Question:
Are soy beverages as nutritious as cow’s milk?
Answer:
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend milk, cheese or yogurt as the preferred source of dietary calcium. The Guidelines also note that dairy foods supply three of the five nutrients low in children’s diets and four out of seven nutrients low in adults’ diets. Milk is naturally an excellent source of calcium and either an excellent or good source of eight other essential nutrients. Unless they are fortified, soy and rice beverages are low in several nutrients abundant in cow’s milk, including calcium, zinc, riboflavin, and vitamins D, B12, and A. Even when these beverages are calcium-fortified, a recent study found that the calcium actually available can be as much as 85 percent lower than the amount listed on the label. It also found that calcium can settle out of soy and rice beverages, forming a “calcium sludge” at the bottom of the carton that does not always get consumed with the beverage. The bottom line, for the calcium and other nutrients you need, get at least 3-A-Day™ of Dairy, including milk!
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