10 Benefits of Almond Milk
There are a lot of reasons why you might not want to be drinking regular milk. Aside from ethical concerns, like those faced by many vegans and vegetarians, some researchers have begun to prove that there are a number of health concerns that can arise from the consumption of cow’s milk—regardless of whether or not you’re lactose intolerant. Lactose has been shown to cause an increase in the amount of mucus that the body produces. This can cause a number of health problems on its own. Lactose has also been known to contribute to digestive problems like gas and diarrhea.
Almond milk is a great alternative to regular milk and it can contribute to a number of impressive health benefits. It has been shown to help enhance the health of the heart and can be considered a viable option for replacing milk for people who are hoping to lose weight. There are lots of health benefits associated with drinking almond milk, but there are some things to be aware of. First off, almond milk doesn’t provide you with as much calcium as regular cow’s milk. However, it still contains a significant amount of calcium and can be important for anyone hoping to maintain their calcium levels—just remember that you’ll have to drink slightly more. Furthermore, almond milk doesn’t contain as much protein as regular milk. If you’re switching to veganism or becoming a vegetarian you might want to look into other protein sources because almond milk won’t be a very appropriate replacement for protein.
That said, there are still a number of important benefits that can be had from drinking almond milk. These are some of the best things that can happen if you consume almond milk on a regular basis.
Benefit #1: Enhances Heart Health
Almond milk is also able to help support the health of your heart. In addition to providing the body with a number of nutrients that support the heart, such as magnesium, almond milk provides a much more heart-healthy alternative to regular milk.
Almond milk also contains a number of healthy, omega-3 fatty acids. These are the same sort of fatty acids that are found in fish, which are also known to help enhance the health of the heart and manage blood pressure.
Benefit #2: Enhances Bone Health
Almond milk might not provide you with the same amount of calcium that you’d get from cow’s milk. However, it still provides a significant source, with a single cup providing about 30% of your daily recommended intake for calcium.
Almond milk also provides us with about 25% of our daily need of vitamin D. This nutrient helps to prevent the emergence of arthritis and other bone and joint-related illnesses. Without enough vitamin D, your body will have a hard time absorbing or making use of calcium.
Benefit #3: Enhances Skin Health
Almond milk is also known to help enhance the health and vitality of your skin. Almonds, as well as other tree nuts, are rich in vitamin E, a powerful fat-soluble nutrient that is highly involved in maintaining the health of our skin.
Vitamin E works as an antioxidant and also helps the body process collagen. Collagen is the most important protein involved in the maintenance of our skin, and consuming vitamin E can help protect your skin from the sun and from cancer.
Benefit #4: Helps with Weight Loss
Almond milk can be a useful part of anyone’s diet if they are hoping to lose weight. While almond milk certainly contains a number of nutrients that are useful for helping to improve metabolism so that the body can burn calories more easily, this isn’t the main reason that it’s useful for helping people manage weight.
The main reason that almond milk is so useful for this reason is because it has far fewer calories than regular milk. A cup of almond milk only contains 60 calories, whereas regular whole milk has 146 calories and 2% milk contains 102 calories.
Benefit #5: Helps Manage Blood Sugar
One of the best ways to help improve blood sugar levels, especially for someone with diabetes, is to replace all the sugary drinks in your diet. Drinks like soda pop and fruit juice are very high in sugar and can cause huge blood sugar spikes, leading to problems.
Almond milk is very low in carbohydrates and doesn’t have a huge impact on your blood sugar. The energy provided by almond milk will be used properly by the body without storing it as fat.
Benefit #6: Enhances Strength
There are a number of ways that almond milk can be useful for improving muscle strength. It’s not because it’s high in protein—almond milk is actually relatively low in protein with only a gram of protein per serving—but it contains a number of nutrients involved in the growth and maintenance of muscles.
Almond milk is usually fortified with B vitamins, which are important for energy metabolism. It also contains iron and riboflavin, two nutrients that are involved in the maintenance of muscles.
Benefit #7: Enhances Digestion
Almond milk contains more fiber than regular milk and, for this reason, can be more useful for improving digestion.
Fiber is important for a number of digestive functions—it helps to clear the body of bile and toxic waste products and helps to improve nutrient absorption.
Benefit #8: Enhances Kidney Health
This is an interesting benefit because it’s associated not with what almond milk provides, but what it doesn’t provide. Research has indicated that having too much potassium and calcium can actually be destructive to the kidneys because these nutrients are hard to process.
Almond milk doesn’t contain excessive amounts of these nutrients and is thus much easier for your kidneys to process. People struggling with kidney disease may want to consider drinking almond milk instead of regular milk.
Benefit #9: Enhances Vision
You’ve probably heard about how carrots are good for enhancing eyesight. This is because they contain vitamin A, a nutrient that’s important for helping to maintain the health of your eyes.
Getting a lot of vitamin A can be important for helping to slow the process of age-related vision loss.
Benefit #10: Enhances Immunity
Almond milk contains a number of nutrients that are important for maintaining the overall health of the body by boosting immunity.
The immune system is important for helping to protect us from viruses, bacteria, and other forms of infection.
