Milk or Silk® (or So Good)?

I know there are folk who get emotional about dairy, but what is the best to drink—milk or Silk^®?

When you say “Silk^®,” you are referring to a product available in U.S. supermarkets, but also available is a product called So Good^®. The latter is manufactured by Sanitarium Foods, our Adventist food company in Australia. And as its name suggests—it is so good! Besides Australia, it is available in other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada.

We spoke with the CEO of Sanitarium Health Food Company, and he told us that the company spends 11 cents per liter to fortify their product with calcium, Vitamin B₁₂, and Vitamin D. Soy products of this quality truly are dairy “alternatives,” and we can unequivocally recommend them.

We are not convinced, however, that we should denigrate regular dairy, if it is a low-fat product. Such talk is founded on very shaky science and could result in valuable nutrition being unavailable to many who need it in other parts of the world.

Homemade soy milk is seldom an adequate substitute for low-fat dairy, being deficient in the three nutrients that cost 11 cents a liter to Sanitarium Health Food Company. Cows’ milk, to be safe, must be pasteurized or boiled, and removing the cream makes it much more healthful. The fat content of commercial soy milk may be somewhere between 3 and 4 percent, but it usually is a good vegetable oil.

So what is best to drink? Silk^® is a good dairy equivalent, but we vote for So Good^®, and it never hurts to support home industry. But if you live where these fortified soy milks are not available, don’t be afraid to take two glasses of low-fat dairy milk. It will ensure you get your Vitamin B₁₂ requirement—an important consideration if you are vegetarian.

 

Allan R. Handysides, M.B., Ch.B., F.R.C.P. (c), is director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department; Peter N. Landless, M.B., B.Ch., M.Med., F.C.P.(SA), F.A.C.C., is ICPA executive director and associate director of Health Ministries.

Fairly regularly, I get an enquiry related to Adventist consumption of milk and/or dairy products. I think this eloquent response from Drs Handysides and Landless from the General Conference (Seventh-day Adventist Church) provides a balanced response to this type of question.