Food Fight: Almond Milk vs. Soy Milk

Buried deep in the comments on one of the pages on the Starbucks vegan frappuccino was a petulant whine wondering why the company used soy milk at all when almond milk is so obviously superior.

You like what you like. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Geri Maria Harris, on the Houston Press blogs, did a somewhat more sophisticated comparison of one brand each of almond milk and soy milk, testing them to see which worked in what recipes.

Verdict?

The good news is: for people eschewing cow's milk in favor of plant sources of milk, both almond and soy milk were great alternatives. We recommend going with the Almond Milk for breakfast foods, baking sweets, and if you're really looking for a good doppelganger for cow's milk. For savory cooking and baking, go with the soy stuff.

Draw A Soymilk Sun, Win Your School $1000

Over at PerishableFoods.com I found a press release that turns out to be sunnier than most.

Stremicks Heritage Foods is relaunching it’s 8th continent Soymilk brand. The re-launch includes the debut of a new carton packing in the spring. To celebrate the event, the company is inviting children and their families to submit their artwork to be considered for the brand’s new packaging. All entries must be received by 11:59 pm ET June 12, 2010 to be considered in the contest. To submit your artwork for the competition, visit www.8thcontinent.com/. 100 winners will be recognized and awarded with $1,000 in art supplies. All submissions will be featured on the company’s website.

Stremicks Heritage Foods™ (Heritage), founded in 1990, manufactures, sells and distributes value-added, specialty beverage products on a regional and national scale. Headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., the company operates in Santa Ana, Riverside and Ontario, Calif.; Cedar City, Utah; Joplin, Missouri and Mexicali, Mexico. Heritage owns, licenses and co-packs well recognized brands such as Heritage Organic Milk, Heritage Organic Milk with Omega-3 DHA, 8th Continent Soymilk, Kerns Beverages, Heritage Disney Toy Story Chocolate Milk, Lactaid Refrigerated, Rice Dream, Soy Dream, Soup Broths, Protein Drinks & Sports Nutrition Beverages.

If you visit the site, you'll have to temporarily allow pop-ups. But that takes you to a page on which your children can paint right on screen - with a mouse, of course - to create a sun logo for the new packaging. That painting can be uploaded directly from that page as well. Winning may allow a school to receive up to $1000 for its art program. Be sure to click on the Terms and Condition link at the bottom of the page for the full, long, list of rules and caveats.

Yogurt and Soy Milk in Cuba

Yogurt wouldn't seem to be part of the Cuban culinary tradition. Historically, it wasn't. That began to change after the revolution, when the island cut ties with the U.S. and Soviets and Eastern Europeans became the source of influences. The unusual story is told in the Havana Times.

With the Cuban Revolution in 1959, yogurt began to be widely distributed and went from being a barely consumed product to an indispensable supplement in university cafeterias and boarding school dorms that started to spread across the island in the 1970s.

Eventually, production was carried out throughout the nation and yogurt became a regular Cuban food item offered in a wide range off flavors of domestically grown fruits such as orange, banana and mango, and even imported fruits such as strawberry, one of the most popular flavors.

Cuban’s consumption of yogurt no doubt grew as the island developed strong ties and scientific exchanges with Eastern Europe.

The large number of Eastern European technicians and consultants who arrived to Cuba brought with them their dietary habits, including a love for yogurt, and this became an important source of nutrition for Cubans and the favorite dairy product for many.

Beginning in the 1970s, yogurt became recognized as a good substitute for milk for segments of the population who were lactose intolerant and as a remedy, as the bacterium in yogurt breaks down lactose.

The 1970s also saw the creation of the Research Institute for the National Food Industry, sponsored by the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Institute took the next step for those who couldn't drink cow's milk and introduced soy milk into the culture.

The widespread introduction of soy milk first for the lactose intolerant segment of the population and then as a regular product for all Cubans was one of the important achievements of this institute.

In the 1990s, the island was sent into a full-on crisis with the disintegration of the Eastern European Socialist Camp and a hardening of the decades-long US blockade. The Cuban government responded with a series of measures during what was called the Special Period. The Ministry of Food and Health began to produce soy yogurt on an industrial scale, especially for children and teenagers, as it became harder and harder to import powdered milk.

Despite the huge cultural differences, this progression is oddly parallel to the adoption of yogurt and soy by increasingly mainstream audiences in the U.S. Solutions know no bounds when problems are universal.

