Which type of milk is best for you? - Jonathan J. O’Sullivan & Grace E. Cunningham

翻译人员: C Cheng 校对人员: Yu Xie

If you go to the store in search of milk,

如果你去商店购买饮用奶，

there are a dizzying number of products to choose from.

你会发现可供选择的产品 多得让你眼花缭乱。

There’s dairy milk, but also plant-based products.

既有动物奶，也有植物奶。

To turn a plant into something resembling milk,

要把植物转化为牛奶替代物，

it must be either soaked, drained, rinsed, and milled into a thick paste,

就必须将其浸泡、沥干、冲洗， 再研磨成粘稠的糨糊，

or dried, and milled into flour.

或者将其晒干后研磨成粉末。

The plant paste or flour is then fortified with vitamins and minerals,

之后，再向这些植物糨糊或粉末中 补充维生素和矿物质,

flavoured, and diluted with water.

调和味道，并用水稀释。

The result is a barrage of options

这一系列的流程 可以生产出不同品种的奶，

that share many of the qualities of animal milk.

且都具有许多动物奶的特性。

So which milk is actually best for you?

那么，哪种奶才是 最有益于你的呢？

Let’s dive into some of the most popular milks:

让我们看看一些 最流行的奶产品中：

dairy, almond, soy, or oat?

动物奶、扁桃仁奶、 豆奶，或者燕麦奶？

A 250 ml glass of cow’s milk contains 8 grams of protein,

一杯 150 毫升的牛奶 包含了 8 克蛋白质，

12 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 to 8 grams of fat

12 克碳水化合物， 和 2 至 8 克脂肪，

depending on if it’s skim, reduced fat, or whole.

脂肪的含量取决于 它是脱脂、低脂，还是全脂奶。

That’s approximately 15% the daily protein an average adult needs,

这大约是成年人平均 每日所需蛋白质的15％，

roughly 10% the carbohydrates and 2 to 15% the fat.

以及约 10% 的碳水化合物， 和 2-15% 的脂肪。

Most plant-based milks have less carbohydrates than dairy milk.

大多数植物奶中的 碳水化合物要少于动物奶。

They also have less fat, but more of what’s often called “good fats.”

其脂肪含量也更低， 但却包含了更多的“优质脂肪”。

Meanwhile, the healthy nutrients vitamin D and calcium found in dairy milk

同时，动物奶中健康的 营养元素，如维他命D和钙，

don’t occur naturally in most plant-based milks.

并不自然存在于植物奶中。

Looking more closely at our plant-based milks,

让我们更加仔细地 观察一下植物奶，

both almond and oat are low in protein compared to dairy.

与动物奶相比，扁杏仁奶和 燕麦奶中的蛋白质含量较低。

But while almond milk has the least nutrients of the four,

在四种奶中，扁杏仁奶 所含的营养元素最少，

oat milk is full of beta-glucans, a healthy type of fibre.

燕麦奶却富含 β-葡聚糖， 这是一种有益于健康的纤维。

It also has a lot of carbohydrates compared to other plant milks—

与其它植物奶相比较， 它还包含了大量的碳水化合物——

sometimes as much as dairy milk.

有时甚至和动物奶一样多。

Soy milk, meanwhile, has as much protein as cow’s milk

豆奶具有和牛奶 同样多的蛋白质，

and is also a great source of potassium.

而且是很好的补充 体内钾含量的途径。

Soybeans contain isoflavone,

大豆中含有异黄酮，

which people used to think might trigger hormonal imbalances

人们曾经认为它可能会因具有类似于 雌激素的功能而引起荷尔蒙失调。

by mimicking the function of estrogen.

But ultimately, soy milk contains very small amounts of isoflavones,

但是，大豆只包含了 微量的异黄酮，

which have a much weaker effect on our bodies than estrogen.

它对人体的影响 要比雌激素弱得多。

Depending on individual circumstances,

取决于个人境况，

one of these milks may be the clear winner:

其中一种奶也许会 明显优于其它奶：

if you’re lactose intolerant, then the plant-based milks pull ahead,

如果你对乳糖不耐的话， 那么植物奶将胜出，

while if you’re allergic to nuts, almond milk is out.

