
What does lion’s mane mushroom actually do, anyway?
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You may know it as an ingredient in nootropic supplements. You may have heard of lion’s mane mushroom coffee. You may know it as the big shaggy white mushroom that grows in nature and can look very impressive.
What’s special about it?
The lion’s mane mushroom, or Hericium erinaceus (we mention, as studies we’ll cite often use the botanical name) is an adaptogenic agent that has an established ability to promote nerve regeneration through nerve growth factor neurotrophic activity. In other words, it helps (re)grow neurons.
In a 2023 study, researchers wondered if its abilities (well-established in the peripheral nervous system) would work in the central nervous system too, namely the brain, specifically the hippocampus (responsible for memory).
To boil what they found down to a single line, they concluded:
❝[Lion’s mane extract] therefore acts through a novel pan-neurotrophic signaling pathway, leading to improved cognitive performance.❞
You can read the full study for yourself (with pictures!) here:
Limitations of the study
It’s worth noting that the above study was performed on mice brains, not those of humans. As there is a shortage of human volunteers willing to have their brains sliced and examined under microscopes, we do not expect this study to be repeated with humans any time soon.
So, are there human studies that have been done?
There are! Particularly promising was this 2020 study of people with Alzheimer’s disease, wherein supplementation with 1g of lion’s mane mushroom daily for 49 weeks significantly increased cognitive test scores compared with a placebo; you can read about it here:
Additionally, this 2019 study showed that taking 1.2g daily for eight weeks helped relieve depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders in overweight or obese patiences:
Are there other health benefits?
It seems so! Unfortunately, most of its other health claims are only supported by animal studies so far, aside from one small study funded by a supplement company for their supplement that contained mostly Agaricus blazei (a different mushroom) with 14% lion’s mane.
However, in animal studies, lion’s mane has also shown promise:
- For digestion
- Against inflammation
- For cardiovascular health
- For diabetes management
- Against cancer
- Against aging
Where can I get it?
We don’t sell it (or anything else, for that matter) but if you’d like to try it, here’s an example product for your convenience:
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The Fiber Effect – by Nichole Dandrea-Russert
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The author, a registered dietician-nutritionist (RDN), brings to this work her decades of professional experience specializing in heart disease, diabetes, sports nutrition, and women’s health—and it shows.
The main premise is, of course “eat more fiber”, but she also talks us through what happens if we don’t, and how very many people (including 95% of Americans) suffer the consequences of a fiber-deficient diet, usually without even knowing that that’s the reason.
This book details the many different kinds of fiber (which is one of the reasons for consuming a wide variety of plants, not just one or two star-performers), what they do, what we need to prioritize for what, and more.
The recipes, of which there are 40 (enough to furnish us with a 14-day meal plan, which she does) are plant-based and varied.
The style is energetic and friendly, with plenty of (well-referenced) scientific information, but little-to-no jargon.
Bottom line: if you’d like to improve your fiber intake, then this book can help you supercharge that!
Click here to check out The Fiber Effect, and feel the difference!
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr says vitamin A protects you from deadly measles. Here’s what the study he cites actually says
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who oversees the health of more than 340 million Americans, says vitamin A can prevent the worst effects of measles rather than urging more people to get vaccinated.
In an opinion piece for Fox News, the US health secretary said he was “deeply concerned” about the current measles outbreak in Texas. However, he said the decision to vaccinate was a “personal one” and something for parents to discuss with their health-care provider.
Kennedy mentioned updated advice from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to treat measles with vitamin A. He also cited a study he said shows vitamin A can reduce the risk of dying from measles.
Here’s what the vitamin A study actually says and why public health officials are so concerned about Kennedy’s latest statement.
RobsPhoto/Shutterstock Why is a measles outbreak so worrying?
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily including when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
Measles initially infects the respiratory tract and then the virus spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, red eyes, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
Measles can also be severe, can cause complications including blindness and swelling of the brain, and can be fatal. Measles can affect anyone but is most common in children.
