# Finally, the truth about Almond "Milk"



## RadishRose (May 20, 2022)




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## win231 (May 20, 2022)

Almonds aren't nuts.  They are seeds.    
And ya know who doesn't like Almond Milk?  Dairy Farmers.
I just can't understand why.......... 

Milk (of any species, including human) is basically modified sweat.  And a breast is a sweat gland (even though it's a cute carton).


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## dseag2 (May 20, 2022)

I really only use it in my coffee, but give me real cow's milk any day.  I buy the 365 brand from Whole Foods and occasionally I drink it by itself because it tastes like the "sweet milk" I enjoyed as a child.  My father was a salesman for Borden's when I was a kid so I suppose I'm biased.


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## Alligatorob (May 20, 2022)

LOL!  

I drink cashew milk, suppose its much the same.


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## terry123 (May 21, 2022)

Still don't understand how ground up nuts and water can be called milk.  I love my 2% milk and drink it every day.


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## Alligatorob (May 21, 2022)

terry123 said:


> Still don't understand how ground up nuts and water can be called milk.  I love my 2% milk and drink it every day.


Freedom of speech I guess.  You can pretty much call your product anything you want; so long as its not considered fraud or the like.  And the ingredients are listed on the box, so that probably lets them off.

They could call it "_Ralph_", but that probably wouldn't sell.

Wikipedia defines milk as: "_a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food._"  Nut "_milk_" ain't even close...


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## debodun (May 21, 2022)

There's also oat milk. Imagine milking all those little grains.


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## win231 (May 21, 2022)

Alligatorob said:


> Freedom of speech I guess.  You can pretty much call your product anything you want; so long as its not considered fraud or the like.  And the ingredients are listed on the box, so that probably lets them off.
> 
> They could call it "_Ralph_", but that probably wouldn't sell.
> 
> Wikipedia defines milk as: "_a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food._"  Nut "_milk_" ain't even close...


The debate about the healthy/unhealthy aspects of milk centers around humans drinking the milk of animals; not human babies drinking mother's milk.
The makeup of cow's milk is quite different than human milk.  A calf will weigh 1600 lbs in 6 months & its mother's milk is designed around that, in addition to forming huge bones

https://viva.org.uk/health/a-compar...xt=Figure 3.0 shows that 100g,fat (FSA, 2002)..

The carbohydrate, protein and fat content of milk from one species is finely tuned to meet the nutritional requirements of that particular animal whether human, elephant, buffalo, camel or dog. Figure 2.0 shows that the protein content in 100g of whole cow’s milk (3.3g) is more than double that of human milk (1.3g); this is because the amount of protein in milk is linked to the amount of time it takes that particular species of animal to grow in size. Growing calves need more protein to enable them to grow quickly. Human infants on the other hand need less protein and more fat as their energies are expended primarily in the development of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.

Species with the highest milk protein concentration exhibit the most rapid growth rate. Leucine is a unique amino acid in that it stimulates muscle protein synthesis. The higher the protein plus leucine content of milk, the quicker the neonate doubles its birth weight. For instance, the leucine content of rat’s milk is 11 grams per litre and the rat doubles its birth weight in just four days. Cat’s milk contains 8.9 grams per litre and the cat takes 10 days to double its birth weight. Cow’s milk contains 3.3 grams per litre and the calf doubles its birth weight after 40 days. Human milk contains 0.9 grams per litre and the human infant, the mammal with the slowest growth rate, doubles its birth weight after 180 days. The weight gain of calves during the first year (0.7-0.8 kg per day) is nearly 40 times higher than that of breastfed human infants (0.02 kg per day). It has been demonstrated that cow’s milk-based infant formula feeding significantly increases serum concentrations of leucine, insulin and IGF-1 in comparison to breast-feeding (Melnik et al., 2012). This may be one of the mechanisms linking formula feeding to overweight and obesity (see Breast Is Best below).