ZenSoy Soy Pudding

Joyce Clark Hicks is a writer at the Raleigh News & Observer as well as a mother of a dairy allergic daughter.

No, surprisingly, this is not another story about a mother writing a dairy-free cookbook. In fact she doesn't seem to be aware of how many their are. But she does pass along a review you might be interested in.

As the mother of a severely milk-allergic child, I'm often at a loss for finding truly dairy-free treats to serve my daughter. Enter the ZenSoy soy pudding line. Made with certified organic whole soy beans, the line is devoid of lactose and milk protein, making it a safe treat for vegans and those allergic to milk. The pudding comes in four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, banana and chocolate/vanilla swirl. The smooth texture makes it appear almost identical to dairy pudding, and the chocolate and chocolate/vanilla swirl flavors taste surprisingly like their dairy counterparts. I have no food allergies and I found these two puddings to be more than a mildly suitable substitute. Most important, ZenSoy passed the food safety test with my 2-year-old. She quickly licked the container and spoon clean and declared the pudding "dewicious" before asking for more. My son found the banana pudding equally pleasing. The vanilla pudding was more of a stretch. It had an odd aftertaste that I'm not quite sure how to describe. Still, three out of four isn't bad, especially when your options are limited because of allergies or other concerns.

ZenSoy makes puddings in Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana and our Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl flavors.

They also have four flavors of soymilks: Vanilla, Chocolate, Plain and Cappuccino.

They are all "free of any lactose, dairy, cholesterol, gluten, eggs, casein, peanuts or MSG" as well as kosher and parve. They are also "suitable for vegans." That's an odd phrasing and it only appears in the answer to a letter rather than as a claim on the main pages, which uses vegetarian several times but doesn't specify vegan. Probably just a quirk since I can't figure out any reason why they wouldn't be vegan.

f you'e looking for dairy-free desserts to make for your kids, take a look at the Parenting, Kids, and Special Diets page, the Milk- and Lactose-Free Books page, or the Allergy Books and Cookbooks page in my Milk-Free Bookstore.

How Lactose Free Is Lactose-Free Milk?

I'm not absolutely sure why New York's Examiner.com website needs a "Seattle Parenting Examiner" but Kristy (2buzy) is filling that role for them.

She needs to examine her posts a bit more.

In Why Soy Milk Is Healthier Than Cows Milk she wrote:

Many people are lactose intolerant and will switch over to lactose-free cows milk. Trouble is it really isn't lactose-free. It actually contains an ingredient which breaks down the natural sugar leaving the milk (depending on the brand) only 70 to 99% lactose free. Soy milk on the other hand is 100% lactose free.

Soy milk is certainly 100% lactose free. But what about lactose free milk? Is it really only "70 to 99% lactose free"?

No. It really is 100% lactose free.

In the early days, we used to see lactose reduced milk, and this was indeed only 70 to 99% lactose free. Those days are long gone. I haven't seen lactose-reduced milk on the market for years.

Besides, the government has some rules companies must obey. One of them is that if a product advertises itself as lactose free, it must indeed be lactose free (within the limitations of the sensitivity of their measuring devices).

Major companies like Lactaid and Dairy Ease sell 100% lactose free milk. It really is lactose free. Kristy is wrong.

[Update. I posted this information as a comment on her page. The false information is no longer given, so apparently Kristy actually made the correction. She is the first person of all the ones that I've asked for corrections to acknowledge the error and make the change. That's admirable and much appreciated.]

Soy Milk Doesn't Start Peanut Allergies

I hadn't heard that some researchers thought that giving soy products to children would trigger peanut allergies. In fact, if you had asked me, I'd had told you it was a nutty internet factoid that simply wasn't true.

Fortunately for me, it isn't true.

A recent study, Soy consumption is not a risk factor for peanut sensitization" published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by Jennifer Koplin et al. Volume 121, Issue 6, Pages 1455-1459 (June 2008) clears up the confusion.

Background
A recent cohort study suggested that intake of soy milk or soy formula was associated with peanut allergy. If this finding is confirmed, it suggests an avenue for modification of diet as a peanut allergy prevention strategy.

Objective
To investigate the relationship between soy consumption and peanut sensitization in a prospective cohort study of children.