The Texan health department has confirmed 150-plus cases of measles and one death of an unvaccinated child during the current outbreak. While this is by far the largest measles outbreak in the US in 2025, the CDC has reported smaller outbreaks in several other states so far this year.
Why vitamin A?
Vitamin A is essential for our overall health. It has many roles in the body, from supporting our growth and reproduction, to making sure we have healthy vision, skin and immune function.
Foods rich in vitamin A or related molecules include orange, yellow and red coloured fruits and vegetables, green leafy vegetables, as well as dairy, egg, fish and meat. You can take it as a supplement.
Vitamin A can also be used therapeutically. In other words, doctors may prescribe vitamin A to treat a deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency has long been associated with more severe cases of infectious disease, including measles. Vitamin A boosts immune cells and strengthens the respiratory tract lining, which is the body’s first defence against infections.
Because of this, the CDC has recently said vitamin A can also be prescribed as part of treatment for children with severe measles – such as those in hospital – under doctor supervision.
One key message from the CDC’s advice is that people are already sick enough with measles to be in hospital. They’re not taking vitamin A to prevent catching measles in the first place.
The other key message is vitamin A is taken under medical supervision, under specific circumstances, where patients can be closely monitored to prevent toxicity from high doses.
Vitamin A toxicity can cause birth defects and increase the risk of fractures in elderly people. Vitamin A and beta-carotene (which the body turns into vitamin A) from supplements may also increase your risk of cancer, especially if you smoke.
Taking too much vitamin A can lead to toxicity and cause birth defects. ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock How about the study Kennedy cites?
Kennedy cites and links to a 2010 study, a type known as a systematic review and meta-analysis. Researchers reviewed and analysed existing studies, which included ones that looked at the effectiveness of vitamin A in preventing measles deaths.
They found three studies that looked at vitamin A treatment by specific dose. There were different doses depending on the age of the children, measured in IU (international units). Having two doses of vitamin A (200,000IU for children over one year of age or 100,000IU for infants below one year) reduced mortality by 62% compared to children who did not have vitamin A.
The 2010 study did not show vitamin A reduced your risk of getting measles from another infected person. To my knowledge no study has shown this.
To be fair, Kennedy did not say that vitamin A stops you from catching measles from another infected person. Instead, he used the following vague statement:
Studies have found that vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality.
It’s easy to see how a reader could misinterpret this as “take vitamin A if you want to avoid dying from measles”.
We know what works – vaccines
The World Health Organization recommends all children receive two doses of measles vaccine.
The CDC states two doses of the measles vaccine (measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine) is 97% effective against getting measles. This means out of every 100 people who are vaccinated only three will get it, and this will be a milder form.
But these facts were missing from Kennedy’s statement. Should we be surprised? Kennedy is well known for his vaccine sceptism and for undermining vaccination efforts, including for the measles vaccine.
As Sue Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Washington Post:
relying on vitamin A instead of the vaccine is not only dangerous and ineffective […] it puts children at serious risk.
Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Eating disorders don’t just affect teen girls. The risk may go up around pregnancy and menopause too
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Eating disorders impact more than 1.1 million people in Australia, representing 4.5% of the population. These disorders include binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa.
Meanwhile, more than 4.1 million people (18.9%) are affected by body dissatisfaction, a major risk factor for some types of eating disorders.
But what image comes to mind first when you think of someone with an eating disorder or body image concerns? Is it a teenage girl? If so, you’re definitely not alone. This is often the image we see in popular media.
Eating disorders and body image concerns are most common in teenage girls, but their prevalence in adults, particularly in women, aged in their 30s, 40s and 50s, is actually close behind.
So what might be going on with girls and women in these particular age groups to create this heightened risk?
Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock The 3 ‘P’s
We can consider women’s risk periods for body image issues and eating disorders as the three “P”s: puberty (teenagers), pregnancy (30s) and perimenopause and menopause (40s, 50s).
