Vegan Society Dietitian, Emily McKee, answers frequently asked questions about plant-based dairy alternatives for adults and children
PBDAs have been making headlines recently, with multiple media articles discussing their nutritional properties. This information is frequently contradictory, and alongside the growing number of different alternative products this coverage can leave people feeling more confused than ever.
In this blog our dietitian Emily answers some of the most common questions about plant-based dairy alternatives, aiming to give you the current, evidence-based bottom line.
What plant milk should I drink?
Ultimately this is down to personal choice, taste preferences and your own overall dietary needs. Many people use multiple different PBDAs depending on the foods they are pairing it with. For example, I prefer soya milk in porridge and sauces and oat milk in coffee.
Choose a fortified PBDA to ensure you are getting the benefits of added micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iodine.
Unsweetened varieties are good if you want to reduce your free sugar intake, but all PBDAs have sugar contents comparable to, or below that, of dairy milk.
If you have higher protein needs, for example you are over the age of 65, or if you have a small appetite or particularly active lifestyle, opt for soya or pea milk as these are the most protein dense.
For a deeper dive into PBDAs, including more information on their nutritional content and environmental impact, The Vegan Society members can visit our nutrition ‘hot topic’ on PBDA’s.Â
What plant milk should I give my child?
For children under 6 months of age, where breastfeeding is not possible, The Vegan Society recommends a referral be made to a specialist paediatric dietitian to discuss soya-based formula.
For children over 6 months old, soya-based formula can be used as a daily drink, and theoretical health risks are considered low. Soya formula has been shown to support normal growth, development and bone health for infants born full-term.
From 12 months, children can have any fortified PBDAs as a main drink, except rice milk due to naturally occurring arsenic in rice. We recommend soya milk due to its higher protein content, and unsweetened varieties are preferable if accepted by your child from the taste perspective.
Some parents wish to give their child plant-based ‘growing up’ milk due to its additional calorie and micronutrient content, but this is not a required follow-on to breastfeeding/formula.
Are there any health risks associated with drinking PBDAs?
There is no current evidence that drinking PBDAs is harmful for human health. A study spanning 11.2 years showed no increased risk in terms of metabolic disease (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease) or cancer associated with drinking PBDAs.
Despite claims that PBDAs are high in sugar, a study found that the sugar content of sweetened plant milks is equivalent to dairy and that unsweetened plant milks are four times lower in sugar than dairy equivalents.
PBDAs can provide a beneficial source of nutrition. For adults, the main function of dairy alternatives is to provide a source of calcium and other micronutrients, whilst for children they also aim to provide additional calories and protein. At present, 90% of PBDAs in the UK are fortified.
PBDAs also contain beneficial nutrients found in the plants used to produce them such as fibre.
Current UK dietary guidelines (The EatWell Guide) and The British Dietetic Association support those who cannot, or choose not to, drink dairy in incorporating fortified plant-based alternatives into their diets.
People with allergies to soya or nuts should obviously avoid PBDAs that are based on these ingredients but can choose alternative PBDAs such as pea or oat drinks.
Are plant milks ultra-processed foods?
Whilst PBDAs can be considered ‘ultra-processed’, emerging evidence suggests that this labelling system is not helpful for classifying the nutritional content or potential impact on health of individual foods.
Whilst the consumption of some types of ultra-processed foods has been associated with increased disease risk, in a study spanning 11.2 years looking at ultra-processed food PBDAs were not associated with any increased risk of developing cancer, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
In the case of PBDAs, processing includes fortification with additional vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iodine and vitamin D. This is a beneficial process that increases the nutritional value of the final product.
We advise looking at the nutritional labels of products and choosing products that are lower in salt, sugar and saturated fat rather than using the level of processing to make nutritional decisions. All PBDAs are low in saturated fat and contain low or moderate levels of sugar depending on whether they are unsweetened or sweetened. The majority of PBDAs, and all the unsweetened ones, meet government guidance for the food industry on ‘HFSS’ (high fat, sugar and salt) foods.
Should I be worried about oestrogen in soya milk?
Soya milk contains plant oestrogens, known as phytoestrogens. Despite misconceptions, there is no current evidence that plant oestrogens negatively impact health, hormonal function or fertility in adult humans. The European Food Standards Agency has not established an upper ‘tolerable daily intake’ level for soya products, stating that there is currently no evidence that eating soya protein causes detrimental health effects.
In terms of children’s health, a committee of toxicology (COT) report from 2023 stated that there was no definite evidence that soya-based formula could be harmful to infant health, and no research exists in humans showing that soya has a negative effect on the growth or development of full-term babies.
However, as a precaution, for children who are unable to breastfeed and need to access soya formula before the age of 6 months, referral to a specialist paediatric dietitian is strongly recommended. After 6 months, any hypothetical risks from phytoestrogens are greatly reduced. We hope that further studies in humans will be carried out to give us more insight into this topic.
By Emily McKee
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