Um guys, a study has found oat milk actually isn’t that good for you

Literally nothing will make me give up my silly little oak milk iced lattes

1 year ago

If there’s one thing the girly pops can unite on it’s their love for oat milk. The plant based alternative has been adopted by students and young people alike up and down the country and taken its rightful place as the centre piece of every uni house fridge.

It has a longer shelf life, it’s better for the environment and it tastes pretty damn good – what’s not to love?

Well now according to a new study, researchers have found that the nutritional content of most milk alternatives, including our beloved oat milk, doesn’t measure up to cow’s milk.

Scientists at a university in the States compared cow’s milk with 233 plant-based alternatives, testing for calcium, Vitamin D and protein.

They discovered that 170 were fortified with calcium and vitamin D, and that push them up the nutritional rankings, on par with dairy milk.

Some of the milks tested had zero grams of protein, and just 16 percent had a protein level greater or equal to the eight grams found in cow’s milk.

It’s bad news for all you oat milk fanatics because it was actually soy and pea-based drinks out of the alternatives trialled that were the most likely to score high for protein.

Last year, market research company Mintel announced one in three Brits drink plant-based milk, and almost a quarter of UK adults believe plant-based milk is better for them than that from cows.

However, TikTok went into a meltdown last summer after rumours circulated on the app that oat milk was actually really bad for your health citing the drink’s sugar content.

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Lauren Helen Marsh, a Nutritional Therapist and Health Coach at Holistic Wellness Platform Able, told The Tab at the time: “As long as consumed in moderation, the sugar content shouldn’t cause harm but this varies from person to person.”

But now the findings from this new study seemingly support this worry about the nutrional value of oat milk. Professor Abigail Johnson, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said: “Our results provide evidence that many plant-based milk alternatives are not nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk.

“Based on these findings, consumers should look for plant-based milk alternative products that list calcium and vitamin D as ingredients.

“Our findings point to a need to ensure that consumers are aware that many plant-based milk alternative products in the marketplace today are not nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk.”

Sorry bestie but there is literally nothing you can say that would make me stop drinking my iced oat milk lattes. Viva la oat milk.