A recent report from The Butterfly Foundation showed the three highest prevalence groups for body image concerns are teenage girls aged 15–17 (39.9%), women aged 55–64 (35.7%) and women aged 35–44 (32.6%).
We acknowledge there’s a wide age range for when girls and women will go through these phases of life. For example, a small proportion of women will experience premature menopause before 40, and not all women will become pregnant.
Variations in the way eating disorder symptoms are measured across different studies can make it difficult to draw direct comparisons, but here’s a snapshot of what the evidence tells us.
Puberty
In a review of studies looking at children aged six to adolescents aged 18, 30% of girls in this age group reported disordered eating, compared to 17% of boys. Rates of disordered eating were higher as children got older.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, eating disorder prevalence is estimated at 7.5%. Almost 70% of women are dissatisfied with their body weight and figure in the post-partum period.
Pregnancy can represent a major change in identity and self-perception. Pormezz/Shutterstock Perimenopause
It’s estimated more than 73% of midlife women aged 42–52 are unsatisfied with their body weight. However, only a portion of these women would have been going through the menopause transition at the time of this study.
The prevalence of eating disorders is around 3.5% in women over 40 and 1–2% in men at the same stage.
So what’s going on?
Although we’re not sure of the exact mechanisms underlying eating disorder and body dissatisfaction risk during the three “P”s, it’s likely a combination of factors are at play.
These life stages involve significant reproductive hormonal changes (for example, fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone) which can lead to increases in appetite or binge eating and changes in body composition. These changes can result in concerns about body weight and shape.
These stages can also represent a major change in identity and self-perception. A girl going through puberty may be concerned about turning into an “adult woman” and changes in attitudes of those around her, such as unwanted sexual attention.
Pregnancy obviously comes with significant body size and shape changes. Pregnant women may also feel their body is no longer their own.
While social pressures to be thin can stop during pregnancy, social expectations arguably return after birth, demanding women “bounce back” to their pre-pregnancy shape and size quickly.
Women going through menopause commonly express concerns about a loss of identity. In combination with changes in body composition and a perception their appearance is departing from youthful beauty ideals, this can intensify body dissatisfaction and increase the risk of eating disorders.
These periods of life can each also be incredibly stressful, both physically and psychologically.
For example, a girl going through puberty may be facing more adult responsibilities and stress at school. A pregnant woman could be taking care of a family while balancing work and other demands. A woman going through menopause could potentially be taking care of multiple generations (teenage children, ageing parents) while navigating the complexities of mid-life.
Research has shown interpersonal problems and stressors can increase the risk of eating disorders.
Body image concerns and eating disorders are not limited to teenage girls. transly/Unsplash, CC BY We need to do better
Unfortunately most of the policy and research attention currently seems to be focused on preventing and treating eating disorders in adolescents rather than adults. There also appears to be a lack of understanding among health professionals about these issues in older women.
In research I (Gemma) led with women who had experienced an eating disorder during menopause, participants expressed frustration with the lack of services that catered to people facing an eating disorder during this life stage. Participants also commonly said health professionals lacked education and training about eating disorders during menopause.
We need to increase awareness among health professionals and the general public about the fact eating disorders and body image concerns can affect women of any age – not just teenage girls. This will hopefully empower more women to seek help without stigma, and enable better support and treatment.
Jaycee Fuller from Bond University contributed to this article.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For concerns around eating disorders or body image visit the Butterfly Foundation website or call the national helpline on 1800 33 4673.
Gemma Sharp, Professor, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow & Senior Clinical Psychologist, The University of Queensland; Amy Burton, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Technology Sydney, and Megan Lee, Assistant Professor, Psychology, Bond University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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What you need to know about menopause
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Menopause describes the time when a person with ovaries has gone one full year without a menstrual period. Reaching this phase is a natural aging process that marks the end of reproductive years.
Read on to learn more about the causes, stages, signs, and management of menopause.
What causes menopause?
As you age, your ovaries begin making less estrogen and progesterone—two of the hormones involved in menstruation—and your fertility declines, causing menopause.
