Oat milk’s healthy halo is quickly disappearing.
People are abandoning it and experts advise against it due to its lack of nutritional value and highly processed ingredients.
Last week, dieticians expressed concern to DailyMail.com about the presence of emulsifiers in plant milks that some research links to cancer.
Now, they’re raising concerns about another chemical linked to tumor growth.
A study has shown that some popular brands of oat milk contain a herbicide called glyphosate, which has been linked to certain blood cancers.
The World Health Organization has classified the chemical, used to keep weeds away from crops, as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
American health authorities disagree, and as a result, 250 million pounds are sprayed on American crops each year.
Oat milk is a popular milk substitute that is made by soaking oats in water and straining them. Some avoid drinking it because it is low in protein compared to other options, can cause blood sugar spikes, or contains additives such as emulsifiers.
Steph Robinson, a Los Angeles, California-based influencer, has more than 107,000 followers on TikTok and ranked oat milk at the bottom of her list of milk options, claiming it causes blood sugar spikes.
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According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), 250 million pounds of the product are sprayed on American fields each year.
Sometimes this ends up in the final product.
A 2023 EWG study found glyphosate in all 14 non-organic oat products they tested, although levels had dropped dramatically since 2018.
In 2023, Environmental Health News conducted a series of tests and found “traces” of glyphosate in oat milk from the Silk and MALK brands.
Courtney Swan, nutritionist, food activist and influencer he told Newsweek which for this and other reasons, she chooses not to consume oat milk and actively tells people not to buy it. She said: “I’ve never been a fan of drinking it.”
She’s not alone—other creators have been ditching plant-based milks for cow’s milk, citing concerns about pesticides, additives like emulsifiers, and a lack of nutrients that can balance blood sugar.
Los Angeles influencer Steph Robinson went viral last year for sharing her true opinions on oat milk, saying it causes blood sugar spikes that can lead to an unhealthy metabolism.
At the same time, celebrities like Gweynth Paltrow are bringing dairy back into fashion, saying it’s a more nutritious addition to your morning coffee.
Markets seem to reflect these trends online.
Almond milk sales in 2024 were down 8.5 percent from a year ago and oat milk sales were down 1.25 percent over the same period. according to a SPINS reporta company that tracks purchasing data in the United States.
The report found that all plant-based milk sales declined 5.2 percent over the past year, although that still generated $2.8 billion in sales for the industry.
In 2015, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” based primarily on animal studies.
This led to proposals for an EU-wide ban on the herbicide.
After reviewing data on the herbicide in 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency said, “there are no concerning risks to human health when glyphosate is used according to its current label.”
In addition to farmers working with the pesticide, people can be exposed to the herbicide by eating contaminated food or drinking water.
The EPA also found that glyphosate is unlikely to be a human carcinogen. Still, research on health effects is underway in the United States.
A 2023 study by the National Cancer Institute measured levels of oxidative stress (a marker of cellular aging and mutations that can eventually lead to cancer) in farmers exposed to glyphosate.
Farmers who had been exposed to glyphosate had “elevated levels” of oxidative stress compared to average people.
The product best known to contain glyphosate is Monsanto’s Roundup.
Its parent company, Bayer, has strongly denied that the chemical is linked to health problems.
Still, Bayver has been forced to liquidate thousands of Rounding Demandsand the plaintiffs claim the company failed to disclose warnings about its product.
Bayer previously told DM.com in a statement: “The increased oxidative stress found in the study could have been caused by any number of factors unrelated to glyphosate or a combination of them, and the study does not support the conclusion that glyphosate be cause.’
Jessica Cording, a registered dietitian and author, previously told DailyMail.com that she is less concerned about the chemicals in oat milk and more concerned about the effect it may have on blood sugar.
Cording explained, “In my own practice, I tend to steer my clients away from oat milk if they can tolerate dairy and/or other plant-based milks.”
Oat milk tends to have lower amounts of protein and higher amounts of carbohydrates or sugars than cow’s milk or nut milk. An average cup of oat milk contains about 4 grams of protein, compared to 8 grams for dairy, soy, or pea milk.
When the body breaks down carbohydrates, it causes a rise in blood sugar, which causes the body to need to release insulin. Eating foods with other nutrients that can balance sugars, helping them be absorbed more slowly, can make insulin spikes less pronounced.
Gwenyth Paltrow, known for her wellness recommendations, said she adds a little regular milk to her coffee and is not a fan of plant-based milks.
Over time, having constant blood sugar spikes can make it difficult to control your weight and may increase your chance of developing lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, in the future.
In addition to blood sugar concerns, Cording said oat milk is a highly processed food and she advises her clients to avoid eating these types of products regularly.
Oat milk is often considered highly processed due to the added ingredients it contains.
These include emulsifiers: products that are added to prevent liquid products from separating. Preliminary research from the University of Miami has linked emulsifiers to colon cancer. after animal studies showed a link between the products and intestinal inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can increase cancer risk by damaging DNA. They suggested that this could put the body at greater risk of developing colorectal cancer.
Emulsifiers have also been shown to change the composition of the bacteria that protect the intestine, which Dr. María Abreu, a gastroenterologist at the University of Miami, suggests may increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
Given this data, Cording said, “I think it’s appropriate to be concerned, but I also think we need to continue exploring.”