The proteins in milk can be divided into two categories: caseins and whey proteins. Human milk contains these in a ratio of 40:60 respectively; while in cow’s milk the ratio of casein to whey proteins is 80:20. Given that the amount of total protein in cow’s milk is more than double that of human milk, cow’s milk clearly contains considerably more casein than human milk. Casein can be difficult to digest, in fact it is used as the basis of some glues! Infant milks are formulated to contain more whey than casein (the ratio of whey to casein in these milks is similar to that of human milk), and this is why it is thought to be easier for new babies to digest. Casein has been linked to a range of diseases and allergies, including type 1 diabetes (see Diabetes).
Fat
The amount and type of fat present in the milk similarly reflects the requirements of the species of animal producing that milk. Whole milk from a cow contains around four per cent fat whereas milk from the grey seal contains over 50 per cent fat (Baker, 1990); this is because baby seals need more body fat to survive in cold water. Figure 2.0 shows that 100g of whole cow’s milk and human milk contain similar amounts of fat (3.9g and 4.1g respectively). While these values are close, the types of fat vary. Figure 3.0 shows that cow’s milk contains more saturated fat while human milk contains more unsaturated fat.

The higher level of unsaturated fatty acids in human milk reflects the important role of these fats in brain development. In humans the brain develops rapidly during the first year of life, growing faster than the body and tripling in size by the age of one. The brain is largely composed of fat and early brain development and function in humans requires a sufficient supply of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids. The omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) and the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are both essential for brain development and functioning. Both are supplied in human milk but not in cow’s milk (currently AA and DHA-enhanced infant formulas are available, although not mandatory, throughout most of Europe). Cow’s milk does contain the shorter chain omega-6 linoleic acid (LNA) and the omega-3 α-linolenic acid (ALA) but these have to be converted in the body into the longer chain versions mentioned above.

A review of 20 studies of cognitive function of breast fed infants compared to that of formula fed infants concluded that the nutrients in breast milk may have a significant effect on neurological development in infants (Anderson _et al_., 1999). More recent work indicates that compared to formula milk, nutrients in breast milk may confer better cognitive and motor development in infants (Bernard _et al_., 2013) which may extend into intelligence in adulthood (Mortensen _et al_., 2003).

Cow’s milk tends to be low in the types of fat essential for human brain development; a rapid increase in body size is more of an imperative for cows than rapid brain development, so cows produce milk that is high in body-building saturated fats to help their calves grow rapidly in size. Similarly, the fatty acid composition of cow’s milk is more suited to a calf than to a person. Attempts to alter the fatty acid composition of cow’s milk, and so increase the nutritional value of cow’s milk to humans, have involved experiments feeding cows fish meal and soya beans (AbuGhazaleh _et al_., 2004) and flax seed (Petit, 2002). Feeding flax seed resulted in a lower omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, which is thought might improve the nutritional value of milk from a human health point of view by reducing the potential risk of disease. Of course you could just eat the flax seed oil yourself to improve the balance of omega-3 and omega-6 oils in your diet while avoiding the undesirable components of milk.
Calcium​The calcium content of cow’s milk (120mg per 100ml) is nearly four times that of human milk (34mg per 100ml). This discrepancy occurs for good reason; calves grow much more quickly and have a larger skeleton than human babies and therefore need much more calcium (FAO, 1997). Cow’s milk is specifically designed to meet this high demand which is why whole cow’s milk is not recommended for infants under 12 months. Although human milk contains less calcium, it is more easily absorbed than that found in cow’s milk. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition, the available data demonstrate that the bioavailability of calcium from human milk is greater than that from infant formulas (58 per cent and 38 per cent respectively) (Greer and Krebs, 2006). In an effort to address this discrepancy, the concentration of calcium in infant formulas is generally higher than that in human milk. So although human milk contains less calcium than cow’s milk, the calcium in human milk is better absorbed into the body than the calcium in cow’s milk, again illustrating why human milk is the best source of nutrition during the first year of life.

