August 25, 2015 Wiggy Saunders

Bad News for Almond Milk Drinkers

Do you like almond milk?

If you do, you’re not alone.

The rapid growth in almond milk’s popularity has been unparalleled as of late. A lot of that’s got to do with people discovering they’re allergic to dairy and also finding out how harmful soy really is.

Almond milk grew at a record rate of consumption last year. According to Fox Business, sales were an estimated $854 million dollars in 2014, alcohol n increase of over 40.5% from the year previous.

That’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?

Here’s the thing about almond milk.

It really is healthy for you.

That is assuming your almond milk is actually made of almonds…

That’s the problem millions of almond milk drinkers are running into.

Turns out a large majority of almond milk manufacturers are short-changing their customers. When almond milk is supposed to be made of little more than almond milk and water, most companies are creating concoctions where they blend almond milk, water, and a slew of other chemicals together before they bring it to market.

The problem’s so bad a class action lawsuit has been brought against the most popular manufacturer’s of the non-dairy milk alternative.

Here’s what Fox Business writes about the whole ordeal:

“The success of almond milk rests heavily on its health appeal to consumers, which attorney James C. Kelly says is part of the problem.

It’s being marketed as a healthy premium product because it is made from almonds, when it barely contains any almonds. The product is really developed from thickening agents to create a milk-like substitute that tastes very much like milk. The wrongdoing is really hitting home on a large scale,” he said.

Kelly’s clients, Tracy Albert and Dimitrios Malaxianis are suing two of the largest almond milk producers in the U.S., Blue Diamond, and WhiteWave (WWAV), which makes Silk and So Delicious, for improperly labeling their almond milk.

“She (Albert) is angry regarding the lack of almonds and the high amounts of carrageenan [a thickening agent]. She wants labeling changes in the industry. It will prevent other customers from being deceived and allow her and other consumers to determine how many servings to drink to achieve health benefits,” Kelly said.

Albert, who declined to speak with FOXBusiness.com, is urging these corporations to come clean. She wants them to disclose on their packaging and websites that the products contain only 2% almonds, and remove all favorable health claims.

Here’s the deal when it comes to almond milk.

Provided your almond milk is made up of primarily almonds and water there really are some substantial health benefits to be gleaned from using it as a dairy substitute.

The problem is this:

A typical half-gallon of almond milk should be made of anywhere from 144-192 almonds.

The top manufacturers of almond milk, companies like SO and Blue Diamond are only using 38-42 almonds per half-gallon.

That means anywhere from 70-80% of the almond milk is nothing more than thickeners and additives.

And some of these ingredients are even known to be irritating to the gut which obviously creates some additional problems of their own.

So what can you do to get the full benefits of almond milk?

It’s simple really.

Make your own!

It really is simple (I promise) and I’ve provided one of the better videos I’ve found on the subject below.