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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that cows milk is so bad… yet tastes so good

204 replies

Escapefromhell · 23/04/2023 08:38

I need to give up dairy for my health (and the dairy industry is pretty vile when you look at it). All fine, except I have milk on coffee. Good coffee is one of the crucial things in life. AIBU to think with all the technological advances humanity has made, someone would have come up with a milk replacement that tastes good in coffee without adding a load of sugar. I know there are worse problems in the world.

AIBU to think that all cow milk replacements can only be described as ‘sadness water’?

OP posts:
Penguin34 · 23/04/2023 19:43

I absolutely love coconut milk in my coffee.
I have oat milk in my tea.
I only went off dairy brocade of my problems with lactose so went lacto free but soon went off that although I can't taste the difference with arla lacto free semi skimmed.
I just had elmlea 100% plant 'cream' on my strawberries and it was lovely

JackiePlace · 23/04/2023 19:44

It has to be single cream in coffee for me, every time! Lushness abounds.

Luredbyapomegranate · 23/04/2023 19:52

Is it a lactose issue?

If it is you can get organic lactose free milk, and maybe a full on higher welfare version if you look.

If not, then buy the most delicious coffee you can find and try and wean yourself to black. It’s going to be better than any imitation milk.

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:17

Oatly barista oat milk....I've been vegan for 6 years now. This milk is the only alternative for coffee. I'm a huge coffee fan and this oat milk is sensational in coffee!

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:20

MeinKraft · 23/04/2023 08:46

I'm not sure oat or almond milk is actually better for your health than cows milk? Cows milk has lots of vitamins.

Cows milk has a lot of cholesterol and also ironically is actually too acid for our bodies to digest, our bodies actually have to draw calcium from our bones in order to neutralise the acid. Hence the increase in osteoporosis. It also contains an insane amount of hormones and antibiotics that our bodies really struggle with, it's causing many children to go into premature puberty and antibiotic resistance is a real issue too!

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:23

cupofdecaf · 23/04/2023 08:51

I looked at changing from cows milk. However most are really high in either sugar or starch (which is practically sugar).
Also when I looked at the environmental impact I couldn't find one I was happy with. Almond and soya seem especially bad for the environment.
I try to stick to British milk and milk products because of the higher welfare standards and less food miles.

The environmental impact of dairy farming is unfortunately a hell of a lot more than plant based milks. Cows eat and drink a lot in order to produce milk. They also produce a lot of waste which is very impactful

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:26

@ShowOfHands

There's a really long and interesting history of how and why we drink cows milk, starting with us not being able to drink it but evolving and developing so that we can. Have a Google. It's really fascinating.
So ultimately we shouldn't drink it.

bluewanda · 23/04/2023 21:27

Wanderingowl · 23/04/2023 10:48

Why do you need to stop drinking cow's milk for your health? Do you specifically have an issue with lactose or another component of cow's milk? If not whole milk is far, far healthier than any of the plant based substitutes. The latter of which are ultra processed foods and people can drink them if they like them but they might as well have a McFlurry for all that they are doing for their health. Milk is a nutrient dense whole food, complete with branch chain amino acids that mean your body can actually absorb the nutrients.

As for the dairy industry, in the UK, it's about as good as it gets and fuck all like the utter propaganda we're getting from the industrial scale processed food companies who produce the significantly more profitable UPFs like oat/soya/almond drinks. The same goes for the environmental impact. Because what's really happening here is that production of those UPFs is very, very cheap compared to pasture farming and the profit margins are very significant. Just like sugar, margarine and even cigarettes were all once promoted as healthy choices, the same is happening with these UPFs now. Milk is a healthy choice for those of us with lactase tolerance. And not drinking any milk or 'milk' is the healthiest choice for the rest of us.

100% this!

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:31

Sounds like a pretty ignorant statement if you ask me.
People drinking plant based milks are making as much of an impact environmentally as someone who drinks dairy. That is pretty factual. It's very clear how much of an impact dairy farming has on the environment.

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:31

MeinKraft · 23/04/2023 09:35

'Ugh and dairy is full of IgF1 now linked to cancer and diabetes.'

Haven't heard about that, but every plant we eat is liberally doused in pesticides and fertiliser which I'm sure isn't wonderful for health either.

