Think your soya latte is healthy? You couldn’t be more WRONG

If you’ve joined the fad for soya, almond, oat or coconut milk, you should look away now!

IS YOURS a tall soya double shot? Or maybe you prefer a short flat white with almond, a grande ‘skinny’ coconut and rice… or even oat? We are, of course, talking about the ‘alt-milk’ latte – a drink which, for a nation of supposed tea-lovers, has never been more in demand.

For the uninitiated, these are ordinary lattes – a single or double espresso coffee topped up with lashings of milk – but made with one of the myriad dairyfree alternatives available today.

According to recent research, Britons slurp down 930 million lattes every year – that’s more than 2.5 million cups a day. And a growing proportion of them are made with soya milk, or another substitute. Despite only five per cent of the population suffering adverse reactions to lactose in dairy, consumer demand for plant ‘milks’, which include soya, oat, almond and coconut, has soared by a third since 2015. High-street coffee chains have

kindly obliged, with most now offering at least two dairy-free choices to add to your morning caffeine fix.

But why the sudden thirst? Some suggest the soaring rise of veganism, increased concern for the environment and perceived health benefits are behind the surge.

Dr Carrie Ruxton, a dietician and nutrition writer who has a PhD in child nutrition, says: ‘A small number of people need to avoid dairy for medical reasons. But the popularity of soya milk and other alternatives comes largely from a misconception that dairy and meat are unhealthy or fattening, and that plant milks are somehow healthier than dairy because they’re made from plants. But they’re not.’

Another reason could be, quite simply, that these milk alternatives are extremely delicious. But, like many tasty treats, the secret behind this taste sensation lies in one toxic ingredient: sugar.

To find out exactly what’s in these alt-milk lattes, we examined what was on offer at leading coffee chains. And as we reveal here, the typical soya latte provides more than a quarter of your recommended daily limit of the sweet stuff.

These sugars aren’t always added: even if your barista claims the altmilk they use is unsweetened, they can still be packed with sugar.

Even if that sugar is natural and not listed as added in the ingredients, it counts towards your daily recommended intake of 30g, or seven teaspoons.

In 2015, health officials set this benchmark – which represents five per cent of the daily calorie intake – in a bid to limit the damage high sugar consumption was having on our teeth and waistlines.

This limit specifically related to what are known as free sugars.

Free sugar is what we call any sugar added to a food or drink, or the sugar that is already in honey, syrup and fruit juice. The term free is used because this type of sugar is not attached to other compounds – such as fibre – in the food we eat.

Free sugars are a worry as they coat teeth, causing damage, and are rapidly absorbed by the body, meaning they are less satiating. The less full we feel after eating, the more likely we are to eat more.

While the sugars in unsweetened plant milks may be natural, they still count as free sugars.

This is because the manufacturing process breaks down the whole food, such as oats or coconut, that is used to make them, releasing the sugar inside so they become free.

It is a similar story with fruit juice, and this is why it is generally recommended to limit juice intake to a small 150ml glass a day.

There is natural sugar in dairy milk, but it doesn’t count as ‘free’ as it is bonded to other compounds and is not as damaging to teeth or absorbed by the body as quickly.

And – if all that wasn’t bad enough – the ways in which these seemingly healthy but highly processed alt-milks are made make them even less appetising, with flavourings, emulsifiers and even oil added to make them palatable.

So is it time to ditch the trendy soya and revert to good, old-fashioned dairy milk? Read on…