Alpro Almond Milk..... why do they do this? Any chemists have words of advice?

[goingholiday]

I stopped having cow's milk sometime ago and have been very happy using Alpro Almond milk instead. It contains Vitamins D2, E, B2 and B12 and calcium as shown in the photo. I noticed today that the packaging had changed and thought to myself "I wonder if anything else has?" So I checked.

Yes indeed there are other changes -

The calcium is now calcium carbonate. I did a google search and found that calcium carbonate is used to treat "conditions caused by too much stomach acid" so not too friendly for us Hashimoto folks.

The vitamins are now B12, D2 and E, I have no idea why the B2 has been left out.

Natural flavouring has been added and it's potassium iodide. A google search states that this compound is used to treat hyperthyroidism .... so again not too helpful for Hashimoto people.

My chemistry knowledge is limited, well actually it's zero, reliant on google (😁) but it seems to be this new alpo milk isn't very Hashimoto friendly. Or are the quantities of these altered ingredients in the milk too insignificant to matter much? Advice from the knowledgable appreciated.

[Bertwills]

Hi, we use Plenish almond milk. Nothing but seasalt added. Tastes fine we think.

[goingholiday in reply to Bertwills]

Thank you for your reply Bertwills. That sounds like a better option for me now. I will change brands.

[Fizzyinch]

Plenish brand only!

[goingholiday in reply to Fizzyinch]

Yes definitely ….. it’s nasty stuff in the Alpro !!

[Mostew]

Rude health is good too . I prefer the taste and it’s organic.

[goingholiday in reply to Mostew]

Thank you for your reply. Can’t think why I thought Alpro was so good now 🤦‍♀️ !!

[Humphre]

Hi I've just recently started a dairy free regime and use Oatly organic water, oats & sea salt. A bit watery but ok in tea. I tend to read every label to see what's in there as I've have food intolerances. Good luck.

[goingholiday in reply to Humphre]

Thank you for your suggestion Humphre.

I eat oats for breakfast so I wanted to avoid adding more oats to oats if you know what I mean. Always helpful to know of alternatives though.

[TiggerMe in reply to goingholiday]

According to Zoe Nutrition the Rude Health Ultimate Almond is head and shoulders above the rest with just Natural Spring Water, Organic Italian Almonds * (8%) 🤷‍♀️ must admit I don't care for it much but scores much higher than my preferred Tiger Nut Drink 😕

p.s. terrible in hot drinks though as it turns them into a snow globe 🫠

[goingholiday in reply to TiggerMe]

I’ll check this out, thank you Eeyore.

The Zoe crowd do seem to know what they are talking about. It’s no good if it tastes 🤢 though no matter how good it is for you !

[TiggerMe in reply to goingholiday]

Its just has a much higher content of almond, think the others add 3%? Darned expensive! Most of them are just whitened water really aren't they 🙄I just use water in my porridge, tiger nut in tea... I resent the cartons though so ought to jolly well get on and make my own again 😇

I do fortify the Tiger Nut with calcium citrate

I compromise and use half and half as I do like a warm mug of something milkish in the evening, I am trying to be good... honest 🙃

[goingholiday in reply to TiggerMe]

Hah! Yes being good can be expensive and time consuming😀

[Stills]

Hello, I’m undiagnosed but have a chronic AI condition of rheumatoid type and I’m reading here to learn. If I understand correctly Hashimoto disease causes less stomach acid production? My first symptom was extreme heartburn/indigestion right up to my eyes. Gastroscopy found nothing, taking Omeprazole and trying to eat according but it’s a nightmare and so much to discover but everything seems like a variable and I don’t know which way to turn. Your post indicates stomach issues with hashis, is that right?

[goingholiday in reply to Stills]

Hi Stills, I have issues with bloating. You are correct about Hashimoto causing low stomach acid hence my reason to avoid eating anything that will aggravate this.

[Stills in reply to goingholiday]

Thank you

[Hidden]

I am happy with 1% cow's milk! All the other so-called 'milks' are so processed, and for example, almond 'milk' has about 3% almonds only!! 🙄🤢

[Outandabout]

Apparently, oat milk has better sustainability for the environment as it does not need so many resources like water to extract the ingredients. Seems reasonable since soya and almond products have a huge negative impact.

[TiggerMe in reply to Outandabout]

It's a minefield isn't it... certainly worth going for organic oat milk to avoid the pre harvest spray off

[CoeliacMum1]

Definitely find a better brand away from emulsifiers etc

These milks are nothing more than water and bad ingredients.

Have you seen you can make far better yourself and there’s some machines out there now but a big expense if only for one person.

Along with nut milks be aware high carb/sugar content of oat milks also… my daughter piled on weight with oat milk.😵‍💫

[goingholiday in reply to CoeliacMum1]

Yes, I saw the no added sugar and added vitamins and thought fabulous…. chose to ignore the emulsifiers etc. Daft really, I’m usually an avid ingredient reader.

Crikey bad news for your daughter, hope she is back to regular weight now 😊

[CoeliacMum1 in reply to goingholiday]

Thankfully yes…she switched things thinking she would be better to drop dairy.

She has suffered long covid and had chronic fatigue and tried many things past couple of years…she is almost back to normal health… she has very stressful job as she’s psychologist in Forensic Services and hasn’t helped various situations.

As many are doing work of 3 people in NHS 🤦🏻‍♀️

[goingholiday in reply to CoeliacMum1]

Glad to hear things are improving. Its horrible to see your offspring unwell and struggling.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

A major issue with plant "milk" is that some people, probably many of us, start out assuming it has similar nutritional content to dairy milk. It doesn't.

One particular point that was picked up is that for a lot of the UK, milk represents a significant part of our iodine intake. For the general population, switching to a plant milk could dramatically lower iodine intake. Especially as we do not usually have iodised salt.

A similar, but not so extreme, issue occurred with organic dairy milk which had lower iodine than "normal" dairy milk. However that issue was addressed by changes to the feed, etc., of the cows and now, much organic dairy milk has at least as much iodine as non-organic dairy milk.

In the case of plant milk, the answer appeared to be adding in iodine - possibly as potassium iodide but maybe sometimes in other forms.

I suspect the intent is to fairly closely replicate the iodine content of diary milk.

And that, I think, is the story of iodine and plant milk in the UK.

But don't assume all plant milk has any iodine. You have to check both now and forever more. It could change in the next batch...

[goingholiday in reply to helvella]

Aah that makes more sense then. Thank you for the background info helvella. If Alpro hadn't changed their packaging I would be none the wiser. I do think they should put a heads up indicator on, along the lines of 'new ingredients' or similar. I will send an email suggesting such. In the meantime, I will be extra vigilant on all ingredient lists 🕵️‍♀️🔎

[wellness1 in reply to helvella]

Thanks for this background. For those of us on thyroid hormone replacement is the iodine content of milks importatnt?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to wellness1]

Yes and no.

If you switch from daily milk to one of these products, will end up doing one of two things:

Making no difference at all because it has the same iodine content and you are consuming the same amount. (For the products with dairy milk replacement levels of iodine.)

OR

Reducing your iodine intake proportional to the amount you consume. (For the products with no iodine.)

Both are going to be modest changes - for most of us.

And I wouldn't be concerned at all about modest consumption of iodine in plant milks.

But you have to look at what you consume in the context of your whole food intake.

[wellness1 in reply to helvella]

Cheers, that makes sense.

[Lynneypin]

I use both Sproud pea milk and Glebe Farm GF organic oat milk. It’s so hard getting everything right. Well impossible 🤷🏻‍♀️