Switching from dairy milk can be a perfectly reasonable choice. Just make sure the replacement does what you think it does.
Plant-based milks are everywhere now: almond, oat, soy, coconut, rice.
Pour one over cereal. Add it to a smoothie. Put it in your coffee.
Same carton. Same glass. Similar job.
Nutritionally? Not necessarily.
So instead of asking whether dairy milk or plant milk is “healthier,” here’s a more useful question:
What do you want your milk to do for you?
Disclosure: This article is not sponsored. I have no financial relationship with dairy or plant-based milk companies.
Choose What Works for You
You may prefer the taste. You may have a milk allergy. You may avoid animal products for ethical, religious or environmental reasons. Or maybe you just like oat milk better in your coffee.
Any of those can be a perfectly reasonable reason to choose plant-based milk.
And if it’s just a splash in your coffee and you get your nutrition elsewhere, the nutritional differences may not matter much at all.
Plant-based milks can absolutely be part of a nutritious diet. They just aren’t all nutritionally alike.
If you’re counting on your milk to provide something—calcium, protein or other nutrients—that’s when it’s worth looking a little closer.
If You’re Looking for Calcium
Start with the Nutrition Facts label.
One cup of cow’s milk provides roughly 300 mg of calcium. Many plant milks are fortified to provide a similar amount, but not all are.
If your plant milk is fortified, shake it before pouring. Added calcium can settle toward the bottom of some beverages.
And if your milk isn’t fortified? That can work too, as long as you’re getting enough calcium elsewhere.
For most adults ages 19–50, the recommended calcium intake is about 1,000 mg per day.
To Put 300 mg of Calcium in Perspective
Approximately 300 mg—the amount in a cup of cow’s milk—can also come from foods such as:
- 3 ounces canned sardines with edible bones
- 5 ounces canned salmon with edible bones
- ½–⅔ cup calcium-set tofu, depending on the brand
- 1 cup cooked collard greens
- 2 cups cooked bok choy
- About 3 cups cooked pinto beans
- About 3 cups cooked spinach
- A little over 3 cups cooked kale
- About 5 cups cooked broccoli
These aren’t suggested serving sizes. They’re simply comparisons to help you visualize how much calcium different foods provide.
And calcium on paper isn’t always calcium your body can use equally well. Spinach contains plenty of calcium, but relatively little of it is absorbed. Calcium from lower-oxalate vegetables such as broccoli and kale is much more readily absorbed—the catch is that these vegetables generally provide less calcium per serving.
You don’t need to get all your calcium from one food. Mix and match the foods you actually eat.
If You’re Counting on Milk for Protein
Don’t stop after checking the calcium.
One cup of cow’s milk provides about 8 grams of protein.
Soy milk often comes fairly close.
Many commercial almond milks provide only about 1 gram per cup.
A calcium-fortified almond milk can therefore provide calcium comparable to cow’s milk while providing only a fraction of the protein.
That doesn’t make almond milk a bad choice. It means matching one nutrient doesn’t make two foods nutritionally identical.
Almond Milk Isn’t Almonds You Can Drink
About ¼ cup of whole almonds provides roughly 6 grams of protein, along with fat and fiber.
Many commercial almond milks provide about 1 gram of protein per cup.
Cow’s milk provides about 8 grams per cup.
Plant milks are made by processing plant ingredients with water, and the finished beverage doesn’t necessarily contain the same nutrition you associate with the original food.
You don’t need to know the manufacturing details.
The Nutrition Facts label tells you what actually ended up in the carton.
And almond milk is just one example. Soy, oat, rice, coconut and other plant milks each have their own nutritional profiles.
Calcium and protein aren’t the only differences. Vitamin D, vitamin B12 and other nutrients can vary among plant milks, too, so the label is worth a quick look.
If Sugar Is Your Concern
Plain cow’s milk contains about 12 grams of naturally occurring sugar per cup, in the form of lactose.
For perspective, a small apple contains roughly 12–15 grams of naturally occurring sugar.
That doesn’t mean milk and apples are nutritionally identical or affect blood glucose identically. It simply puts the amount of sugar into perspective.
Plant-based doesn’t automatically mean lower in carbohydrate or sugar. The amount varies considerably among products, particularly when sweetened varieties are included.
Check the label rather than relying on the words “dairy” or “plant-based.”
If You’re Watching Your Blood Sugar
Milk contains carbohydrate, so yes, it can affect blood glucose.
But that doesn’t mean everyone with diabetes needs to avoid milk—or that milk is automatically a bad choice in the morning. The amount of carbohydrate in the entire meal and your individual response matter.
If you monitor your blood glucose, your own readings can help show whether the amount you’re drinking works for you.
For readers interested in the science behind milk and blood glucose, related research is included below.
If You Have a Milk Allergy
This one isn’t simply a matter of preference.
A milk allergy is an immune reaction to proteins in milk and can be serious.
If you have a milk allergy, lactose-free cow’s milk is not an appropriate substitute because it still contains milk proteins. An appropriate non-dairy alternative may make much more sense.
