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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Yi-Ping Cho (Marssi)

If you go to the store in search of milk,

如果你去商店買奶類，

there are a dizzying number of products to choose from.

會發現可以選擇的產品 多到讓人眼花撩亂。

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

有乳製奶，也有植物奶產品。

To turn a plant into something resembling milk,

若要把植物製成像奶類的產物，

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

就必須要將它浸泡、瀝乾、 沖洗，再磨成黏稠的漿，

or dried, and milled into flour.

或者乾燥之後磨成粉。

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

接著，將維生素及礦物質加入 植物漿或粉中，增加營養價值，

flavoured, and diluted with water.

再調味，用水稀釋。

The result is a barrage of options

結果就會產出大量的選擇，

that share many of the qualities of animal milk.

每種選擇都有動物奶的特性。

So which milk is actually best for you?

所以，哪種奶製品對你最好？

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

咱們來探究幾種最熱門的奶：

dairy, almond, soy, or oat?

乳製奶、杏仁奶、豆奶，或燕麥奶？

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

250 毫升的牛奶

含有 8 克蛋白質、12 克碳水化合物，

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

及 2 至 8 克脂肪，

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

要看是脫脂、低脂，或全脂牛奶。

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

那大約佔一般成人每天 所需之蛋白質的 15%，

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

碳水化合物的 10%， 及脂肪的 2% 至 15%。

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

大部分植物奶所含的 碳水化合物沒有乳製奶多。

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

脂肪也比較少，但有比較多 所謂的「好脂肪」。

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

然而，天然植物奶並不含有

乳製奶中的健康營養物， 如維生素 D 和鈣。

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

Looking more closely at our plant-based milks,

更深入來看看植物奶，

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

和乳製奶相比，杏仁奶 和燕麥奶的蛋白質較少。

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

四種奶類當中， 杏仁奶的營養物最少，

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

而燕麥奶富含一種健康的纖維 ──β-葡聚醣。

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

和其他植物奶相比， 燕麥奶的碳水化合物也相當多，

有時甚至和乳製奶一樣多。

sometimes as much as dairy milk.

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

至於豆奶，蛋白質 含量和牛奶一樣多，

and is also a great source of potassium.

也是很好的鉀來源。

Soybeans contain isoflavone,

黃豆含有異黃酮，

which people used to think might trigger hormonal imbalances

以前大家認為異黃酮 會模仿雌激素的功能，

by mimicking the function of estrogen.

因而會造成荷爾蒙不平衡。

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

但，歸根結底，豆奶中的 異黃酮含量非常少，

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

對於我們身體的影響遠低於異黃酮。

Depending on individual circumstances,

每個人的情況不同，

one of these milks may be the clear winner:

最適合的奶類產品顯然也會不同：

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

如果你有乳糖不耐症， 那麼植物奶就會勝出，

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

如果你對堅果過敏， 杏仁奶就出局了。

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

對於飲食沒有多樣化的人，

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

選擇乳製奶會是取得 這些營養最有效率的方式。

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

但若在其他條件一樣的情況下，

這四種奶都有足夠的營養， 可以當作平衡飲食的一部分。

is nutritious enough to be part of a balanced diet.

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

那就是為什麼對許多人而言， 對你最理想的奶類

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

其實就是對地球最好的奶類。

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

那麼哪種奶類生產用到的資源最少，

且產生的污染最少？

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

要生產一杯牛奶，

就要用到接近四平方公里的土地，

land use that drives deforestation and habitat destruction.

造成砍伐森林和棲息地破壞。

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

這些土地大部分是給牛群居住用， 一部分是用來種牠們的飼料。

Many cows eat soy beans and oats.

許多牛會吃黃豆和燕麥。

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

種植奶類用的燕麥或黃豆

就不像餵食乳牛需要那麼多土地——

than it does to feed a dairy cow—

only about a quarter square kilometer per glass.

一杯奶只需要 0.25 平方公里的土地。

Almond milk has similar land use.

杏仁奶的土地使用差不多。

But where that land is also matters—

但要用哪裡的土地也很重要——

soybean farms are a major driver of deforestation,

黃豆農場是砍伐森林的主要原因之一，

while oat and almond farms aren’t.

燕麥和杏仁則不是。

Making milk uses water every step of the way,

製造奶類的過程， 每一步都要用到水，

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

但真正的大差異出現在農場階段。

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

乳製奶要用的水最多——

一杯奶就要用掉 120 公升的水。

mostly to water cows and grow their food.

主要是用在供奶牛飲用 並種植牠們的食物。

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

排名第二的是杏仁奶， 一杯需要用到至少 70 公升的水。

Most of that water is used to grow almond trees,

水主要是用來種植杏仁樹，

which take years of watering before they start producing almonds.

需要澆水多年之後 杏仁樹才會開始產出杏仁。

The trees must be watered consistently, or they die,

若沒有經常澆水，杏仁樹就會死亡，

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

不像其他作物可在休耕時放著不管， 後續還是會有生產力。

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

總的來說，種植黃豆 和燕麥需要的水較少：

only about 5 to 10 liters per glass of milk.

每杯奶只需要 5 到 10 公升。

Milk production generates some greenhouse gas emissions—

製造奶類會產生出 一些溫室氣體排放——

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

每杯植物奶大約產生 0.1 到 0.2 公斤的溫室氣體。

But for dairy milk, the cows themselves also produce emissions

但就乳製奶來說， 奶牛本身就會產生排放，

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

牠們打嗝和放屁都會排出 大量的氣體甲烷。

Overall, each glass of dairy milk

總體來說，每一杯乳製奶就會造成

contributes over half a kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions.

超過半公斤的溫室氣體排放。

So while depending on your dietary needs,

所以，除了考量你的飲食需求，

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

能對地球健康有益的奶 也可以說是適合的奶，

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

因此我們有充分理由去選擇植物奶，

particularly oat or soy milk.

特別是燕麥奶或豆奶。