To call it a fall from grace would be an understatement. Oat milk, the once-niche vegan product that became a trendy dairy alternative, is falling out of favor with health gurus.
Critics are flocking to social media to raise the alarm, after research suggested he may not be as saintly as he is often portrayed.
And the news may surprise the quarter of the UK population who admit to drinking it regularly, no doubt partly motivated by previous claims that it was healthier than dairy.
In a TikTok video, New York nursing student Calvin Tanny, who appears to be in his 20s, shared a video of himself throwing a carton of oat milk.
Oat milk is made up almost exclusively of carbohydrates, says nutrition specialist
He claimed that he had just been diagnosed with high cholesterol and that his doctor told him that his daily matcha oat milk lattes were to blame. ‘Is oat milk bad for cholesterol?’ one follower wrote in response. ‘Nooooooooo!’ exclaimed another, simply.
So is oat milk really that bad for us? “Oat milk is almost exclusively made up of carbohydrates,” says nutrition specialist Sarah Carolides. ‘There are between 15 and 20 grams of carbohydrates in a glass of oat milk, compared to around eight grams of carbohydrates in a glass of cow’s milk.
‘This means it’s high in calories but with very little protein, so it won’t keep you full for long. And then there are the emulsifiers, which keep the oat milk from separating, the sweeteners and other additives found in commercial brands. “If you drink several oat milk coffees a day, it can become a problem.”
French biochemist Jessie Inchauspe went viral earlier this year for explaining the rise in blood sugar levels (and subsequent crash) that occurs after drinking a latte with oat milk.
‘Oat milk comes from oats. Oats are a grain and grains are starch. “So when you drink oat milk, you’re drinking starch juice,” he said in a video viewed more than five million times.
“You’re drinking juice that has a lot of glucose in it, so you get a big glucose spike. If you drink oat milk because you think it’s healthier, just change it. Go back to whole milk or unsweetened nut milk.’
Glucose spikes occur when there is more sugar in the bloodstream than cells can use for energy. These rapid increases are followed by sharp drops, which can lead to feelings of hunger. In the long term, regular glucose spikes have been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
But what about all the research that showed that dietary oats can actually lower cholesterol?
This may be because so-called “barista editions” of oat milk, used in many drinks purchased at coffee shops, contain only 10 percent oats. The rest is water mixed with oils and emulsifiers that keep the ingredients mixed and allow it to foam like cow’s milk when heated.
And these oils can still contribute to raising cholesterol levels when consumed in excess, says Dr Oliver Guttmann, consultant cardiologist at London’s Wellington Hospital.
“Oats, eaten as porridge, for example, can reduce cholesterol over time, as they have a lot of fiber, and fiber lowers cholesterol,” he says. “But drinking the type of frothy oat milk that has a higher fat content could cause high cholesterol if drunk in excess.”
In addition to this, diets high in sugar cause the liver to produce more “bad” LDL cholesterol and can reduce levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. “While we always thought that saturated fats were bad for cholesterol, there is now growing recognition that dietary sugars can also affect it,” says nutritionist Ms Carolides. “This may be why there are anecdotal reports of people reducing their cholesterol levels when they stop drinking oat milk.”
And he adds: “A small amount of oat milk in a coffee a day will not be a problem.” But a few large servings are pretty much empty calories that keep carb and salt levels high, and not much else.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, a woman revealed how she had been told she had high cholesterol when she was just 23, despite being a thin, non-smoking person with an apparently healthy diet.
Student Miranda, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I was told to change my diet and after doing some research, I realized that the oat milk I had in my daily iced latte could be the cause. “.
“After I eliminated it and instead of eating a bowl of oatmeal every day, my cholesterol went down, and that was the only change I made.”
…and other options are not good either
It’s not just oat milk that’s in the spotlight: Coconut milk, which is often used in frothy hot dairy drinks, is high in saturated fat.
and can cause cholesterol levels to rise, experts warn.
In fact, just one cup of coconut milk represents almost a quarter of an adult’s average daily intake of saturated fat.
“While the coconut milk sold in a carton in the milk aisle is a more dilute product than the type of canned coconut milk used in cooking, it can still contain more fat than other dairy alternatives and is quite low in protein,” said nutritionist Clarissa Lenherr. warns.
While one cup of skim milk contains about 8 g of protein, the same amount of coconut milk contains none.
“Coconut milk can sometimes contain gums which are used as thickeners and if not, many brands add rice milk, so always check the labels,” adds Ms Lenherr.
Many plant-based milks that are claimed to have no added sugar still contain rice milk as a sweetener. However, like sugar, rice milk has a high glycemic index and carbohydrate content, which can affect blood sugar levels.
Rice milk is also not recommended for children under five years of age due to the small levels of arsenic it contains.