What is in Soy Milk?
Fortified soy milk is nutritionally pretty similar to low-fat cow’s milk: it has the same amount of calories and protein, cup for cup (100 calories and 8 grams of protein). However, remember that soy milk’s nutritional qualities range based on whether it is fortified or not fortified, sweetened or unsweetened, and from brand to brand.
In terms of carbohydrate, they’re also similar: cow’s milk has 12 grams of carbohydrates (from the naturally-occurring lactose); sweetened soy milk has 8 to 10 grams of carbs (from added sugars). If the soy milk has been fortified, it’ll also give you calcium and vitamins (usually A and D, but also often B12).
Unsweetened soy milk does not have sweeteners added to it during processing. As a result, it only has the amount of carbohydrate that it gets from the soybeans: about 1.6 grams per cup. This also generally brings the calorie count down (to 33 calories per cup), while still delivering 3.5 grams of protein.
Other Low Carb Milk Alternatives
Almond milk, rice milk, and other nut and seed milks are quite different nutritionally from cow’s milk and soy milk because they’re usually very low in protein. As with soy milk, you can find them either sweetened or unsweetened, plain or flavored. The unsweetened varieties of these milks can be very low in carbohydrate.
For example, here is the number of calories and grams of carbs per cup of the following milks:
- Coconut milk drink, unsweetened: 45 calories, 2 grams of carbs
- Almond milk, unsweetened: 35 calories, <1 gram of carbs
- Rice milk, unsweetened, 70 calories, 11 grams of carbs
- Hemp milk, unsweetened, 80 calories, 1 gram of carbs
Healthy, Low-Carb Ways to Use Soy Milk
- For uses other than “straight-up” drinking, use plain unsweetened soy milk. This is useful in cooking (as a substitute for milk), shakes, and recipes where other ingredients are adding flavor to the dish.
- If you’re looking to add more flavor without additional carbs to soy milk, add a low-calorie or artificial sweetener and/or a bit of cream.
- For drinking, buy flavored unsweetened soy milk. Some companies such as Westsoy make unsweetened soy milk in chocolate, vanilla, and other flavors. You can add your own sweetener to taste.
- Make your own soy milk directly from the soybeans. You can use your stove, or you can purchase a soy milk maker to make your own. Then you can flavor it up to your own taste. You can do the same thing with almonds and other nuts to make delicious homemade nut milks.