Methods
A total of 620 babies with a family history of allergic disease were recruited. Dietary information was obtained from telephone interviews every 4 weeks from birth until 15 months and then again at 18 months and 2 years. Skin prick tests to peanut, milk, and egg were performed at 6, 12, and 24 months. A wheal size ≥3 mm was considered positive for sensitization.

Results
Children whose parents elected to introduce soy formula or soy milk into their children's diet were more likely to be sensitized to peanuts at 2 years (odds ratio, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.04-3.92; P = .039). However, this relationship was explained by feeding of soy to children who had siblings with milk allergy or were themselves sensitized to milk. After adjusting for these factors, there was no evidence of an association between soy consumption and peanut sensitization (odds ratio, 1.34; 95% CI, 0.64-2.79; P = .434).

Conclusion
The association between soy consumption and peanut sensitization is not causal but merely a result of preferential use of soy milk in infants with a personal or family history of cow's milk allergy. Future studies should take the confounding effects related to dietary modifications by parents into account when investigating the association between diet and childhood allergic diseases.

In simpler language, parents whose older children already had allergies gave their younger children soy in the hopes of preventing dairy allergies in them. This didn't always work. Some children developed peanut and other allergies anyway. Once those families were removed, the correlation vanished.

From now on, it is just a nutty internet factoid. Ignore it.

Europe Begs for Soya Milk

Americans can drink soy milk. That is, they can purchase the processed white liquid made from soybeans from manufacturers who can legally call it soy milk. Europeans can't. They have to call it soy juice or soy drink, even though they are allowed to sell coconut nut and almond milk.

That's nutty. MEP (Member of the European Parliament) Anna Laperrouze has called on the European Community (EC) to reconsider its 20-year-old ruling - from a time before soy was a popular drink.

An article by Laura Crowley on FoodNavigator.com notes that:

Volumes of soya beverages consumed in North America, Western Europe and Japan have more than double since 2002, according to Zenith International. In 2006, 1.5m European households tried soya products for the first time and the total global consumption was 1.188m litres in 2006, with a retail value of €3.3bn. Zenith predicts growth to 1,900 litres and €5.35m by 2011.

Bernard Deryckere, president of the European Natural Soyfoods Manufacturers Association (ENSA), admittedly not the most objective source, makes the case that this leads to confusion for consumers and a lack of quality control.

Deryckere told FoodNavigator.com: "We need a legislative framework to ensure that all soya-based drinks are produced to the same level, with criteria requiring companies to use a certain amount of protein, and have certain limits of fat. This would help create quality products, benefiting the consumer as well as the companies."

Soya products are also not able to make various nutritional claims on their packaging, despite many reports on soya's health benefits as an alternative to dairy.

Bureaucracy is bureaucracy. The EC is supposed to draft a yearly report on such matters. They haven't done one for 20 years. Since the last set of regulations were passed, in fact.

Thanks a lot, EC.

Holiday Season Just Officially Started

Sure I've been seeing Christmas supplies in stores for weeks already, but here in the lactose-free world, it's not the holiday season until Vitasoy brings back its Holly Nog and Peppermint Chocolate seasonal soymilks.

And the official announcement went out today.

Creamy and smooth, Holly Nog offers just a fraction of the fat -- but all of the rich taste -- of traditional dairy egg nog. It's spiced with a balance of nutmeg and cinnamon. A special holiday treat, Peppermint Chocolate is heavenly served either warmed or chilled. Taste the sweet, premium chocolate and subtle, lingering mint. ...

Vitasoy's Holly Nog and Peppermint Chocolate Organic Soy Drinks are available for a suggested retail price of $2.49 - $2.99. Look for them in leading supermarkets, specialty shops and natural food stores throughout the country.

"Holly Nog is available only during the holiday season but stays fresh all year," said Pam Dietz, Vitasoy Innovations Director. "Stock up now so you can enjoy these delicious flavors all year!"

For more info, go to vitasoy.vitasoy-usa.com/vitasoy/

Silk Plus for Bone Health

"Functional" is the new buzzword in the food industry. Functional products have had some "extra" added to them to make them healthier. At least according to whatever the latest fad in health might be.

I scoff, but it's hard to dismiss these foods. It's far better to add ingredients designed to promote health than more sugar and fat.