Most people begin perimenopause, the transitional time that ends in menopause, in their late 40s, but it can start earlier. On average, people in the U.S. experience menopause in their early 50s.
Your body may reach early menopause for a variety of reasons, including having an oophorectomy, a surgery that removes the ovaries. In this case, the hormonal changes happen abruptly rather than gradually.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer patients may also induce menopause, as these treatments may impact ovary function.
What are the stages of menopause?
There are three stages:
- Perimenopause typically occurs eight to 10 years before menopause happens. During this stage, estrogen production begins to decline and ovaries release eggs less frequently.
- Menopause marks the point when you have gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. This means the ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and producing estrogen.
- Postmenopause describes the time after menopause. Once your body reaches this phase, it remains there for the rest of your life.
How do the stages of menopause affect fertility?
Your ovaries still produce eggs during perimenopause, so it is still possible to get pregnant during that stage. If you do not wish to become pregnant, continue using your preferred form of birth control throughout perimenopause.
Once you’ve reached menopause, you can no longer get pregnant naturally. People who would like to become pregnant after that may pursue in vitro fertilization (IVF) using eggs that were frozen earlier in life or donor eggs.
What are the signs of menopause?
Hormonal shifts result in a number of bodily changes. Signs you are approaching menopause may include:
- Hot flashes (a sudden feeling of warmth).
- Irregular menstrual periods, or unusually heavy or light menstrual periods.
- Night sweats and/or cold flashes.
- Insomnia.
- Slowed metabolism.
- Irritability, mood swings, and depression.
- Vaginal dryness.
- Changes in libido.
- Dry skin, eyes, and/or mouth.
- Worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
- Urinary urgency (a sudden need to urinate).
- Brain fog.
How can I manage the effects of menopause?
You may not need any treatment to manage the effects of menopause. However, if the effects are disrupting your life, your doctor may prescribe hormone therapy.
If you have had a hysterectomy, your doctor may prescribe estrogen therapy (ET), which may be administered via a pill, patch, cream, spray, or vaginal ring. If you still have a uterus, your doctor may prescribe estrogen progesterone/progestin hormone therapy (EPT), which is sometimes called “combination therapy.”
Both of these therapies work by replacing the hormones your body has stopped making, which can reduce the physical and mental effects of menopause.
Other treatment options may include antidepressants, which can help manage mood swings and hot flashes; prescription creams to alleviate vaginal dryness; or gabapentin, an anti-seizure medication that has been shown to reduce hot flashes.
Lifestyle changes may help alleviate the effects on their own or in combination with prescription medication. Those changes include:
- Incorporating movement into your daily life.
- Limiting caffeine and alcohol.
- Quitting smoking.
- Maintaining a regular sleep schedule.
- Practicing relaxation techniques, such as meditation.
- Consuming foods rich in plant estrogens, such as grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, and seeds.
- Seeking support from a therapist and from loved ones.
What health risks are associated with menopause?
Having lower levels of estrogen may put you at greater risk of certain health complications, including osteoporosis and coronary artery disease.
Osteoporosis occurs when bones lose their density, increasing the risk of fractures. A 2022 study found that the prevalence of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women was 82.2 percent.
Coronary artery disease occurs when the arteries that send blood to your heart become narrow or blocked with fatty plaque.
Estrogen therapy can reduce your risk of osteoporosis and coronary artery disease by preserving bone mass and maintaining cardiovascular function.
For more information, talk to your health care provider.
This article first appeared on Public Good News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Two Things You Can Do To Improve Stroke Survival Chances
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Dr. Andrew’s Stroke Survival Guide
This is Dr. Nadine Andrew. She’s a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at Monash University. She’s the Research Data Lead for the National Center of Healthy Aging. She is lead investigator on the NHMRC-funded PRECISE project… The most comprehensive stroke data linkage study to date! In short, she knows her stuff.
We’ve talked before about how sample size is important when it comes to scientific studies. It’s frustrating; sometimes we see what looks like a great study until we notice it has a sample size of 17 or something.
