It may not be the most obvious choice when it comes to making a morning cup of coffee, but using soy milk instead of standard cow’s milk could improve blood pressure and reduce inflammation levels, a study suggests.
Soy milk, made from soybeans, became popular in the 1990s as an alternative to traditional dairy milk.
However, sales have declined in recent times after it is labelled an “ultra-processed food” due to the frequent addition of sugar. Dairy alternatives such as almond or oat milk have also proven to be generally more popular.
Researchers at the University of Toronto investigated the health effects of replacing cow’s milk with soy milk by conducting a large analysis of 17 previous trials involving more than 500 people.
The average duration of each trial was four weeks and participants drank an average of 500 ml of milk (dairy or soy) per day.
Soy milk, made from soybeans, became popular in the 1990s as an alternative to traditional cow’s milk (stock image)
Researchers found that across all studies, replacing cow’s milk with soy milk was linked to reductions in cholesterol levels, as well as lower blood pressure and lower markers of inflammation (file image)
The team found that across all studies, replacing cow’s milk with soy milk was linked to reductions in cholesterol levels, as well as lower blood pressure and reduced markers of inflammation.
As a result, the authors recommend that policymakers consider exempting fortified soy milk from being classified as an ultra-processed food, as this classification “may be misleading.”
They added that on average across all studies, the total sugar content of soy milk was about 60 percent lower than that of cow’s milk.
In a paper published in the journal BMC Medicine, the Canadian team said: “Current evidence provides a good indication that replacing cow’s milk with soy milk… may result in benefits for blood lipids (fats), blood pressure and inflammation in adults.”
Previous studies have suggested that pea milk is the only vegan option that provides as many nutrients as cow’s milk.
Scientists analyzed the amount of vital nutrients in cow’s milk, as well as in 85 samples of pea, soy, almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, oat and rice milk.
Pea milk had the highest levels of phosphorus, zinc and selenium, while soy milk had the highest amount of magnesium. All plant milks were inferior to cow’s milk.
Plant milks are produced when a culture is ground and soaked in water with emulsifiers and stabilizers.