The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as,

nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.

I am Karen Nichol, family nurse practitioner, and you are listening to itchy and bitchy,

a podcast that provides answers to your many unanswered health questions.

I am one of those people who stopped drinking cow's milk a while ago.

I only had mild GI upset when drinking milk, but I figured I didn't need the inflammation in my

body. It was apparently causing. So I started drinking almond milk using it in my coffee and

when on occasion I eat cereal. Because at the time I also ate almonds on a regular basis,

I started having some signs that I was building an intolerance to almonds. Every time I ate almonds,

I would cough while I was eating them. Not a good sign. So I changed over to oat milk,

and that is what I've been using for at least a year. Many people are choosing milk alternatives

for a number of reasons, including their concern for the environment, issues with lactose intolerance,

or their preference for the taste or flavor of non-milk alternatives. Honestly, I really didn't have

a specific rationale for which plant-based milk I was using, and I thought, well, maybe my listeners

are doing the same thing, wanting to move away from dairy milk to a plant-based milk, but have no

rhyme or reason for which product to choose. Unfortunately, if you are choosing based on the

nutritional value of the product, the nutritional information provided on the packaging of these

products is limited. On the package you will see information on total fat, carbohydrates, protein,

calcium, iron, and sometimes vitamin D, E, or A. Information provided varies from brand to brand.

For instance, the nutritional information on blue diamond brand almond milk also includes

the levels of phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, potassium, as well as vitamin C and

vitamin B12. But the level of this detail is pretty unusual in products, because the FDA doesn't

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