Iron​Cow’s milk contains very little iron (FSA, 2002) which is another reason why cow’s milk is deemed to be unsuitable for infants under the age of 12 months. Indeed a one-year-old attempting to meet the reference nutrient intake (RNI) of 5.3mg of iron would have to drink over 30 pints of cow’s milk per day if it were to be used to meet their iron requirement. Furthermore, cow’s milk is low in vitamin C and vitamin D (Department of Health, 1994), and contains less vitamin A than human milk.

The high protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus and chloride content of cow’s milk present what is called a high renal solute load; this means that the unabsorbed solutes from the diet must be excreted via the kidneys. This can place a strain on immature kidneys forcing them to draw water from the body thus increasing the risk of dehydration. The renal solute load of infants fed cow’s milk has been shown to be twice as high as that of formula fed infants (Martinez et al., 1985) and three times that of human milk (Ziegler, 2011).

Allergic reactions to the proteins in cow’s milk are common among infants, and cow’s milk-induced intestinal bleeding as an allergic response is a well recognised cause of rectal bleeding in infancy (Willetts _et al_., 1999). This blood loss can affect the iron nutritional status of the infant (Ziegler _et al_., 2011) and in many cases may lead to anaemia. This condition will deteriorate if iron-rich foods are excluded by the continued consumption of milk, a food very low in iron (see Allergies – Gastrointestinal bleeding).

The health problems caused by the early consumption of ‘normal’ off-the-shelf cow’s milk are so well documented that for some time now, parents and caregivers have been advised not to introduce cow’s milk before the age of 12 months in the UK (Department of Health, 1994), the US (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1992), Denmark (The National Board of Health, Denmark, 1998) Canada (Canadian Paediatric Society, 1998), Sweden (Axelsson _et al_., 1999) and New Zealand (Soh _et al_., 2004).


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## RadishRose (May 21, 2022)

debodun said:


> There's also oat milk. Imagine milking all those little grains.


You know, that "oat water" isn't too bad.


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## GoneFishin (May 21, 2022)

RadishRose said:


>


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## Remy (May 21, 2022)

Some people of coarse can't consume dairy so I'm sure they are glad for the non dairy milks.

I like lowly soy milk on hot cereal and for any cooking. Then it's oat or rice. Almond milk is very good but anything almond doesn't agree with me anymore. 

Plant milks are growing in popularity. And the grocery stores reflect that.


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## win231 (May 21, 2022)

Remy said:


> Some people of coarse can't consume dairy so I'm sure they are glad for the non dairy milks.
> 
> I like lowly soy milk on hot cereal and for any cooking. Then it's oat or rice. Almond milk is very good but anything almond doesn't agree with me anymore.
> 
> Plant milks are growing in popularity. And the grocery stores reflect that.


There are 2 enzymes necessary for digesting milk.  Rennin & Lactase.  We lose them by age 8.  That's why many adults can't drink milk or eat milk products.  The un-metabolized sugars & fats in milk cause digestive upsets.


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## Geezerette (May 22, 2022)

I appreciate aligatorobs Wikipedia definition. I wish everyone who uses the stuff would be aware of it..  I just wish it would be called nut or plant JUICE not Milk. I dont care if adults enjoy it and want to consume it or not, but I just wish parents were more aware that it does NOT contain the same nutrients as cows milk or goats milk etc when they give it to their children.


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## Serenity4321 (May 22, 2022)

I just started coconut milk. I read it is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. I gave up cow's milk years ago and switched to Al milk...Cow's milk was giving me congestion. I do not really like drinking coconut or Al milk straight..I use them only in coffee. Both are just too watery to drink straight.