So are the plants that the animals eat that then gets filtered into their milk!

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:34

WithyouFromDuskTilDawn · 23/04/2023 10:04

I drink oat milk. Dairy cows have a shit life and I don’t feel people should have the right to subject them to that life just because they want their milk.

Absolutely right 👏🏻

Cel77 · 23/04/2023 21:34

Milk makes me want to gag. Has since I was 10. No dairy allergies. I can't stand the stuff. For me, a good coffee has to be black. Without sugar. That's the purest way to enjoy it. However, I'm open minded and can emphasise with people who like it 😂. Good luck in giving it up.

ElmTree22 · 23/04/2023 21:37

KimberleyClark · 23/04/2023 10:32

The problem with milk substitutes is that they’re highly processed (take a look at the list of ingredients) and they are much lower in actual nutrients than cow’s milk.

They also contain less hormones and antibiotics.
Most plant milks are fortified and contain the same amount of calcium as milk. If you eat a well balanced diet you shouldn't need it from milk, in fact humans shouldn't NEED any milk after infancy.

Soapnutty · 23/04/2023 21:39

I now prefer oat milk in coffee and tea.

gogohmm · 23/04/2023 21:42

Learn to drink them without milk, they taste so much better once you are used to it. I don't like the taste of milk at all

StepAwayFromTheBiscuitJar · 23/04/2023 21:43

Every time I've googled about the pus/hormones it comes up that it's a myth. That pus is usually from cows with mastitis and in the UK these sick cows wouldn't be used. Apparently trace amounts of hormones are present but far less than our body make naturally. But maybe it's different overseas.

The thought of recycled water seems grimmer to me considering what people wash down their plugholes. Recycled up to 7x in London apparently.

mrsfennel · 23/04/2023 22:07

@User1794537 I wish my sainsburys did the Duchy milk. Is homogenised the same as pasteurised ?

BertieBotts · 23/04/2023 22:21

YY the pus/antibiotic/hormones thing might be true in America but it isn't allowed here.

I'm pretty sure the idea that cow's milk is causing earlier onset of puberty is just a theory - it's happening worldwide and not all cultures drink dairy, plus, as mentioned, the "extra hormones" thing is only happening in countries with poor regulation.

But, I do think the dairy industry (and all meat industry really) is cruel and if I was more disciplined then I'd probably be vegan for that reason, but at the moment it's just not something I have spare brain space for.

KarmaStar · 23/04/2023 22:40

Will you still enjoy it knowing a baby calf is taken away from his mum so you can enjoy your coffee?

StepAwayFromTheBiscuitJar · 23/04/2023 23:14

KarmaStar · 23/04/2023 22:40

Will you still enjoy it knowing a baby calf is taken away from his mum so you can enjoy your coffee?

Well, it doesn't change the taste tbh.

I don't like the industry but I do like the taste. How do you feel every time you get behind the wheel of a car?

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 23/04/2023 23:22

KarmaStar · 23/04/2023 22:40

Will you still enjoy it knowing a baby calf is taken away from his mum so you can enjoy your coffee?

Yeh that's not Gona cut it. We love milk.

JackiePlace · 23/04/2023 23:30

mrsfennel · 23/04/2023 22:07

@User1794537 I wish my sainsburys did the Duchy milk. Is homogenised the same as pasteurised ?

No. homogenised is a process used to disperse the fat particles evenly throughout the milk (so the cream does not rise to the top) and pasteurization is some kind of process to kill bacteria. If I remember it correctly.

JackiePlace · 23/04/2023 23:31

KarmaStar · 23/04/2023 22:40

Will you still enjoy it knowing a baby calf is taken away from his mum so you can enjoy your coffee?

He won't miss her for long…

nocoolnamesleft · 23/04/2023 23:36

My problem is that all the alternatives taste vile in tea. I use nut milk or oat milk for cereal, porridge, and hot chocolate (I don't drink coffee), but pretty much stuck with dairy milk for tea.

Tg2023 · 24/04/2023 00:13

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 23/04/2023 10:19

Where are all the actual milk drinkers? Because people must buy it for the huge amounts we see in the supermarkets.

I'm one family that consumes a lot of milk but I always find MN the twilight zone absent for things totally normal in "the real world".

Here 👋🏼
I drink full fat dairy milk everyday 😁

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