myself feeling worse than ever. I felt bloated all the time and completely depleted of energy. I thought I was eating the healthy way so I had no idea why I was feeling like this.

After a few years of feeling like this, I decided the diet wasn’t working for me. I started eating fish again and eventually red meat. My energy came back almost instantly.

I finally felt like I could get through the day without closing my eyes and taking a nap. I no longer had to sleep 10+ hours to feel somewhat normal. Yet, I was still bloated all the time.

The bloating was so bad that it would happen on an empty stomach, after only drinking my daily cup of coffee. Then it hit me. What if it’s the almond milk that I’m putting in my coffee?

I started experimenting by drinking only black coffee. No more milk. Slowly, I noticed I was feeling less and less bloated each morning. It was definitely the almond milk that was doing it. But I didn’t understand why.

Then, when I started looking more into almond milk, it all made sense.

Why almond milk isn’t healthy

I quickly learned that almonds are high in omega-6 fatty acids. Now, we do need these in our diet. However, we are getting way too many of them. We are meant to consume omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in a ratio of 1:1. Americans are consuming them in a ratio of 16:1, on average (“The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids”).

This is due to our increase in other processed foods such as canola oil, corn oil, and soybean oil. Nuts, while healthy in moderation, can overload us with omega-6 when consumed in excess.

Research has shown that decreasing this omega ratio leads to a 70% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and decreased risk of breast cancer. A ratio of 3:1 suppressed inflammation in those with rheumatoid arthritis.

Now, along with our vegetable oils, we are consuming nut milk every single day, in excess. No wonder bloating has become so normalized! We are all inflamed!

Oat milk is also unhealthy…

Now, this one is always a sore topic for many people. They hate when I mention this. I get it. Everyone loves oat milk. It’s delicious. And, as consumers, we feel like we are making a more environmentally-conscious decision by choosing it over other options.

Most oat milk is not organic and has added junk ingredients, just like almond milk. Oatly, the most popular oat milk brand, adds rapeseed oil to their milk. This oil is highly processed and high in omega-6s, making it inflammatory to our bodies.

Also, oats are one of the crops most commonly sprayed with glyphosate. The EWG tested different oat products and found 2/3 to be above the “safe” standard of glyphosate levels. Some of the unsafe products were even organic!

So, if the oats in the milk are organic or not, you are consuming glyphosate. Studies have shown consuming glyphosate increases oxidative stress, disrupts estrogen pathways, impairs brain function, and leads to the development of cancers. The state of California has even recognized it as a chemical known to cause cancer.

If you want to consume oat milk, buy brands with only 2 ingredients- organic oats and water (like Malk and Elmhurst). Stay away from the Oatlys, Silks, and Almond Breezes of the world. They add natural flavors, gums, and inflammatory oils to their milk, harming our health.

Other harmful ingredients in nut milk

• Natural Flavors

Natural flavors sound harmless but are actually made in a lab. They are chemicals derived from anything considered, well, natural. This includes spices, fruits, vegetables, roots, poultry, eggs, leaves, and more. Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to label the ingredients that go into these flavors, you never know what you are getting.

And that’s exactly where the danger is. You have NO IDEA what those flavors have been derived from. In addition, these flavors are designed to be enticing and addictive. The whole point of adding them is to make the product taste better.

• Gums (Locust Bean, Gellan, Xanthan, etc.)

Companies add gums to foods to thicken their texture or “gel up” thinner liquids. They also keep foods from separating, especially fats and water. Given nut milk is water-based, it makes sense that adding these to them would make the texture more like milk.

Because gums are soluble fibers, they irritate your gut, especially in those with Crohn’s, like me. Xanthan gum has been shown to increase gas and bowel movements, and even alter your gut bacteria.

• Sunflower Lecithin

Sunflower lecithin is considered a natural emulsifier. I don’t know about you, but the word emulsifier just freaks me out. It is created by drying sunflowers and separating them into 3 parts- oil, gum, and solid. Lecithin specifically comes from the gum part.

Whenever an ingredient is derived to look like something completely different than its original source, I’m skeptical. We should only consume ingredients in their whole, natural form. Not ones that have been chemically extracted.

• Rapeseed Oil (or Canola Oil)

Rapeseed oil, better known as canola oil, is a highly refined oil derived from the rapeseed plant. Producers heat it at extremely high temperatures and deodorize it to eliminate any smell. During this process, the omega-3s turn into trans-fatty acids.

This oil becomes oxidized and rancid through this process. Consuming oxidized foods has been shown to increase inflammation in the body and lead to degenerative diseases.

Raw milk

Now that we know almond and oat milk aren’t as great for us as we were led to believe, what should we drink? My stomach can’t handle too much dairy. But, it has dealt with dairy better than it did almond milk.

While I often drink my coffee black, sometimes I will add 100% grass-fed half and half to it to make it more creamy. This is such a small amount of dairy that it doesn’t upset my stomach.

With dairy, quality is everything. If you are buying mass-produced milk, the cows producing it aren’t treated very well. And you will most likely be ingesting added hormones. That’s why I don’t condone drinking this type of milk.

100% grass-fed milk is from cows that are only fed grass, not supplemental grain. Farmers aren’t trying to fatten them up so they will produce more milk. It’s more ethical and I can tell the difference in my body.

Also, if you can, I always recommend supporting local farmers. It is time we get back in touch with our local ecosystems and support the producers around us.

Lately, I’ve added raw milk produced by local farmers to my diet. While many people are scared of raw milk, raw milk is extremely beneficial for your gut. Unlike pasteurized milk, where all the good bacteria are killed off, it still contains all of the probiotics, enzymes, and bacteria that are good for your gut.

Rather than bloating you, raw milk will contribute to the diversity of your gut. In addition, studies have shown raw milk consumption to be associated with lower rates of asthma, allergies, ear infections, and eczema.

A dairy-free alternative

However, if you cannot drink dairy, my go-to is always coconut milk. And not coconut milk from a plastic carton. Full-fat coconut milk from the can. Canned coconut milk is usually free of additives and much purer than the milk from cartons.

Now, I am a firm believer that we should all listen to what our bodies are telling us. Not all foods work best for all bodies. I’m here to share my story of how almond and oat milk tricked me and in turn, destroyed my health.

If you’re experiencing gut issues and don’t know what could be triggering them, I recommend looking at the non-dairy alternatives in your life. They could be contributing to your decline in health as they did mine. But, if you feel great eating these foods, feel free to keep on doing so (as long as you are choosing the right brands)!

Listen to your body. What it says to you is so powerful. How we feel is a direct result of how we are fueling ourselves with the foods we eat.

Have a great week!

Madison