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## win231 (May 22, 2022)

Geezerette said:


> I appreciate aligatorobs Wikipedia definition. I wish everyone who uses the stuff would be aware of it..  I just wish it would be called nut or plant JUICE not Milk. I dont care if adults enjoy it and want to consume it or not, but I just wish parents were more aware that it does NOT contain the same nutrients as cows milk or goats milk etc when they give it to their children.


If you read the ingredients on nut milk, you'll see that many nutrients are added.


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## win231 (May 22, 2022)

Serenity4321 said:


> I just started coconut milk. I read it is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. I gave up cow's milk years ago and switched to Al milk...Cow's milk was giving me congestion. I do not really like drinking coconut or Al milk straight..I use them only in coffee. Both are just too watery to during straight.


The congestion caused by cow's milk is your body's attempt to get rid of something it doesn't like, much like a cold's runny nose & cough.
Or diarrhea & vomiting when you eat contaminated food.


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## Serenity4321 (May 22, 2022)

win231 said:


> The congestion caused by cow's milk is your body's attempt to get rid of something it doesn't like, much like a cold's runny nose & cough.
> Or diarrhea & vomiting when you eat contaminated food.


Thanks I believe you are correct! I am much better after cutting out milk but I do miss drinking warm milk at night sometimes to aid with sleep


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## Medusa (May 22, 2022)

terry123 said:


> Still don't understand how ground up nuts and water can be called milk.  I love my 2% milk and drink it every day.


They can call it, "Milk Alternative;" it makes little difference.    (My son feels the same way, btw


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## Medusa (May 22, 2022)

I can't have dairy ( well, very little of it) and practically live on Almond "Milk."   I'm very glad it's not actually classic milk.


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## Pappy (May 22, 2022)

I tried Camels milk once. Squeezing that hump isn’t easy…..


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## win231 (May 22, 2022)

Medusa said:


> They can call it, "Milk Alternative;" it makes little difference.    (My son feels the same way, btw





terry123 said:


> Still don't understand how ground up nuts and water can be called milk.  I love my 2% milk and drink it every day.


Maybe 'cuz it's white.


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## Ken N Tx (May 23, 2022)

Pappy said:


> I tried Camels milk once. Squeezing that hump isn’t easy…..


Gatorade is harder to get!!


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## JaniceM (May 27, 2022)

Ken N Tx said:


> Gatorade is harder to get!!


Well if I had to hassle with a gator to get it, I'd stop drinking it for sure...


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## JaniceM (May 28, 2022)

Awhile back I decided to try almond milk yogurt..    Fortunately I only bought one.


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## GoneFishin (May 28, 2022)

Pappy said:


> I tried Camels milk once. Squeezing that hump isn’t easy…..


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## palides2021 (May 28, 2022)

I've tried everything listed here (except Camel's milk!) - almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, coconut milk, etc. I stopped drinking milk a long time ago, but once in awhile, I do have a craving for it and will buy a carton, and after the first drink, it sits there and eventually I have to throw it out! So it's a rare occurrence. Cheese is another matter - I have slowed down tremendously on cheese, though, but I like it (mozzarella) grated over my spaghetti and sometimes in my turkey sandwiches. I have tried cheese substitutes and yogurt and ice cream made of coconut. Never could get used to the substitutes. I think if you take in milk or milk products in moderation, it is ok. It's when you do it every day....or twice a day....or three times a day...it builds up. When I used to drink it regularly, I always remember having a constant cough. Once I stopped it, the cough went away. Go figure.


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## win231 (May 28, 2022)

Medusa said:


> I can't have dairy ( well, very little of it) and practically live on Almond "Milk."   I'm very glad it's not actually classic milk.


Actually, all adults are allergic to dairy.  The difference is the variation in immune responses.  If someone's immune response to milk is mild, they may have only a little congestion/mucus/digestive upset & they won't attribute it to milk or they may not notice any symptoms, so they can eat/drink whatever dairy they like.


