After I drank my daily coffee spiked with oat milk for the first time, I couldn’t imagine my morning caffeine any other way. I’m not lactose intolerant, nor do I follow a vegan diet—instead, oat milk simply tastes good. I know I am not alone because my supermarket shelves have been overrun with plant-based milk alternatives like soy, coconut, almond, and hazelnut options, as well as my beloved oat milk alternative. Oat drinks have also become a permanent fixture on the menu in most cafés, and are a must-have in many people’s morning coffee on their way to work.
Is oat milk healthy?
If you love an oat milk latte as much as I do, be warned that you might not be doing your health any favors. More precisely, your blood sugar levels may be paying a price. For many years, nutritionists and doctors thought it was only important for diabetics to pay close attention to their blood sugar levels, but increasingly it has become clear that fluctuations can impact everyone’s health and mood. An imbalanced blood sugar level (also called hypoglycemia) can cause cravings, a lack of energy and fatigue, acne, poor sleep, and brain fog. There is sugar in all types of milk (including cow’s milk), which varies on the source and manufacturing process. According to the Department of Agriculture, unsweetened oat milk has 7.01 grams of sugar per cup, and here’s how the rest of milk types stack up: whole cow’s milk, 11 grams of sugar per cup; 1 percent cow’s milk, 12 grams of sugar per cup; unsweetened almond milk, 2 grams of sugar per cup; coconut milk, 6 grams of sugar per cup.
Confused by how oat milk could potentially be a villan in your morning coffee? French biochemist Jessie Inchauspé—the self-proclaimed Glucose Goddess—explains.
“When we want to know if a food will spike our glucose, we’re not only looking at sugar content, but also at starch content, which also turns into glucose as it’s digested,” she says. “Fat and protein content are also important to factor in since they reduce the spike.”
So when it comes to choosing the healthiest milk, it’s not just about looking at the sugar content, but the entire composition. Similar to fruit juice, most of the plant fiber is filtered out of oat milk when it’s produced, so it contains little to no fiber, while all the natural sugars remain.
Do your blood sugar levels a favor with these alternatives to oat milk
You may not want to hear this, but according to Inchauspé, cow’s milk and nut milks are far better alternatives. “Milk from cows essentially consists of proteins and fat,” she says. “Milk made from nuts is very low in starch, which makes it a better option for a balanced glucose content.”