I’ve never really understood oat milk’s appeal. Milk from a cow or a nut makes sense to me. But oats? I want to eat oats, not drink its leftover bath water.
Despite my personal qualms, oat milk exploded when the Swedish brand, Oatly, entered the U.S. market in 2016. Deemed a sustainable, dairy-free alternative with a consistency like cow’s milk, oat milk has found its way into nearly every grocery store and coffee shop. And despite an Oatly boycott in 2020, oat milk is still the second most popular plant-based milk, behind almond milk, according to AgFunder News. Between 2018 and 2019, oat milk sales grew by 700 percent.
Now there are several alternative-milk brands churning out oat milk, but Oatly remains the most notable and also produces oat-based ice cream and cream cheese. Oatmeal might not be the hot health food it once was, but oat derivatives? Sold.
But that could be changing.
While oat milk has had its share of haters over the years, the criticism has reached an all-time high. It's become the villain of the plant-based milk world. Vogue recently published a hit piece called "Goodbye Oat Milk," and people have slammed the drink as “starch juice." Its ingredients have once again been brought into question, including Oatly's addition of rapeseed oil. Critics warn that it will raise your blood sugar. Many people have turned their backs on oat milk, saying they've been duped into thinking it was a wellness ingredient.
I had to get to the bottom of this so-called "sugar water" that claims to be a healthy alternative. A 2021 article in Outside chalked it up to marketing: "Oatly markets itself as a super nutritious and game-changing beverage, when actually it’s just another drink."
As for what's in it, the nutritional value of plant-based milks varies based on what they’re made from. But unlike cow’s milk, they lack essential amino acids and are considered an incomplete protein, according to Rosemary Trout, program director of culinary arts and food science at Drexel University. While oat milk has a small amount of healthy beta-glucans, she said there are some health concerns to think about. This includes the ways it's processed, its sugar content, and additives like dicalcium phosphate and plant oils. Some oat milk, like Oatly, has rapeseed oil, a type of vegetable oil.
So where does all the sugar come from? Oat milk is made by soaking oats in water, blending, and straining the liquid. The sugar is created as a result of the production process. Below the nutrition label on many cartons, there’s a statement about sugars being produced in the making of oat milk. The production of oat milk creates sugars called maltose, which Trout says are a result of the enzymatic process that breaks larger starch molecules into smaller units.
One cup of Oatly's Original Oatmilk contains 7 grams of sugar, compared to 12 grams in whole cow's milk. So why all of the fuss over oat milk's sugar? For those who critique oat milk, it's more about the type of sugar.
Glucose is at the base of simple and complex carbohydrates. It’s also what all carbohydrates you eat are broken down into during digestion. There are a variety of carbohydrates ranging from small simple sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose, to more complex starches and fibers made up of smaller units of glucose.
You’ve probably heard of the glycemic index, which rates carbohydrates on how they impact your blood sugar, from zero to 100. Rolled oats have a GI of about 55. Once broken down into oat milk, it produces maltose, which has a very high GI of over 100.
Recent discourse has blasted oat milk for its potential ability to spike one’s blood sugar. While Trout said maltose has a very high glycemic index, she said glycemic load is more useful because it takes into account the serving size of the food.
“If you’re consuming oat milk in a smoothie with other nutrient dense ingredients, or add a splash to your coffee, the glycemic load is likely lower, so you won’t see a blood glucose spike,” she said.
Just like a glass of orange juice or croissant, how oat milk is consumed determines its effect on your blood sugar.
“The type of carbohydrates and the way they are arranged in a food system has a big impact on digestion and metabolism,” she said. “If sugars are eaten with fiber, fats and proteins, these larger molecules tend to slow down carbohydrate metabolism, and you won’t get a fast spike of glucose in your blood.”
If can’t live without your daily oat milk latte, but want to avoid the blood sugar spike, just make sure to eat something with a bit of protein and fat. While I’ll be sticking to my regular cappuccino with cow’s milk, as with anything, moderation is key.
So is this the end for oat milk? Unlikely. Back in 2020, people thought almond milk was on its way out due to the environmental impact of growing almonds. And almond milk currently ranks as the number one plant-based milk. But perhaps with all these alt-milk backlashes, dairy milk will eventually make a comeback. Got (actual) milk?
