TRUTH ABOUT PLANT-BASED MILKS

MANY people turn to plant-based alternatives to cows’ milk because they have an allergy or an intolerance, but others choose them because of a perception they’re healthier.

But are they? Though non-diary options are arguably more eco-friendly than cows’ milk, they can be less nutritious. For instance, semi-skimmed milk has 7g of protein per 200ml glass, but there’s just 1g in the same amount of almond milk. And some may be sweetened with added sugar — but lactose, the sugar in cows’ milk, is not considered as harmful to teeth.

Soya milk, while comparable in terms of protein, has around a sixth of the calcium of cows’ milk, so you should choose one that’s fortified.

And rice milk, though it is lower in calories than full-fat cows’ milk (42 calories per 100ml compared with 64 calories in full-fat), is naturally higher in sugars, containing 6.2g per 100ml compared to 4.7g, so is not the best option for diabetics.

ALMOND MILK’S LINK TO HEIGHT

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS parents have been switching from cow’s milk altogether because of worries about milk allergy, intolerance or other health risks.

however, researchers at St Michael’s hospital in toronto, Canada, recently found that children drinking around three cups of either soya or almond milk a day were on average half an inch shorter by the age of three.

this could be because these drinks, unless fortified, provide only a quarter of the protein and fat of cows’ milk.

Cows’ milk offers a cocktail of proteins, fat and various hormones, along with useful amounts of vitamin A and the B vitamins, plus a variety of minerals. All this is designed for just one purpose — to make small, newborn animals grow into something much bigger.

WHAT ABOUT THE CANCER RISK?

A CRUCIAL, though not widely known, element of the milk package is a hormone called Insulin growth Factor 1 (IgF-1) — the name tells you what it does.

What worries researchers such as Jeffrey holly, an endocrinologist at the School of Clinical Sciences at Bristol university, is the long-term effect of continuing to drink milk after normal growth has stopped, because it means that your IgF-1 levels will remain raised.

It’s a highly controversial suggestion, but Professor holly claims: ‘later on in life, this raised level could be helping cancer cells to grow. My research, as well as studies from harvard, have shown that increased amounts of IgF-1 are linked with a greater risk for breast and prostate cancer.’ Professor holly was involved in a study on children in Iceland — published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2012 — which found that drinking milk often during adolescence was linked with advanced prostate cancer.

Another study by researchers at the harvard School of Public health, published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2013, found that drinking low-fat and regular milk had different effects on the risk of prostate cancer.

low-fat was linked with nonaggressive prostate tumours, while full-fat was associated with fatal prostate cancer.

however, this research does not prove milk was the cause. the harvard team later suggested the link might be more likely due to the increase in calcium, rather than milk itself. Professor holly admits the evidence isn’t conclusive and says there are still unknowns, but he’s been sufficiently convinced by his own work to stop drinking milk. Cancer Research UK says: ‘there is no strong evidence linking dairy products to any type of cancer, though there is evidence they could reduce the risk of bowel cancer.’ this may be because dairy increases the production of various beneficial compounds made by gut bacteria, such as butyrate, which reduces inflammation and can slow down tumour growth.

Another theory is that the calcium in milk helps to mop up the iron found in red meat, which can promote cancer growth.

‘Milk is very complex and there may be factors that reduce the risk,’ says Professor holly. ‘But I would certainly advise anyone with a diagnosis of breast or prostate cancer to cut it out of their diet.

‘For children and teenagers, however, having juices and sugary carbonated drinks instead of milk has been a disaster.’

DO YOU LACK THE MILK GENE?

PROFESSOR holly agrees that this could be a reason to encourage children to drink milk until they

have stopped growing. This might particularly benefit young girls who, experts say, aren’t drinking enough. But, according to Professor Holly, for others, milk is not essential.

Indeed, being able to drink cows’ milk is, in evolutionary terms, a new development for humans. Even now, about half the world’s population, especially in Asia and Africa, can’t do it.

This dates back around 12,000 years to when humans learnt to domesticate cattle. Most at the time would have felt ill if they’d tried milk, but a few could stomach this new, super source of nutrition.

These were the ‘mutants’ who had an abnormal version of the gene for handling lactose, the sugar in milk. The standard version of the gene produces an enzyme called lactase which, with the help of microbes in the gut, breaks down lactose: this allows newborns to drink their mother’s milk. The normal lactase gene stops working once you’ve grown, but the mutant version keeps going, and the benefit of being able to access this extra nutrition supply allowed the gene to spread.

Lactose intolerance is considered a disorder and abnormal, ‘but until the arrival of the cattle herders, almost everyone was lactose intolerant,’ says Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College in London.

Most people in the West are beneficiaries of the herder mutation, but around 20 per cent suffer from lactose intolerance and associated bloating and stomach cramps, he suggests.

‘It’s difficult to diagnose, so the true rate is unknown. What we do know is that many people have a perceived intolerance to lactose. The concern is that this can lead to avoiding all milk products and the possibility of calcium deficiency.’

Vegans, who avoid animal products, are confident of being able to replace the benefits of milk with supplements.

‘Plant milk that has been fortified with calcium is a really rich source and provides the same amount as cows’ milk,’ says Heather Russell, a dietitian at the Vegan Society. ‘The protein in soya is of similar quantity and quality to cows’ milk.’

So it probably comes down to a personal balancing act. For children, milk is certainly better than soft drinks and mainstream experts would say it’s better than plantbased ‘milks’. The fat itself doesn’t seem to pose much of a risk so they might well choose full-fat over semi-skimmed. As for adults, there’s no firm advice about how long to keep drinking it.

Perhaps it all comes down to that same old message: everything in moderation.