Dr. Andrew didn’t mess around in this regard, and the 12,386 participants in her Australian study of stroke patients provided a huge amount of data!
With a 95% confidence interval because of the huge dataset, she found that there was one factor that reduced mortality by 26%.
And the difference was…
Whether or not patients had a chronic disease management plan set up with their GP (General Practitioner, or “family doctor”, in US terms), after their initial stroke treatment.
45% of patients had this; the other 55% did not, so again the sample size was big for both groups.
Why this is important:
After a stroke, often a patient is discharged as early as it seems safe to do so, and there’s a common view that “it just takes time” and “now we wait”. After all, no medical technology we currently have can outright repair that damage—the body must repair itself! Medications—while critical*—can only support that and help avoid recurrence.
*How critical? VERY critical. Critical critical. Dr. Andrew found, some years previously, that greater levels of medication adherence (ie, taking the correct dose on time and not missing any) significantly improved survival outcomes. No surprise, right? But what may surprise is that this held true even for patients with near-perfect adherence. In other words: miss a dose at your peril. It’s that important.
But, as Dr. Andrew’s critical research shows, that’s no reason to simply prescribe ongoing meds and otherwise cut a patient loose… or, if you or a loved one are the patient, to allow yourself/them to be left without a doctor’s ongoing active support in the form of a chronic disease management plan.
What does a chronic disease management plan look like?
First, what it’s not:
- “Yes yes, I’m here if you need me, just make an appointment if something changes”
- “Let’s pencil in a check-up in three months”
- Etc
What it actually looks like:
It looks like a plan. A personal care plan, built around that person’s individual needs, risks, liabilities… and potential complications.
Because who amongst us, especially at the age where strokes are more likely, has an uncomplicated medical record? There will always be comorbidities and confounding factors, so a one-size-fits-all plan will not do.
Dr. Andrew’s work took place in Australia, so she had the Australian healthcare system in mind… We know many of our subscribers are from North America and other places. But read this, and you’ll see how this could go just as much for the US or Canada:
❝The evidence shows the importance of Medicare financially supporting primary care physicians to provide structured chronic disease management after a stroke.
We also provide a strong case for the ongoing provision of these plans within a universal healthcare system. Strategies to improve uptake at the GP level could include greater financial incentives and mandates, education for patients and healthcare professionals.❞
See her groundbreaking study for yourself here!
The Bottom Line:
If you or a loved one has a stroke, be prepared to make sure you get a chronic health management plan in place. Note that if it’s you who has the stroke, you might forget this or be unable to advocate for yourself. So, we recommend to discuss this with a partner or close friend sooner rather than later!
“But I’m quite young and healthy and a stroke is very unlikely for me”
Good for you! And the median age of Dr. Andrew’s gargantuan study was 70 years. But:
- do you have older relatives? Be aware for them, too.
- strokes can happen earlier in life too! You don’t want to be an interesting statistic.
Some stroke-related quick facts:
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S.
Stroke can happen to anyone—any age, any time—and everyone needs to know the warning signs.
On average, 1.9 million brain cells die every minute that a stroke goes untreated.
Stroke is an EMERGENCY. Call 911 immediately.
Early treatment leads to higher survival rates and lower disability rates. Calling 911 lets first responders start treatment on someone experiencing stroke symptoms before arriving at the hospital.
Source: https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke
What are the warning signs for stroke?
Use the letters F.A.S.T. to spot a stroke and act quickly:
- F = Face Drooping—does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
- A = Arm Weakness—is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
- S = Speech Difficulty—is speech slurred?
- T = Time to call 911
Source: https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke/stroke-symptoms
Last but not least, while we’re sharing resources:
Download the PDF Checklist: 8 Ways To Help Prevent a Second Stroke
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Which Plant Milk?
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Plant-based milks—what’s best?
You asked us to look at some popular plant milks and their health properties, and we said we’d do a main feature, so here it is!