但是，如果你对坚果过敏的话， 扁杏仁奶则要被淘汰。

For people who don’t have access to a wide and varied diet,

对于饮食缺乏广泛性 和多样性的人而言，

dairy milk can be the most efficient way to get these nutrients.

动物奶是获得这些营养元素的 最有效的途径。

But all else being equal, any one of these four milks

如果其它一切正常的话， 这四种奶中的任何一种

is nutritious enough to be part of a balanced diet.

都具有足够的营养成分， 可以作为均衡饮食的一部分。

That’s why for many people, the milk that’s best for you

这就是为什么，对许多人而言， 最有益于你的奶

is actually the milk that’s best for the planet.

其实也是最有益于地球的奶。

So which uses the fewest resources and produces the least pollution?

那么，哪种奶消耗的资源最少， 同时制造的污染也最少呢？

It takes almost 4 square kilometers to produce just one glass of cow’s milk,

生产一杯牛奶需要 大约 4 平方公里的土地，

land use that drives deforestation and habitat destruction.

畜牧用地使得森林遭到砍伐， 栖息地遭到破坏。

Most of that is land the cows live on, and some is used to grow their feed.

其中大部分的土地供奶牛生长， 还有一些用来种植饲料。

Many cows eat soy beans and oats.

很多奶牛食用大豆和燕麦。

It takes much less land to grow the oats or soybeans for milk

为生产奶而种植的 燕麦或大豆对土地的需求

than it does to feed a dairy cow—

比饲养奶牛要少得多——

only about a quarter square kilometer per glass.

一杯奶差不多只需要 1/4 平方公里的用地。

Almond milk has similar land use.

扁杏仁奶的用地需求与此相近。

But where that land is also matters—

但是，土地的选址也很重要——

soybean farms are a major driver of deforestation,

大豆农场是造成 森林滥伐的主要原因之一，

while oat and almond farms aren’t.

但是种植燕麦和 扁杏仁的农场却非如此。

Making milk uses water every step of the way,

生产奶的每道程序都要用到水，

but it’s the farming stage where big differences emerge.

但是重要区别体现在种植过程中。

Dairy milk uses the most water— about 120 liters per glass,

动物奶的用水量最大—— 一杯奶大约需要 120 升水，

mostly to water cows and grow their food.

大部分用来供奶牛饮用和种植饲料。

Almonds take second place, at more than 70 liters of water per glass.

扁杏仁的用水量次之， 一杯奶需要 70 多升水。

Most of that water is used to grow almond trees,

大部分水用来种植扁杏仁树，

which take years of watering before they start producing almonds.

这些树需要经过多年浇灌 才能开始出产扁杏仁。

The trees must be watered consistently, or they die,

树木必须被持续浇灌， 否则它们就会枯死。

while many other crops can be left fallow and still produce later.

而其它许多农作物则可以休耕， 并且在日后仍有产出。

All told, soy and oats require less water to grow:

合计起来，种植大豆和燕麦 需要的用水量较少：

only about 5 to 10 liters per glass of milk.

一杯奶只需要大约 5 到 10 升的水。

Milk production generates some greenhouse gas emissions—

生产奶的过程会排放出 一些温室效应气体——

about 0.1 to 0.2 kilograms per glass for the plant-based milks.

每杯植物奶产生约 0.1 至 0.2 千克的气体。

But for dairy milk, the cows themselves also produce emissions

而就动物奶而言， 奶牛自身就会产生排放，

by burping and farting out large quantities of the gas methane.

它们通过打嗝和放屁 释放出大量沼气。

Overall, each glass of dairy milk

总体而言，每杯动物奶

contributes over half a kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions.

会增加超过半千克的 温室气体排放。

So while depending on your dietary needs,

所以就你个人 对奶的需要而言，

any one of these milks may be a good fit, in terms of the health of our planet

其中任何一种奶都可能非常适合， 但是，就地球的健康而言，

there’s a strong case for choosing plant-based milks,

我们有充足的理由 去选择植物奶，

particularly oat or soy milk.

特别是燕麦奶或豆奶。