I've written extensively about these products in the past. In Functional Nondairy Makes Europe Healthier I mentioned several European soymilks that had plant sterols added in the hopes of lowering cholesterol counts in those who drank them.

And in this country, I looked at two new products from Silk that they claimed offered "nutritionally dense and very smart solutions by incorporating all the vitamins, minerals and heart-healthy soy protein of regular Silk, plus added fiber or Omega-3 DHA."



Silk is at it again, launching yet another functional soymilk, Silk Plus for Bone Health.

Silk's press release has more detail:

This new addition to the Silk Plus product line provides added calcium in every glass, and incorporates all the vitamins, minerals and heart-healthy soy protein of regular Silk. As an added benefit, NutraFlora® natural prebiotic fiber has been included to help the body absorb calcium more effectively.

Silk Plus For Bone Health is a great way to take in more of the nutrients that support strong, healthy bones. Every serving of Silk Plus For Bone Health delivers 400mg of calcium – 40 percent of the recommended daily value and 30 percent more than you’ll find in a glass of dairy milk.

"Silk has always delivered great-tasting, high-quality soy products to health-minded consumers," said Scott Stevens, general manager for Silk Soymilk. "By introducing Silk Plus For Bone Health with NutraFlora® prebiotic fiber and added calcium, we continue to meet their needs and make it easier for consumers to get more of the nutrients they need in the products they use every day."

Prebiotic? That's not a typo for probiotic. Yes, I've written about that before as well, in Prebiotics and Probiotics. I quoted Wesley Canfield of the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center:

Prebiotics ("before life") are nondigestible or fiber components of foods, usually complex carbohydrates that beneficially affect the host by stimulating the growth of intestinal bacteria. Certain bacteria prefer a particular prebiotic to use as a source of energy.

More about Silk soymilks at their website.

Ignorance Kills. Soy Milk Not Replacement for Soy Formula

Way back in the 90s, when I wrote Milk Is Not for Every Body: Living with Lactose Intolerance, I included this warning.

Soy milk is NOT the nutritional equivalent of the specially fortified soy-based infant formulas. Prolonged exclusive use of soy milk by very young infants will lead to malnutrition and even death.

I wrote that because there had been a number of infant deaths from the use of soy milk, either because of ignorance or because soy formula was so much more expensive. In 1990, the FDA started a warning campaign against the practice, and ran a series of articles in its magazine, the FDA Consumer. That magazine is still around, BTW, and is usually a source of solid information about food.

I thought ever responsible vegan organization taught this information routinely. I've certainly seen numerous sites, articles, and books saying this.

However, this Associated Press article appeared on a number of sites recently, and I just ran across it.

A vegan couple were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the death of their malnourished 6-week-old baby boy, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.

...

Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products. They said Sanders and Thomas did not realize the baby, who was born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.

Since the child weighed only 3 1/2 pounds when he died, the notion that the parents couldn't realize he was seriously malnourished is ludicrous. Other articles say that the couple did not take the baby to a doctor. A newsgroup message claimed that the couple relied on the FAQ from a raw foods website. I cannot confirm the last two claims.

I rail against ignorance on a regular basis in this blog. Ignorance kills. Sometimes people get lucky and are spared, but as a general principle ignorance kills.

There are numerous responsible vegan websites, organizations, and books. It is possible for an adult, with proper supplements, to live on a raw food vegan diet. It is not the lifestyle I am attacking in any way.

It is the notion that what's suitable for adults is also suitable for infants. It is the notion that random websites have good enough information to guide your infant's diet. It is the notion that the medical profession is to be so feared and shunned that you give birth a child at home and then refuse to take him to any medical facility when it is clear he is ill. It is the notion that beliefs based on ignorance are a basis for action.

Ignorance kills. These parents were irresponsible. If they indeed were told by a website that soy milk and juice are an adequate substitute for baby formula, then that website is irresponsible.

Good nutritional advice is widely available. I have a page in my Milk Free Bookstore titled Parenting, Kids and Special Diets. The books listed there include such titles as Raising Vegetarian Children: A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony, by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina; The Vegetarian Child: A Complete Guide for Parents, by Lucy Moll; Vegetarian Children: A Supportive Guide for Parents, by Sharon Yntema; and even Vegetarian Pregnancy: The Definitive Nutritional Guide to Having a Healthy Baby, by Sharon Yntema.

Proper information could have saved that baby's life. Ignorance kills.