Why Does Oat Milk Have Sugar

Your Oat Milk Has Only Two Ingredients But 14

How Is Hlsa Oatmilk And Oat Yogurt Made

We invented a completely chemical-free process that keeps all the health benefits of whole grain oats intact. Nothing natural is removed, nothing artificial is added. Nutritionally it resembles drinking oatmeal, but in a really delicious, smooth form.

For our yogurt we ferment the oat milk with yogurt bacteria and add billions of gut-loving probiotics.

Healthy Oat Milks Minimize Added Sugar

There are two sources of labeled added sugar in oat milk. The first is from oats themselves. The second, and less common, is from the addition of cane sugar or other sweeteners.

Oatmilk is Naturally High in Sugar

While oats themselves do not contain sugar, they are full of carbohydrates which are easily broken down into simple sugars.

Different manufacturing processes will create oat milks with various levels of simple sugar.

The FDA now requires the sugars created during oatmilk manufacturing process to be listed on the nutrition information label as added sugar. Most companies have updated their label accordingly, but some have not.

Avoid oat milks that have not updated their nutrition facts label as there is no way to accurately predict the amount of added sugar. An asterisk in a product listed below indicates the label has not been updated.

Read more on recommended daily intake of added sugar and why you want to minimize added sugar consumption.

Recommendation: When choosing an oat milk, look for one with minimal labeled added sugar. Also, if you include oatmilk in your diet, evaluate how it impacts your overall sugar intake and consider reducing other sources of added sugar.

You May Like: How To Reduce Sugar Level Immediately

High Levels Of Dietary Fibre

Research published in the Journal of Functional Foods in 2020 found that oat milk has more dietary fibre than other plant-based milk, including almond milk, and has therefore been recognised as helping support healthy digestion.6

Fibre plays a key role in blood glucose regulation, binding cholesterol, making sure we have healthy bowel movements and helping us feel fuller for longer.7

The Oatmeal Health Halo

Oatmeal is one of those foods that seem to have a health halo around it.

A lot of health providers give their patients generalized snippets of diet advice and eat oatmeal is a popular one.

Many talk about it as if it will magically cause us to be healthier once we start eating a bowl every day. But for individuals with type 2 diabetes, this advice can be disastrous, as eating oatmeal can cause blood sugar to rise.

Why?

To put it simply, oatmeal is a high carbohydrate food.

Also Check: Reduce Sugar Level Immediately

Does Oat Milk Make You Gain Weight

The simple answer to this question is, no. Consuming oat milk wont make you gain weight because it doesnt contain nutrients required by your body to put on excess weight.

The major point of contention would be the amount of sugar added to store bought oat milk. Purchasing flavored or sweetened oat milk can be detrimental to your weight loss goals.

Oat milk is relatively low in calories along with sugar and fat. In fact, oat milk can help you shed a few pounds if you are on a weight loss regime.

But it has enough fiber and protein making it suitable for your body to lose a few pounds. A single cup of oat milk contains plenty of essential vitamins such as A, B12, and D along with minerals like iron.

Oat milk typically contains more calcium with almost no fat compared to cows milk because it is typically added or fortified into the beverage by the manufacturer. Calcium strengthens the bones, and because oat milk is low in calories, sugar, and fat but rich in fiber and protein, it can make your body lose some weight rather than gaining.

Calories In Oat Beverages:

While there are many varieties of oat milk including unsweetened plain, unsweetened vanilla, and sweetened plain/vanilla, Im only going to compare the ones that do not contain declared added sugars in the ingredient list . If calories are your focus, the unsweetened options range from 45 to 130 calories per cup. Thats a pretty wide range.

Also Check: High Blood Sugar What To Do

Dream Oat Beverage Unsweetened

Dream Oat Beverage Unsweetened Ingredients: Oat base , safflower oil, calcium carbonate, sea salt, vitamin D2, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B12, tricalcium phosphate

Reasons to consider Dream Oat Beverage Unsweetened:

• Minimal added sugar. Sugars created by processing oats
• Free of highly-processed gums, thickeners and emulsifiers

Reasons to avoid Dream Oat Beverage Unsweetened:

• Possible glyphosate residue from conventional oats

Healthy Hair And Nails

As well as potentially repairing and protecting our skin, oat milk can reportedly help make our hair and nails stronger and shinier, as well as encourage them to grow faster.

This is due to the B vitamins, which weve mentioned above, that are present in oat milk.29

Vitamin B 12 in particular is often found in hair, skin, and nail supplements.

B vitamins also help fight against oxidative damage to our cells from harmful free radicals, helping to minimise skin damage and encourage cellular repair.

