06/25/2024
They tricked you in the almond milk aisle...
Arguably the most popular alternative to traditional dairy, almond milk is not without its warts.
Like many other things in food industry, many companies can't seem to pull away from the typical tricks and ingredients that put profit before compassion for those consuming their product.
So here's what they do...
First of all, they pull a very popular stunt that is very prevalent in the food industry, and that is reduce the size of the product or amount of the main ingredients in the product, and charge the same or even a higher price. In the case of almond milk, it was revealed some years ago that the standard practice was to use a 2% ration of almonds, meaning, only 2% of the final product, almond milk, was actually almonds.
As a comparison, in my homemade sprouted almond milk, the ration is 25% to make a nicely flavoured and creamy almond milk.
So what else is in it then?
Mostly water, which is the main ingredient in any almond milk, but how well is the water filtered, if at all? That's a question with serious consequences.
Finally, to make up for the natural thickness of a properly made almond milk, they introduce thickeners like carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum, and the like. These ingredients can be hard on digestion, and add zero nutrient value to the final product.
So what you end up with is a highly bastardized version of almond milk, which is heavily watered down, then thickened up to trick you into thinking it's creamy, and many are none the wiser. It's sort of like stripping the vitamins and minerals out of the flour used to make bread, then adding in a few synthetic ingredients after, and calling it "enriched flour" (another trick by the food industry).
So in the end, you're paying for thickened water, with 5 almonds tossed in, and often some synthetic vitamins. If you ever did a taste challenge between a homemade almond milk (like mine), and the typical store bought, you'd immediately know you've been hoodwinked and you can never buy the typical almond milk from the store again.
This is but one example of how knowing how to read ingredients and understanding how to make better choices, makes the difference between winning and losing in your health.
Make you own almond milk, with this recipe: https://healingthebody.ca/almond-milk-recipe/