We’ll also give a quick nod to environmental considerations at the end too (they might not be quite what you expect!). That said, as a health and productivity newsletter, we’ll be focusing on the health benefits.
While we can give a broad overview, please note that individual brands may vary, especially in two important ways:
- Pro: many (most?) brands of plant milks fortify their products with extra vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin D and calcium.
- Con: some brands also add sugar.
So, by all means use this guide to learn about the different plants’ properties, and/but still do check labels later.
Alternatively, consider making your own!
- Pros: no added sugar + cheaper
- Cons: no added vitamins and minerals + some equipment required
Almond milk
Almond milk is low in carbs and thus good for a carb-controlled diet. It’s also high in vitamin E and a collection of minerals.
Oat milk
Oats are one of the healthiest “staple foods” around, and while drinking oat milk doesn’t convey all the benefits, it does a lot. It also has one of the highest soluble fiber contents of any milk, which is good for reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
See for example: Consumption of oat milk for 5 weeks lowers serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in free-living men with moderate hypercholesterolemia
Coconut milk
Coconut has a higher fat content than most plant milks, but also contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
Read the study: How well do plant based alternatives fare nutritionally compared to cow’s milk?
Hemp milk
Being made from hemp seeds that contain a lot of protein and healthy fats (including omega-3 and omega-6), hemp milk packs a nutritious punch. It’s carb-free. It’s also THC-free, in case you were wondering, which means no, it does not have psychoactive effects.
Pea milk
It’s very high in protein, and contains an array of vitamins and minerals. It’s not very popular yet, so there isn’t as much research about it. This 2021 study found that it had the nutritional profile the closest to cow’s milk (beating soy by a narrow margin) and praised it as a good alternative for those with a soy allergy.
This is Research Review Monday so we try to stick to pure science, but for your interest… here’s an interesting pop-science article (ostensibly in affiliation with the pea milk brand, Ripple) about the nutritional qualities of their pea milk specifically, which uses particularly nutrient-dense yellow peas, plus some extra vitamin and mineral fortifications:
Read: Ripple Milk: 6 Reasons Why You Should Try Pea Milk
Soy milk
Perhaps the most popular plant milk, and certainly usually the cheapest in stores. It’s high in protein, similar to cow’s milk. In fact, nutritionally, it’s one of the closest to cow’s milk without involving cows as a middleman. (Did you know three quarters of all soy in the world is grown to feed to livestock, not humans? Now you do).
And no, gentlemen-readers, it won’t have any feminizing effects. The human body can’t use the plant estrogens in soy for that. It does give some isoflavone benefits though, which are broadly good for everyone’s health. See for example this research review with 439 sources of its own:
Read: Soy and Health Update: Evaluation of the Clinical and Epidemiologic Literature
Quick note on flavor: nut milks have the flavor of the nut they were made from. Coconut milk tastes of coconut. The other milks listed above don’t have much of a flavor—which in many cases may be what you want.
Note on environmental considerations:
A lot of us try to be as socially responsible as reasonably possible in our choices, so this may be an influencing factor. In a nutshell:
- Oats and Soy are generally grown as vast monocrops, and these are bad for the environment
- They are still better for the environment than cow’s milk though, as for example most soy is grown to feed to cows, not humans. So including cows in the process means four times as much monocrop farming, plus adds several other environmental issues that are beyond the scope of this newsletter.
- Almonds are particularly resource-intensive when it comes to water use.
- Still nowhere near as much as cows, though.
- Peas are grown in places that naturally have very high rainfall, so are a good option here. Same generally goes for rice, which didn’t make the cut today. (Nor did hazelnuts, sorry—we can only include so much!)
- Hemp is by far and away the most environmentally friendly, assuming it is grown in a climate naturally conducive to such.
- Making plant milk at home is usually most environmentally friendly, depending on where your ingredients came from.
- Literally any plant milk is much more environmentally friendly than cow’s milk.
See the science for yourself: Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers
See also (if you like graphs and charts): Environmental footprints of dairy and plant-based milks
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