For anyone who experiences negative reactions towards animal milks (IgE allergy, IgG allergy, or lactose intolerance), it is logical to substitute one of a number of plant milks: see the detailed list on my website www.gmouton.com (click “lists” then listes in French; free download of the folder called “liste laits”).
One must realize that cow’s milk contains plenty of protein (more than human milk, in fact) and that its replacement by plant milk can imbalance a meal. The sacrosanct breakfast of cereal with rice milk is equal to consuming carbohydrates with…carbohydrates!
There is nothing more drastic to create a peak in blood sugar levels that will then generate a precipitous fall in less than two hours, hence a sugar craving for the whole day. Many cereals today are often coated with sugar (read the contents: up to a third of pure sugar is not unusual) and the rice milk itself contains loads of sugar as is indicated on the carton. Sugars are liberated during the milling of rice in the production of the milk, and this is true of all milks derived from cereals: oat milk, spelt milk, millet milk, corn milk…
Milk manufactured from oleaginous plants (nut families) will have a tendency to be less sweet: almond milk, hazelnut milk, walnut milk, chestnut milk… But in this case you need to be careful of the addition of sweeteners such as apple juice, corn syrup or the abominable agave elixir (this is pure crystallized fructose: 90% of these products are man-made) that distort the calculation! Once more, be vigilant about reading labels.
Legume milks are considered intermediaries because they contain proteins and carbohydrates at the same time: soya or pea milk. The contents of soya milk must be carefully examined. One can easily find some versions with no added sugar that contain only 2 grams of sugars per liter, while “standard” versions may contain 30 grams and the popular vanilla or chocolate flavored ones often provide as much as 100 grams of fast releasing sugars per liter!
Furthermore, non-fermented soya doesn’t constitute a food with a long history of consumption by the human race, unlike beneficial fermented products such as miso, natto (very rich in vitamin K) and soya sauce. Contrary to what you might be lead to believe, tofu (soya cheese) and yoghurt manufactured from soya milk do not ferment the soya beans. Therefore they don’t escape criticism, although the danger of soya should not be over-exaggerated, as some of the flagrant propaganda would like us to believe (perhaps coming from the dairy industry…?)
In short, we find ourselves rather depleted as far as plant milks are concerned…. The best solution is to find an almond milk or a coconut milk without added sugar; to make them ourselves if we have some spare time, to live in Spain and to enjoy the fabulous “horchata de chufa” (which is a milk made from tiger nuts, popular in the Valencia region). Even better, make your own kefir daily in your kitchen!
It is simple: buy some kefir grains that procure this wonderful harmonious community of bacteria and yeasts, which will balance your intestinal flora; add plant milk or coco water, plus a little brown sugar cane (that will disappear in the fermentation process: it will not taste sweet!) and wait 24 to 36 hours…