The difference between almond milk and soy milk: which is healthier?

For someone who has health conditions such as lactose intolerance and allergies, maybe they have never tasted drinking milk and have received the essential nutrients contained in it. In addition, some people who adopt a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle and who want / need to reduce their cholesterol intake choose to avoid cow's milk. For this reason, some milk alternatives are quite easy to find nowadays. Examples are almond milk and soy milk. Both are naturally lactose free and low in cholesterol. However, the difference between almond milk and soy milk lies in their nutritional content.

The difference in nutritional content in almond and soy milk

In terms of nutrition, cow's milk certainly has the best content compared to other types of milk. However, health conditions and lifestyle choices remain important factors in determining the type of milk consumed. For that, you need to know the differences in the nutritional content of each of which contains almond milk and soy milk before choosing one of them as an alternative to cow's milk.

Almond milk nutritional content

Almond milk includes vegetable milk because it is made from mashed almonds. This milk sometimes also contains starch and thickener to increase its consistency and shelf life.

Almond milk as much as 245 grams provides nutrients such as:

40 calories
1.45 grams of carbohydrates (more if they contain sweeteners)
3.58 grams of fat
1.51 grams of protein

Although almonds are a source of vegetable protein, this is not in line with almond milk because the protein in this milk is quite low. You also cannot get calcium intake from this vegetable milk. However, there are some almond milks that have been fortified with calcium and vitamin D to add to their nutritional deficiencies.

Nutritional content of soy milk

Soy milk is made from soybeans and like almond milk, some of these plant-based milks contain a thickener to increase their consistency and shelf life.

The nutrients in 100 grams of soy milk include:

41 calories
5 grams of carbohydrates (more if they contain a sweetener)
2.5 grams of fat
3.5 grams of protein

Soy milk can also be a source of probiotics if it is through the fermentation process. Nuts and soy milk are good sources of plant protein. Soy milk can also be a source of calcium intake if it is fortified like almond milk.

Differences in the health benefits of almond milk and soy milk

Almond and soy milk can provide health benefits. However, both contain different nutrients so that the benefits provided are not the same.

Almond milk

Raw almonds are a great source of protein, vitamins, fiber and antioxidants. The health benefits of raw almonds helped the popularity of almond milk increase, making it an alternative to cow's milk.

Almond milk is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids which aid in weight loss and maintain balance.

Researchers claim that monounsaturated fatty acids can lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or commonly known as bad cholesterol in the body. Therefore, almond milk can be useful for reducing the risk of heart disease, obesity, and cancer.

Soy milk

Just like almond milk, soy milk also contains monounsaturated fatty acids. In addition, this vegetable milk also contains plural unsaturated fatty acids.

Apart from containing fatty acids that are good for the body, soy milk is the only dairy alternative that provides nearly the same amount of protein as cow's milk. Even the protein content is comparable to that of cow's milk.

Then, other benefits of soy milk come from isoflavones. This content can be an antioxidant for the body and function to reduce inflammation or inflammation, and may also act as an anticancer.

Which vegetable milk is better?

Overall, the difference between almond milk and soy milk is not much different because most of these two vegetable milks have been fortified or have added calcium and vitamin D.

Both can be alternatives to cow's milk as long as you read the nutritional information and look for other food sources to compensate for the nutritional deficiencies of both types of milk. You will get almost the same nutritional content, so it all depends on your taste or personal preference.