Recently the vegan and plant based diet has become the buzz among the health and environmental conscious people. People are now adopting zero animal derived products from the foods to clothing to cosmetics.
People are now turning to plant-based alternatives for everything in which milk is the most common.
To find the best alternative for milk, people are using nut milk or soy milk however, those who are nut and soy intolerance, they are consuming oat milk.
Studies show that Oat milk is a good alternative for people with allergies or nut & soy intolerances. Oat milk is plant based, naturally derived, nutrient rich and lactose-free if made from gluten-free oats.
Moreover, oat milk is superbly delicious, recipes versatile and contain lots of health benefits such as keeping bone and heart health perfect.
This post is based on what is oat milk, nutritional value, health benefits, and how to make Oat Milk at home with simple easy steps.
What Is Oat Milk?
Oat milk is a vegan friendly plant based animal milk substitute, which is dairy-free and contains lots of health benefits.
Oat milk is made by soaking rolled oats for a few hours and blending with plenty of water and straining them using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to strain milk from the oats.
Oat milk is not healthy and nutritious as whole oat meals. However, it is enriched with the essential nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin D, and potassium.
Oat milk is unique and free from any allergic content that makes it is acceptable by the allergen than any other types of dairy and non-dairy milk. Moreover, oat milk contains beta-glucans which is a soluble fiber that delivers many heart health benefits.
Nutritional Value Of Oat Milk
Oat milk is an amazing source of so many essential minerals and vitamins along with good amounts of fiber.
240 ml or one cup of fortified and unsweetened oat milk contains approximately about
120 Calories, 3 grams of Protein, 5 grams of Fat, 2 grams of Dietary Fiber, 16 grams of Carbs, 46% DV of Riboflavin, 50% DV of Vitamin B12, 22% DV of Phosphorus, 27% DV of Calcium, 18% DV of Vitamin D, 18% DV of Vitamin A, 2% DV of Iron, and 6% DV of Potassium.
As oat milk is obtained by straining the oats, it contains less amounts of lots of essential nutrients that one would easily get by consuming a bowl of oatmeal. Due to this reason, oat milk is often enriched with such nutrients.
Most of the commercial or store-bought oat milk is fortified with calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, A and D.
Comparing oat milk with other types of non-dairy milk, it generally contains more healthy carbs, calories, and fiber than that of almond, cashew, soy, or animal milk however, contains less amounts of protein than soy and dairy milk.
Health Benefits Of Drinking Oat Milk
1. Oat Milk Is Lactose, Soy, and Nut Allergy Free
Oat milk is the best option for those who are with dietary restrictions.
As it is obtained just by blending oats and water, it is completely vegan and free from soy, lactose and nuts related allergies.
If you want to buy gluten-free oats then check the label of the package you buy, they must be certified with gluten-free labels.
However, you can make your batch of oat milk at home with gluten-free certified rolled oats.
2. Oat Milk is An Excellent Source of All B Vitamins
Commercial Oat milk is fortified with B vitamin types like riboflavin or vitamin B2 and vitamin B12.
Nutritionists suggest that B vitamins are vital for optimal body health and are also linked with numerous other health benefits.
Like vitamin B helps in elevating a good mood, fighting against stress, and improving the health of hair, skin and nails.
3. Oat Milk Help In Lowering Blood Cholesterol Levels
Oat milk contains high amounts of beta-glucans type of soluble fiber which is increasingly beneficial for improved heart health.
Beta-glucans formed gel-like substances in your gut after digestion, which combine with cholesterol and reduces the absorption of cholesterol label. This helps in lowering the bad cholesterol levels which is linked to so many chronic and heart diseases.
One study shows that drinking 3 cups or 750 ml of oat milk for 5 weeks on daily basis helps in reducing the total blood cholesterol level by 3% especially bad cholesterol by 5%
One cup or 240 ml of oat milk may give you beta-glucans about 1.3 grams.
4. Improve Bone Health
Commercial or store-bought Oat milk is fortified with some essential nutrients like vitamin D and calcium that are good for your bone health.
Calcium is vital for strengthening the bone and keeping them healthy as calcium is the main mineral that is responsible for forming bone and structure of our body. Thus, lack or lower levels of calcium in dietary intake can damage bone health and make them hollow and easily breakable that leads to fractures.
Whereas vitamin D is responsible for absorbing the calcium from digestive tract, thus it is important to take adequate amounts of vitamin D. Lack or lower levels of vitamin D consumption may leads to stopping the body from absorbing adequate amounts of calcium, which may cause damages to bones and weaken them, increases the risk of fractures.
Commercial or store-bought oat milk is best option to buy as they contains good amounts of vitamin B12, which is linked to improve bones health and a lower the risk of osteoporosis
How to Make Your Own
If you want to make dairy-free milk at home Oat milk is the incredibly best and easy to make at home.
When Oat milk is made at home, it allows one to add ingredients as what they like and also cuts the amounts of artificial additives that are found in commercial or store-bought products.
Moreover, one can also make Oat milk from gluten-free if they use certified gluten free rolled oats.
However, homemade Oat milk may not offer good amounts of nutrients as store-bought fortified options but it can be cheaper and you can intake multivitamin supplements..
So, how to make oat milk, take one cup of rolled and 5 cups of water and blend them together. Now, strain the mixture using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to separate the oat milk from the oats.
You can also store prepared oat milk in a glass bottle for up to five days in the refrigerator.
To increase the flavor of oat milk, you can also add 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, honey, maple syrup or a few dates.
