The commercials make plant milks look healthy on the surface.
Keep in mind. It depends.
If you have a chronic disease, are pre-diabetic, or fully diabetic, research the milk you use. You want the least glucose spike (blood sugar spike) you can get.
I use unsweetened almond milk. Not oat milk. If I could use reg milk instead I would.
I’m not about swapping plants for dairy or meat. I’m a proud omnivore. I haven’t bought into the “go vegan or vegetarian and save the world from carbon” theory.
Here’s my thing. I’m one of the people with MS where milk protein makes my MS worse. If I have too much, I end up needing three days of steroid infusions. The inflammation is that bad.
A small amount of heavy cream is fine. It doesn’t list protein on the label at all. But it’s loaded with fat. I don’t use it like regular milk. Heavy cream? That’s what I splash in my coffee.
Back to almond milk vs. oat milk.
Here’s the thing. Anyone with a chronic disease (me) needs to avoid glucose spikes.
Reminder:
- Glucose spikes insulin. When insulin is high, fat is stored. Not burned.
- Glucose increases low-grade chronic inflammation. The more you have, the more you get.
Flattening the glucose curve is the game plan.
Almond comes from seeds.
Almond milk? It’s just almonds and water blended up. The pulp gets strained out.
Way fewer carbs than oat milk.
Almonds are naturally low in sugar. The milk doesn’t have much starch unless extra sugar gets dumped in during processing.
Unsweetened almond milk barely nudges your glucose compared to oat milk.
Oat comes from grain.
Oat milk? They strip out the fiber. That leaves the carbs behind.
What’s left? Oat starch. And starch is sugar.
That starch breaks down into glucose. It spikes your blood sugar. Studies link those spikes to more inflammation and insulin resistance over time.
Seed milk (like coconut, almond, cashew, or flax) will be easier on your glucose than grain milk (like oat, rice, or quinoa).
Yeah, this applies to non-dairy ice creams too.
The breakdown? Just because it looks healthy doesn’t mean it is.
One size doesn’t fit all. I’d love to have regular milk, but my body can’t handle it.
Flattening glucose spikes matters. Sometimes, it’s as simple as swapping one product for another. Small choice. Big difference.