If You’re Lactose Intolerant
Lactose intolerance is different from milk allergy.
It happens when your body doesn’t make enough lactase, the enzyme needed to digest lactose. And it doesn’t necessarily mean giving up dairy.
In lactose-free milk, the lactose has already been broken down into simpler sugars. It provides essentially the same protein, calcium and other nutrients as regular milk.
You may notice that lactose-free milk tastes sweeter. That’s because those simpler sugars taste sweeter than lactose—not because extra sugar was necessarily added.
Lactose-free versions of yogurt, ice cream and other dairy products are increasingly available, too. Lactase tablets are another option.
If Inflammation Is Your Concern
For most people, clinical studies don’t support the popular claim that dairy is an inflammatory food. Reviews of randomized trials have generally found neutral or sometimes favorable effects on commonly measured markers of inflammation.
That doesn’t mean dairy agrees with everyone. Individual medical conditions are a different question.
See the research below if you’d like to dig deeper.
If Hormones or Breast Cancer Concern You
Milk naturally contains hormones. That’s true of cow’s milk, and human breast milk contains naturally occurring hormones, too.
Researchers have studied dairy and breast cancer extensively, and the results are mixed. Major evidence reviews have not established dairy as a cause of breast cancer, but the science isn’t completely settled. Some large studies have reported associations between milk intake and higher breast-cancer risk.
If you have breast cancer or another hormone-sensitive cancer, discuss your individual dietary concerns with your oncology team.
Some dairy farms have also used rbST/rBGH, a hormone given to cows to increase milk production. If that concerns you, milk from cows not treated with rbST/rBGH is widely available and commonly labeled.
See the research below for more detail.
If Antibiotics Concern You
Dairy cows sometimes receive antibiotics when they’re sick.
In the United States, milk from treated cows must be withheld for specified periods, and commercial milk is tested for antibiotic residues. Milk that tests above allowable limits is required to be rejected.
These safeguards are designed to limit antibiotic residues in commercially sold milk.
So, Which Milk Should You Choose?
It depends on what you need from it.
Calcium? Check the amount on the label.
Protein? Check that too. Soy generally comes much closer to cow’s milk than many other plant milks.
Less added sugar? Look for unsweetened varieties.
Milk allergy? Choose an appropriate non-dairy alternative.
Lactose intolerance? Lactose-free dairy may be an option.
There isn’t one best milk for everyone.
Choose what works for you. Just know what you’re getting.
Want to Dig Deeper?
You don’t need to read the research to choose a milk. These references are here for anyone interested in the evidence behind the article.
Stay tuned for more in-depth articles on some of these nutrition questions.
Plant-Based Milk and Nutrition
Walther B, et al. (2022). Comparison of nutritional composition between plant-based drinks and cow’s milk. Frontiers in Nutrition.
Comparison of plant beverages and cow’s milk showing substantial nutritional differences among products.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36386959/
Singhal S, et al. (2017). A Comparison of the Nutritional Value of Cow’s Milk and Nondairy Beverages. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.
Comparison of common nondairy beverages with cow’s milk, including protein and micronutrient differences.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27540708/
Dairy and Inflammation
Ulven SM, et al. (2019). Milk and Dairy Product Consumption and Inflammatory Biomarkers: An Updated Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials. Advances in Nutrition.
Systematic review of randomized trials that did not find evidence that dairy consumption promotes systemic inflammation.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31089732/
Nieman KM, et al. (2021). The Effects of Dairy Product and Dairy Protein Intake on Inflammation: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
Systematic review finding predominantly neutral or favorable effects on markers of low-grade systemic inflammation.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32870744/
Dairy and Breast Cancer
World Cancer Research Fund. Breast Cancer Report.
Major evidence review of diet, nutrition, physical activity and breast-cancer risk.
https://www.wcrf.org/research-policy/library/breast-cancer-report/
Wu Y, et al. (2021). Dairy foods, calcium, and risk of breast cancer overall and for subtypes defined by estrogen receptor status. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Large pooled analysis examining dairy intake and breast-cancer risk.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33964859/
Fraser GE, et al. (2020). Dairy, soy, and risk of breast cancer: those confounded milks. International Journal of Epidemiology.
Large prospective cohort that reported an association between dairy-milk intake and higher breast-cancer risk; included to represent the mixed evidence.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32095830/
Calcium and Absorption
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Calcium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.
Reference for calcium requirements, food sources and bioavailability.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/
Heaney RP, Weaver CM, Recker RR. (1988). Calcium absorbability from spinach. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Human study demonstrating very low calcium absorption from spinach compared with milk.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3354495/
Weaver CM, et al. (1997). Choices for achieving adequate dietary calcium with a vegetarian diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Review of calcium sources and bioavailability, including relatively high absorption from low-oxalate vegetables.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9094873/
Antibiotics and Milk Safety
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Milk Drug Residue Sampling Survey.
Information on U.S. requirements and monitoring for drug residues in commercially sold milk.
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/compliance-enforcement/questions-and-answers-2012-milk-drug-residue-sampling-survey