Almond milk has recently swayed into mainstream popularity and is now one trendy food item. It is no surprise that I have been receiving tons of questions from patients and clients about incorporating almond milk into their diet. So what is almond milk? Apparently, when almonds and water are ground together it forms a milky substance that can fill in for traditional animal milk. So what will you be gaining if you swap almond milk for the “real stuff”. The answer is more like what will you be losing. Almond milk contains no cholesterol, or saturated fat, and and an 8 oz glass of unsweetened almond milk contains only 45 calories! Compare that to the 150 calories in the same 8oz serving of whole milk…the switch is a no brain-er. Almond milk is often fortified with many of the vitamins and minerals that we find in animal milk, so it still serves as an excellent calcium source for vegans or those with lactose intolerance. If you are looking for ways to slowly incorporate almond milk into your diet, try blending it in with frozen fruit as a smoothie, use it to replace cow’s milk in recipes,  or as an alternative to creamer in coffee.  Not a fan at first?  No worries. The shelf life is much longer than regular milk so you can ease your way in.

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