Soy Milk vs. Cow’s Milk
Vitamin A
The dairy industry likes to claim cow’s milk is better than soy milk because it contains vitamin A. This vitamin A, however, is not found naturally in the cow’s milk. It an additive, and there is no reason it cannot be added to soy milk. The fact is, most Americans get plenty of vitamin A in their diets. It is readily available in many fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, carrots, and spinach.
Phosphorus
A serving of soy milk contains around half the phosphorus of a serving of cow’s milk. The dairy industry tries to use this as a selling point for drinking cow’s milk, but it is not. In fact, most North Americans receive an excess of phosphorus in their regular diet as it is. Phosphorus is found in high doses in a variety of breads and bran products. The reduced phosphorus of soy milk is actually a good thing for most.
Riboflavin
Soy milk contains around 60% less riboflavin than cow’s milk. Riboflavin is an essential vitamin, but is also found in great abundance in seeds, nutritional yeast, green leafy vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. This makes cow’s milk an unnecessary source for riboflavin for anyone who consumes a well-balanced diet.
Cholesterol
Soy milk is 100% cholesterol free. One cup of cow’s milk has 34 mg of cholesterol. Cholesterol clogs arteries which is another leading cause of heart disease. In addition, soy milk lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol while cow’s milk raises LDL levels. Soy milk also provides heart protection with it’s phytochemicals, which are found in abundance. Cow’s milk does not contain any of these healthy chemicals.
Saturated Fat and Fatty Acids
Because soy milk is made soy beans, it has around 9 times less saturated fat than cow’s milk. Saturated fat is well known to be one of the leading contributors for heart disease. Soy milk has 10 times as many fatty acids, which is a much healthier type of fat.
Protein
Soy milk provides high quality protein and so does cow’s milk. They are both good sources of protein but only one is cruelty free.
Calcium
Pure soy milk does not contain very much calcium. In general, 100 grams of soy milk contains 4 mg of calcium. More and more soy milk products, however, are being fortified with calcium. Cow’s milk does contain a fair amount of calcium, but because of the calcium to magnesium ratio the calcium is not well absorbed. Seaweeds and other land plants offer the best sources of bioavailable calcium.
Cancer
Research has demonstrated that men who drink two servings of soy milk every day are 70% less likely to develop prostate cancer. There are no similar findings regarding men who drink cow’s milk.
Soy Milk vs. Cow Milk will surely be debated for years to come. When it comes down to it, both milks provide vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, but only soy milk has been proven to actually improve the health of consumers.
-Mr. SoVeg
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