Similarly, B vitamins work anti-ageing magic on hair, too, by encouraging cell renewal in the same way they do for skin.30

They may also play a role in hair colour too – research has suggested that being deficient in B12 can cause premature greying and hair loss.31

You May Like: When To Take Sugar Tablet

The Best Oats For Diabetes

While most oatmeal is a great food to eat if you have diabetes, there are some exceptions. As mentioned above, pre-packaged oatmeal with flavor added in is made with the most processed type of oats, instant oats, and often contains large amounts of added sugars. While its convenient and delicious, you should look elsewhere for your morning bowl of oatmeal. The very best type of oatmeal for people with Type 2 diabetes is steel-cut oats. Because they are the least processed and are full of fiber, they actually have the lowest glycemic load, making it easier for your body to digest, and preventing blood sugar spikes. If you dont love or have time to cook steel cut oats, try rolled oats or overnight oats. These are also much less processed than instant oats, have a low glycemic load, and are still full of fiber.

Just make sure not to add too many extra carbs to your healthy bowl of oatmeal. Thats where people with diabetes can really get in trouble. While oatmeal itself has a low glycemic load, adding spoonfuls of brown sugar or dried nuts can make your carb count skyrocket, and your blood sugar wont be far behind.

Disclaimer: Each new type of food can have a different effect on your body and blood sugar levels. When adding something new to your diet, make sure to test your blood sugar right before eating, and then again two hours later. Ensure that your body responds well to a new type of food before making it a regular part of your diet.

Tips Tricks & Other Recipes

Here are some tips and tricks to make the best dairy-free oat milk.

• It doesnt matter if you use rolled oats or instant oats. Your milk will be delicious. I personally prefer rolled oats, however.
• Use an old kitchen towel or an old t-shirt to strain the oat milk if you dont have a nut milk bag. You can also use any cheesecloth.
• It is better if you make your oat milk in a highspeed blender like the Vitamix, but any other blender will work.
• Do not blend for more than 40 seconds, this can make it slimy.
• Here are other recipes with oats that I love: blender oat pancakes, vegan oat bars,oats in granola.

So here is the recipe for this delicious plant-based milk oat milk, I hope you like it as much as I do. If you do, please share the recipe and the blog. Do not forget to take a picture of your oat milk and post it on with @piloncilloyvainilla and #brownsugarandvanilla. I want to see what you make! Share on or save it for later on .

Read Also: Blood Sugar Increase Symptoms

Is There Sugar In Oat Milk

While Oatly does not add sugar or sweeteners to its oatmilk, an Oatly spokeswoman told FoodNavigator-USA that all 7g of sugar derived from its oat-base will be listed as added sugar in the future, in accordance with FDA guidance issued in November 2018 on how to comply with the new-look Nutrition Facts panel.

As usual, our goal with labeling is to make it as simple as possible for people to comprehend whats in our products. As a result, weve contacted the FDA to guarantee compliance with this additional instruction, and well be implementing the label update in accordance with their guidelines.

Oatly has also agreed to stop using the slogan no added sugar in advertising campaigns, as we revealed last month.

We will make some minor updates to Happy Planets Oatmilk packaging based on the new regulations that will be coming into effect, Kyle Marancos, director of marketing at Happy Planet, which has previously listed its oatmilk as having 0g added sugar, said the brand would also be updating its labels.

Feeling Fuller For Longer

Oat milk has the potential to fill you up for longer in the same way that a bowl of oats does in the morning.

This is due to the fibre content, which may not be a huge amount, but is much more than cows milk contains, which is zero.32

Eating a diet thats rich in fibre promotes satiety and improves appetite control, reducing the need to snack between meals.33

Summary

The health benefits that have been linked to oat milk are widespread.

They range from giving you a healthy skin glow and stronger hair and nails, to boosting Vitamin B, calcium and dietary fibre levels. It can also fill you up for longer too.

Those following low carbohydrate diets should be aware that oat milk has a higher carbohydrate content than other plant-based milk, including soy or almond milk.

Therefore, they may want to avoid oat milk or use it in moderation. Plus, oat milk protein contents arent as good as some other types of plant-based milk.

Don’t Miss: Sugar Tablet Before Or After Food

What Is The Best Store Bought Oat Milk Brands

The best store bought oat milk depends on a few factors, taste, ingredients, and for many how it froths and tastes in their coffee. One of the big reasons people rave about oat milk is that it froths so well for lattes and other milky coffee drinks. I have to admit I love a good latte! But I also want natural ingredients. The drawback of many of the barista brands of oat milk is that they contain dipotassium phosphate which aids in the ability to heat and froth the oat milk. While it tastes good, its not the most natural ingredient. Heres my take on the top brands, taste, ingredients, and ability to blend well in your favorite coffee drinks.

Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend

This brand is gluten free. If you have a gluten intolerance, you have to be careful when it comes to oats. While oats are naturally gluten free, they are often made in facilities that also produce products with gluten and could be cross contaminated. This oat milk is a barista blend because it contains dipotassium phosphate which helps it create a smooth and creamy froth for coffee drinks.