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## Medusa (May 28, 2022)

win231 said:


> Actually, all adults are allergic to dairy.  The difference is the variation in immune responses.  If someone's immune response to milk is mild, they may have only a little congestion/mucus/digestive upset & they won't attribute it to milk or they may not notice any symptoms, so they can eat/drink whatever dairy they like.


Yes, that's because we lose or don't produce enough of the enzyme (Lactase, I believe) needed to digest it properly, after a certain age.


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## Alligatorob (May 28, 2022)

Medusa said:


> Yes, that's because we lose or don't produce enough of the enzyme (Lactase, I believe) needed to digest it properly, after a certain age.


Right, about 70% of the world's population is lactose intolerant.  Drinking cows milk is not a natural thing, so most of us don't have the right enzymes.

In Europe and the Middle East and a few other places people started drinking milk ~10,000 years ago as a dietary staple.  Through natural selection genes for producing lactase evolved in some of these people.  As a result today people of European and Middle Eastern descent are more likely to be able to digest milk.  The rest of the world, not so much.

Lactose intolerance​


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## Medusa (May 28, 2022)

Alligatorob said:


> Right, about 70% of the world's population is lactose intolerant.  Drinking cows milk is not a natural thing, so most of us don't have the right enzymes.
> 
> In Europe and the Middle East and a few other places people started drinking milk ~10,000 years ago as a dietary staple.  Through natural selection genes for producing lactase evolved in some of these people.  As a result today people of European and Middle Eastern descent are more likely to be able to digest milk.  The rest of the world, not so much.
> 
> Lactose intolerance​


Well, that was interesting.  Thank you.


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## CrowFlies (May 28, 2022)

RadishRose said:


>


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## Wontactmyage (May 28, 2022)

I drink Coconut milk, almond milk, macadamia milk, mostly in smoothies. I don’t drink any milk alternatives by themselves. Had problems with cows/goats milks since I was young. In fact when I was growing up I could not use animal milks and had to use water. Water on cereals were not good so just ate cereal without adding fluids.


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## Vida May (May 28, 2022)

dseag2 said:


> I really only use it in my coffee, but give me real cow's milk any day.  I buy the 365 brand from Whole Foods and occasionally I drink it by itself because it tastes like the "sweet milk" I enjoyed as a child.  My father was a salesman for Borden's when I was a kid so I suppose I'm biased.


 I agree with you but I drink a different organic milk.  It tastes as I remember milk tasting.  It just tastes better than the less expensive milk.


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## Ruthanne (May 28, 2022)

I had lactose intolerance for years that put me in the hospital ER.  I have given it up for many years.  I have used Lactaids products in the past. Now I prefer Cashew, Soy and Coconut milks and of course I'm smart enough to know the difference between animal milk and plant milk.


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## Devi (May 28, 2022)

Interesting. I have milk every day, as I eat it on muesli (uncooked oats with nuts and raisins). We get organic milk with 2% milkfat. This has been going on for years, and no problems so far.

Added: Now that I think about what I said, I wonder if the reason we have no problems with the organic milk is that the cows it was taken from were not eating grass with pesticides, herbicides, etc.


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## JonSR77 (May 28, 2022)

Devi said:


> Interesting. I have milk every day, as I eat it on muesli (uncooked oats with nuts and raisins). We get organic milk with 2% milkfat. This has been going on for years, and no problems so far.
> 
> Added: Now that I think about what I said, I wonder if the reason we have no problems with the organic milk is that the cows it was taken from were not eating grass with pesticides, herbicides, etc.



I had a friend who was allergic to milk. She moved up to a farm in NY State. Her neighbor had dairy cows. And she decided to take a risk and see if milk, straight from the cow, made a difference. Absolutely. She had zero problems with milk fresh from the cow.

And yes, the milk was organic, the cows ate grass that was not treated with pesticides and they were not given any chemical additives in their food.


