Why Oat Milk Might Not Be As "Healthy" As We Thought (...And What To Drink Instead)

Okay, you guys, today is gonna be a *hot take* —

I may break some of your latte-lovin’ hearts, you miiiiight not want to hear this #OblivionIsBliss…

But this post outlines why I don't think oat milk is the healthy milk alternative it’s cracked up to be. 

And before we jump in, I want to quickly mention that nothing I say is ever a “rule.”

As you know, with all things health I believe in nuance! The grey-area! Bio-individuality! Everyone is different.

So, If you love oat milk and it feels good for your body, please keep drinking it! Like, for real. There are some benefits to it. (It’s creamy! It’s delicious! It’s nut-free! There is some fiber!)

I truly never want to share health information in a way that feels too intense or overly strict or fear mongering. This is just information, and then *you* can choose what to do with it.

Cool? Cool.

The reason I wanted to dig into this is because I do think oat milk is one of those things that the diet industry and wellness influencers and the health world has convinced us is ~soooooooo healthy~

…when in reality there might be better options.

Again, if it works for you? You do you! These are just some thoughts on why oat milk might not be the amazing health option it’s hyped up to be. Let’s jump in.

REASON # 1: The Dreaded Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

Blood sugar instability is something I chat about a lot here, but it is something especially relevant when it comes to oat milk.

While we may forget about this when it’s in liquid form, oats are a grain. They are a carb just like pasta, just like chips, just like fruit…they are a carbohydrate. So even though we’re drinking them in milk form, that's basically like carb soup (??? stay with me), which, of course, is going to raise our blood sugar. 

Why does this matter?

Chances are you’ve heard about blood sugar…. but you may not know exactly what it means and how it affects you. You’re not alone!

While blood sugar is more crucial for some people to focus on (diabetics, pre-diabetics, etc.), blood sugar impacts us ALL on many aspects of our everyday life and health. Some signs of dysregulated blood sugar can include:

• irritability, brain fog, mood swings, etc. (ever feel “hangry” when you go too long without eating? yup. that’s blood sugar.),

• it impacts our energy (the infamous “afternoon slump?”. yup. that also can be your blood sugar talking.),

• it impacts the foods we crave (ever have that “I need a dessert now” kind of feeling???),

• it can impact how we store fat and if we have difficulty managing a healthy weight,

• it can impact how well (orrrrrrr how poorly) we sleep,

• it can impact our hormones, menstrual cycles, PCOS diagnoses, etc.

• …. basically, your glucose levels can impact A LOT.

So— back to the point— oat milk raises our blood glucose levels since it essentially just a plain carb.

How is this different than other options? Most other milks have significantly less carbohydrates per servings (and often more protein and fat) in them which, subsequently, does not jump our blood sugar as much. The extra macronutrients slooooow the absorption of the minimal carbs that they contain, and raises our blood sugar more slowly and steadily. While oat milk raises our blood sugar really quickly as it’s essentially just a carb on its own without other substantial sources of macronutrients with it. 

On a small scale, not a big deal! Our bodies are MEANT to adapt to different blood glucose levels ◡̈ However, sustained dysregulated blood sugar can result in cravings, anxiety, shakiness, disruption of our sleep, disruption of our hormones, etc., so I try to look for milks that have a better balance of protein and fats to help slowwwwww the blood sugar roll and keep me truly satisfied. 

REASON #2: What Happens on the Journey from Farm to Fridge

The next thing to consider is that since oats are a crop — and a monocrop at that — they are often sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, one of those being glyphosate.

Glyphosate is something you may or may not be familiar with, but it’s basically Roundup (aka the thing that is linked to cancers, gastrointestinal issues, neurological concerns, and autoimmune flare ups…. yikes). And the fact that our crops are sprayed with this in our country is wild; glyphosate is banned in the EU as of 2022, but we still are using it here in the US of A. 

In fact, an analysis by the CDC showed that 80% of adults and 87% of children tested had the toxic herbicide detectable in their urine.

One of the main forms of exposure to glyphosate is through ingestion of food and beverages that have ingredients that were sprayed by it.

A lot of grains are often sprayed with this, oats included. In a recent sample from 2018, 30 out of 45 oats examined had detectable levels of glyphosate. And oats just like that are being used to make your oat milk. No thank you.

The good news? Awareness about glyphosate is spreading and thankfully its use is trending down. So, while the exposure to it on your oats IS improving, and organic options are a great option— it’s still out there in conventional oats and it’s good to be aware that you likely are being exposed to pesticides in your oat milk latte.

REASON #3: The *Process* of Getting Milk from Oats

Think of oats in their natural state. Now think of a milk. 

….They’re about as different as you can get, right?

So to get from Point A to Point B the oats need to be highly, highly processed. In order to do that, there are so many additives, fillers, and enzymes needed to break them down in order for them to become a liquid form.

And when these enzymes get added, the oats are almost essentially broken down for us because the oat starch is all broken up in the production process. That means — you guessed it — it just raises our blood sugar even more quickly because it is able to enter our bloodstream super quickly because it’s basically already broken down.

In addition to this, many oat milks contain industrial seed oils (soybean oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, safflower seed oil, etc.)., which is something I generally recommend avoiding.

While these oils definitely aren’t the source of ALL evil and you don’t need to be overly “scared” of them (like a lot of people in the holistic health field like to fear monger), they are correlated with inflammation, free radical production, etc. so I do try to avoid them when I am able!

Again, never striving for “perfection” with my eating, but moreso an awareness about what feels best for my body.

REASON #4: Still Hungry? This is Probably Why

Lastly, the main reason I don’t recommend this for people is that it’s just not as filling, it's not as satisfying!

I recently had a health coaching client who was talking about how she had a latte in the morning but she was SO HUNGRY after. 

And I never really like to assume, but I couldn’t resist… I said, “Lemme guess. You’re having your latte with oat milk.”

And she was like “How did you know????” 

And it’s because, like I said, oat milk doesn’t have much protein or fat to it so it just kind of… goes through us.  It’s quickly absorbed, digested, our blood sugar rises, and then we’re done with it.

In simple terms, there’s not much nutritional OOMF, if you will. So you find yourself hungry and jittery and craving a snack 45 minutes later because your blood sugar is running the show.

Whereas an almond milk or a high quality cow milk are much more comprehensive. They’re more filling because they have more protein, more fat, etc. Other milks can help with truly NOURISHING ourselves and feeling satisfied, which can really slow cravings all day, which keeps us feeling more steady and more nourished.

I’ll never forget right after I recommended that change, my client switched to a more filling milk (she chose almond milk because she's sensitive to dairy.)

After just a few days, she almost immediately felt so much more full, more steady, less jittery just from switching the milk in her coffee.

She was a little sad about it because she loved the taste of oat milk (which I totally get — it is delicious!) but just with the way she felt she was like this is a game changer and was so happy with the switch.

So, Kate, what type of milk SHOULD I drink?!

The hard truth: there’s no perfect milk. This is what I’ve realized over and over again.

Almond milk is really bad for the environment because they require so much water, , some people are sensitive to the dairy of cow milk, factory farms are terrible for cows *and* the environment (although regenerative dairy farms are a MUCH better option and the future of agriculture, in my opinion!), coconut milk has a really distinct taste that some people don’t like, cashew milk can be hard to find on the store shelves…

There’s never going to be a perfect milk for everyone.

So again, if you like oat milk, more power to you! 

If you are going to continue drinking oat milk,
1) Enjoy! It’s delicious, and
2) Just optimize how you can! There are some great oat milk brands that are organic, without a lot of industrial seed oils, gums, fillers, etc. Or you can just make your own! Just do your best ◡̈ Health and eating are never meant to be perfect, it's just doing the best with the info you have.

I firmly believe you can have your oat milk and drink it too, *wink*

The type of milk I personally drink:

I think it’s funny because as a *wellness influencers*, people always assume I drink some super fancy, organic, exotic cashew nut milk option or something.

But I actually just drink organic whole milk. Yes. Like, from a cow. (You’d be amazed at the shocked DMs I receive when I share that is my milk of choice, ha!) 

I LOVE organic whole milk (bonus points if it’s from a regenerative farm!). It’s filling. It’s delicious. It’s creamy. It has simple ingredients. Yum, yum, yum.

Whereas, skim milk and low-fat milks can be highly processed, have sugar added (to make up for the fat that was removed), etc., and have even been correlated with weight gain compared to whole fat dairy, like was found in this study.

(Of course, there are people that break down fats differently, have a complex cardiac history, elevated cholesterol levels, etc., and may need to be more mindful of their fat consumption, but for me, whole milk it is!)

I *personally* do really well with dairy, but I know a lot of people don’t— so, my fav non-dairy options are an almond milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk without a lot of fillers, gums, or industrial seed oils.

A general rule of thumb for ANY type of milk you drink— the more simple the ingredients, the better ◡̈

So this is just my roundup (no pesticide pun intended) on why I personally don’t drink oat milk, and some options to consider instead that will keep you fuller for longer. 

Cheers, friends!