Soy milk has exploded in popularity in recent years, serving as an animal product-free alternative to cow's and other forms of milk. Soy milk can be found in most grocery stores, and there has been debate over the years as to which form of milk is healthiest. While your own dietary preferences may narrow your options, understanding the difference in nutrients may help you make a well-informed decision.
Source
Soy milk is derived from soybeans. Soy is widely used in a number of different vegetarian products, such as veggie burgers and tofu. Soy is a cheap product, making it easy to process into other types of food. Milk sold in grocery stores tends to be cow's milk. You can also find milk from non-cow sources, such as goat's milk, but this form of milk is much rarer and more expensive.
Calcium Contents
Calcium is one of the major nutrients in milk. It is found naturally in cow's milk in high amounts -- about 300 mg per every 8 oz. -- but soy only contains about 10 mg per glass. Soy milk distributors counter this by fortifying the milk with calcium to match cow's milk, but according researchers at Creighton University, the calcium in soy milk is not absorbed as easily as that found in cow's milk. In fact, the absorption rate of calcium in cow's milk is about 25 percent better than soy milk, meaning you will have to drink more soy to get the same nutritional value.
Other Differences
Most soy milk sold in grocery stores is infused with sugars to enhance the taste and attract consumers. But this has drastically hurt the nutritional value of the milk in contrast to cow's milk, which does not normally feature added sugar. Cow's milk also has more useful proteins, although other forms of milk, such as goat and almond, have proteins that rival or surpass those found in cow's milk in terms of how easily your body digests them.
Treatments
One advantage soy milk has over cow's milk is the lack of treatments -- cow's milk sold in stores goes through homogenization and pasteurization processes to sterilize the milk and kill live bacteria. This extends the milk's shelf life, but it also greatly reduces its nutritional value. Raw cow's milk is harder to find, but it contains live cultures of bacteria that improve digestion as well as the milk's nutritional value.
Considerations
According to DrSpock.com, soy milk is a suitable substitute for cow's milk, although doctors still recommend a child be fed breast milk until he reaches one year of age. NaturalNews.com also reports that the high demand for soy products has led to the demolition of tropical rainforest to make space for new soybean fields. Environmentally-conscious individuals may oppose using soy products to discourage and protest the destruction of these lands.
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