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## JonSR77 (May 28, 2022)

I have never had a milk substitute that tasted anything like regular milk.  That being said, by viewing it as, oh "a different beverage" I have found it to be ok.  I used to have soy milk and cereal every morning.

I have also had pretty terrible regular milk. The organic brands I buy taste much better.

When I was a kid, we had relatives who had a dairy farm.  That stuff? Whoa...that was amazing.


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## Ken N Tx (May 29, 2022)




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## katlupe (May 31, 2022)

I don't drink milk often but use products that have whey in them. When I make yogurt I use Fairlife brand milk which has less carbs then regular milk due to the processing. The almond milk I use sometimes in making recipes is a organic concentrate. Just add water to it and blend. It last a long time and is almonds only nothing is added to it.


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## Just Jeff (Jun 8, 2022)

JonSR77 said:


> I had a friend who was allergic to milk. She moved up to a farm in NY State. Her neighbor had dairy cows. And she decided to take a risk and see if milk, straight from the cow, made a difference. Absolutely. She had zero problems with milk fresh from the cow.
> 
> And yes, the milk was organic, the cows ate grass that was not treated with pesticides and they were not given any chemical additives in their food.


This was noticed 'first' by doctors doing the military medical for men entering the service in wwII.     They could not understand why so many men were sick/unfit for service,  when only one in a hundred had been disqualified in wwI medical checks.  They looked into it and found that three white poisons had caused thousands of percent increase in illness in the usa.  It used to be available on the internet, until about fifteen years ago.
Some provocative results may be seen - go slow researching and be cautious, sort of-  doing a duckduckgo search/not as censored as gagle/ of "five white poisons" that we are told to feed out children and ourselves.



palides2021 said:


> When I used to drink it regularly, I always remember having a constant cough. Once I stopped it, the cough went away. Go figure.





Wontactmyage said:


> Had problems with cows/goats milks since I was young. In fact when I was growing up I could not use animal milks and had to use water.





Ruthanne said:


> I had lactose intolerance for years that put me in the hospital ER. I have given it up for many years. I have used Lactaids products in the past. Now I prefer Cashew, Soy and Coconut milks and of course I'm smart enough to know the difference between animal milk and plant milk.


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## JaniceM (Jun 23, 2022)

win231 said:


> Actually, all adults are allergic to dairy.  The difference is the variation in immune responses.  If someone's immune response to milk is mild, they may have only a little congestion/mucus/digestive upset & they won't attribute it to milk or they may not notice any symptoms, so they can eat/drink whatever dairy they like.


That's weird.. I'm not saying you're wrong, but until a couple of years ago when it became more and more difficult to shop, I drank rather large amounts of milk (whole milk) every day except when I ran out of it, and never had any problems...
Since, though, I've been buying Carnation Essentials from Amazon..  and after they stopped selling the style I usually bought, have been buying a different style which has something in it called Stevia Leaf Extract..  
I don't know whether it's this supposedly-natural ingredient or the high protein content of the drinks, but general unwellness on an ongoing basis.


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## MarciKS (Jun 23, 2022)

*I enjoy the almond milk and oat milk and soy milk better than the actual milk. I think they taste better. Plus they last longer than regular milk. *


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## Judycat (Jun 23, 2022)

I drink milk every day. Never tasted nut milks or soy.


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## Medusa (Jun 28, 2022)

JaniceM said:


> That's weird.. I'm not saying you're wrong, but until a couple of years ago when it became more and more difficult to shop, I drank rather large amounts of milk (whole milk) every day except when I ran out of it, and never had any problems...
> Since, though, I've been buying Carnation Essentials from Amazon..  and after they stopped selling the style I usually bought, have been buying a different style which has something in it called Stevia Leaf Extract..
> I don't know whether it's this supposedly-natural ingredient or the high protein content of the drinks, but general unwellness on an ongoing basis.


Could be the Stevia; I've read that it can cause GI problems.  - Sorry you're not feeling well.


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