Expert gives verdict on the healthiest milk after surprising new study

Key Points:

• A study published in Lancet Planetary Health warns that replacing dairy milk with plant-based alternatives may lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients like iodine, crucial for thyroid function and brain health.
• Cow's milk naturally provides high-quality protein, calcium, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and iodine, with similar nutrient content across whole, semi-skimmed, and skimmed varieties.
• Among plant-based milks, fortified soya milk is the closest nutritional match to cow's milk, offering comparable protein levels and essential amino acids, while fortified pea milk is also a strong alternative due to its protein content.
• Almond, oat, and coconut milks tend to be lower in protein and some nutrients; almond milk is low in protein despite almonds being nutrient-rich, oat milk contains sugars from processing, and coconut milk has the fewest nutrients and may lack iodine.
• Nutritionists advise choosing unsweetened, fortified plant-based milks with added calcium, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and iodine, and ensuring adequate protein intake from other sources if fully substituting dairy milk.