Oatly Oat Milk-Barista Edition

Oatly Oat Milk is not labeled gluten free. Their barista edition is creamy and froths well for coffees due to the added dipotassium phosphate. Oatly Oat Milk also comes in other flavors including Oat Milk Chilled, Low-Fat Oat Milk Chilled, and Chocolate Oat Milk Chilled.

Silk Oat Yeah Oat Milk

Elmhurst Milked Oats

Almond Milk Vs Oat Milk Vs Soy Milk: Which Is Best For You

If youre looking for a low-calorie option and arent concerned much about taste, almond milk takes the crown. Oat milk has more proteins and fiber that help keep you full for longer, a good option for weight management. Soy milk, on the other hand, contains complete protein, meaning it has all essential amino acids. It also contains antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation.

All images by Shutterstock

Don’t Miss: How To Reduce High Sugar Level Immediately

Oat Milk Enables Vegan Lactose

Oat milk lovers usually had their first oat milk moment because theyre either vegan, lactose intolerant, or allergic to nuts or soy proteins.

The attraction to animal product alternatives is obvious. Vegans dont want to drink milk from animals, and oat milk is one of many kinds of milk that dont come from animals. Plus, like all plant milk, oat milk is free from lactose. This makes it a likely milk-of-choice candidate for the 36 percent of folks in the USA who have probs digesting lactose.

Oat milk stands out among plant milks though. Why? Because it hits a home run, smacking the nut-free and soy-free bases as it goes. Its *super* allergy-friendly.

Its estimated that 6.1 million peeps in the U.S. are allergic to peanuts, with tree nut allergies impacting 3.9 million. Soy allergies may be less common, but 1.9 million folk in the U.S. have to avoid it. Big numbers there, bro.

Severe reactions to nuts and soy can be fatal. 200,000 peeps per year need emergency medical attention because of an allergic reaction to food. For folks with nut allergies, popular animal milk alternatives like almond and hazelnut milk are off the table. And soy milk is obviously a no-go for the peeps who cant touch soy.

Put it this way: of all the available kinds of milk, oat milk is the only one you could serve at a dinner party and likely nobody phones PETA, has an upset stomach, or dies. Thats a pretty sweet benefit.

Is Oatly Oat Milk Healthy

Oatly oat milk is a dairy-free alternative to milk. If you haven’t tried it yourself, maybe you’ve heard someone in line at Starbucks order something like a “matcha latte with oat milk.” It tastes creamier and more milk-like than many other plant-based milk substitutes and has grown like crazy in popularity, but is it healthy? Letâs take a look at the ingredients and nutrition facts:

Oatmilk , rapeseed oil, dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, sea salt, vitamin B12, riboflavin , vitamin D2, vitamin A.

Nutrition Facts per 1 cup Calories – 140Includes 7 g added sugarsProtein – 3 g

One of the first things I notice is that there are 7 grams of added sugar per cup of oat milk, even though there’s no added sweetener in the ingredients list. So where does the sugar come from? The only carbohydrate source is oats, a grain thatâs very low in sugar. It turns out the added sugar in Oatly comes from their production process, where added enzymes break down the oat starch into simple sugars, primarily maltose . Maltose has a glycemic index of 105. For context, white flour and doughnuts have a glycemic index of 85 and 75, respectively. The glycemic index is a scale from 0 to 100, meaning that maltose has a literally off-the-charts impact on blood sugar levels. A 12-ounce glass of oat milk has about the same blood sugar impact as a 12-ounce can of Coke.

UPDATE: Read Oatly’s response to this post, in defense of its ingredients.

Also Check: Banana Bad For Diabetes

How To Choose The Best Oat Milk

If you fit the bill for someone looking to consume a plant-based alternative to dairy milk, it’s important to know what else you might be getting when you grab a container off the supermarket shelf. Registered dietitian Sarah Rueven, MS, RDN, CDN, founder of Rooted Wellness, says the best oat milks are made with just oats and water, without the added ingredients companies claim improve the taste and texture.

Here’s what to check for on oat milk labels before you buy:

Califia Farms Original Oatmilk

Califia Farms Original Oatmilk: Water, oats, sunflower oil, dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt

Reasons to consider Califia Farms Original Oatmilk:

• Low level of added sugar. Sugars created by processing oats
• Free of highly-processed gums, thickeners and emulsifiers
• Certified gluten free

Reasons to avoid Califia Farms Original Oatmilk:

• Possible glyphosate residue from conventional oats

Also Check: How To Come Sugar Disease

Health: 9 Oat Health Benefits

Is oat milk healthy? Let’s dive into the health benefits of milk and why it is an excellent dairy alternative.

Read on: