Do you know how Unhealthy is Almond Milk in Japan? Recently Almond milk is getting popular in Japan. You can find some advertisements of almond milk in metro and magazines. At first, I was very glad to find almond milk near soy milk in the supermarket. This is an excellent alternative to cow’s milk! I hope you have already read my article about cows milk (if not, please read here).
Not just Japanese almond milk manufactures, but also foreign brands can be found on online shopping sites, such as Amazon or Rakuten. Is Almond Milk Healthy? Basically YES, but! If you’ve ever picked up a box of almond milk from the store and read the ingredients, it probably looked something like this: water, almond paste, cane sugar, tricalcium phosphate, carrageenan, guar gum, almond flavor, natural flavors…
How Unhealthy is Almond Milk in Japan? The list of ingredients in most store-bought almond milk is absolutely ridiculous, especially since you only need 2 ingredients to make it – Almonds and Water! (recipe is here)
This is why I don’t buy store almond milk, just look at all the unnecessary ingredients…
Packaged almond milk is full of unnecessary additives like these :
Calcium Carbonate (GCC) (ground limestone)
炭酸カルシウム（たんさんカルシウム)
Limestone is a common sedimentary rock composed primarily of the calcium carbonate mineral, calcite (CaCO). Limestone constitutes approximately 10 percent of the sedimentary rocks exposed on the earth’s surface.
As a food additive, it is designated E170, and it has an INS number of 170. Used as an acidity regulator, anticaking agent, stabilizer or color it is approved for usage in the EU, USA and Australia and New Zealand. It is used in some soy milk and almond milk products as a source of dietary calcium. Calcium carbonate is also used as a firming agent in many canned or bottled vegetable products.
As reported by SCF (2003), after intestinal absorption, calcium and carbonate/bicarbonate ions can enter normal metabolic pathways and body pools. The majority of absorbed calcium is stored in the skeleton. Excess calcium is excreted with water via kidneys (and also via faeces and skin) and excess carbonate is excreted as carbon dioxide via respiration.
People should receive calcium by the natural way – natural whole food and not from ground limestone!
クエン酸カリウム Potassium Citrate or
クエン酸K、（クエンさん カリウム、citric acid potassium ）
More than a million tons of citric acid are manufactured every year! Potassium citrate (also known as tripotassium citrate) is a potassium salt of citric acid with the molecular formula K3C6H5O7. It is a white, hygroscopic crystalline powder. It is odorless with a saline taste.
As a food additive, potassium citrate is used to regulate acidity and is known as E number E332. Potassium citrate is a colorless, transparent crystal or white powder that has many uses. In soft drinks and other foods, potassium citrate is added as a flavor enhancer and neutralizing agent. Potassium citrate contains inactive ingredients, which can cause allergic reactions. Some health conditions, diseases, and interaction with medications require caution when using potassium citrate.
Potassium citrate may cause diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain and vomiting. In rare cases, severe allergic reactions may develop, including itchy skin, rash or hives. Other possible side effects are respiratory reactions, with difficulty breathing and tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips or tongue; confusion; severe stomach pain; tingling of hands or feet; vomit that looks like coffee grounds; and weakness, according to Drugs.com.
安定剤 （あんていざい) – Stabilizer
増粘多糖類（ぞうねんたとうるい) – polysaccharide thickener
There are some popular polysaccharide thickeners for almond milk:
レシチン – almost its a Soy Lecithin 大豆レシチン
Lecithin comes from the Greek lekithos, meaning egg yolk, and is a term used to describe yellow-brownish fatty substances that occur naturally in animal and plant tissues. It is used in food to provide a smooth, moist texture and to keep ingredients from separating. Soybeans could be grown genetically modified, so unless the label says ‘organic lecithin,’ it probably came from a genetically modified soy -GMO.
カラギーナン – Carrageenan – a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins. It’s used in many dairy-substitutes like nut milk. Carrageenan is added as a thickener and to keep ingredients from separating as an emulsifier, but it’s known to cause digestion problems and is contaminated with “degraded carrageenan”. Tests have found as much as 25% degraded carrageenan in “food-grade carrageenan” (the kind used in some almond milk). As reported in the news recently, a new study published in Nature, found that emulsifiers may be contributing to the “rising incidence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease by interfering with microbes in the gastrointestinal tract”. Many mainstream brands are removing (or have removed) carrageenan from their products – but it’s still found in Japan a lot.
Cornucopia Institute made a report detailed out several specific studies that showed that food safe and approved “undegraded” carrageenan is contaminated with the non-approved degraded carrageenan. Furthermore, when you ingest the undegraded version, it actually starts to degrade in the gastrointestinal tract and in the liver and turn into a carcinogen, resulting in a serious inflammatory agent that also can cause intestinal abnormalities. Because of this reason and other studies conducted the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Research Council of the United States both have determined that carrageenan is a carcinogen – a substance that causes cancer.
増粘剤（ジェラン） – thickening agent or thickener Gellan Gum (E418)
Sometimes you can find it in different names: ゲランガム, ゲラン、ポリサッカライドS-60.
Why to avoid: These ingredients are known to cause stomach issues like bloating and gas in people who have sensitive digestive systems.
Commonly found in: Almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, non-dairy milk and creamers, ice cream, cottage cheese.
Gellan Gum, Locust Bean Gum and Guar Gum (グアーガム, ローカストビーンガム, ゲランガム). Locust Bean Gum has a couple name: ローカストビーンガム, ガラクトマンナン, Locust Bean Gum(LBG).
These ingredients are known to cause stomach issues like bloating and gas in people who have sensitive digestive systems. I personally try not to consume these ingredients on a regular basis especially for foods that I have often like almond milk and other nut milk.
デキストリン &キサンタンガム
Corn Dextrin & Xanthan Gum – These are more thickening agents, typically made from GMO corn. Xanthan gum is often derived from corn, and its consumption can cause gastrointestinal issues. Corn is an increasingly common allergen and more people are reporting an intolerance to eating corn-based products. What’s corn doing in almond milk, anyway?
タピオカ デンプン – Tapioca starch – Tapioca is a starch extracted from cassava root. It consists of almost pure carbs and contains very little protein, fiber or nutrients. Tapioca has become popular recently as a gluten-free alternative to wheat and other grains. However, there’s a lot of controversy about it. Some claim it has numerous health benefits, while others say it’s harmful. Cassava root naturally contains a toxic compound called linamarin. This is converted into hydrogen cyanide in your body and may cause cyanide poisoning. Properly processed tapioca is safe to eat and cheap to buy. Anyway, what it’s doing in almond milk?
粉飴 – Maltodextrin
粉飴 – Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive. It is produced from starch by partial hydrolysis and is usually found as a white hygroscopic spray-dried powder. The heavily processed starch used as a filler, thickener, preservative, and sweetener.
Has been shown to negatively affect gut bacteria which can put you at greater risk of disease. It has no nutritional value (not real food) and can be used as a “filler” to artificially increase the volume of processed foods, so this indicates a heavily processed food. Typically derived from GMO corn (unless organic or Non-GMO Project verified). It is also a hidden form of MSG.
寒天/糊料(セルロース、増粘多糖類)、agar-agar is a jelly-like substance, obtained from algae / A thickening stabilizer (astaxanthin) Cellulose A thickening agent or thickener.
食物繊維(ポリデキストロース) – Polydextrose (polydextrose) is an artificially synthesized water-soluble dietary fiber which is not degraded by human digestive enzymes. Glucose, sorbitol and citric acid are mixed and polymerized at high temperature. Its E number is E1200. Polydextrose is commonly used as a replacement for sugar, starch, and fat in commercial beverages, cakes, candies, dessert mixes, breakfast cereals, gelatins, frozen desserts, puddings, and salad dressings. Polydextrose is frequently used as an ingredient in low-carb, sugar-free, and diabetic cooking recipes. It is also used as a humectant, stabilizer, and thickening agent.
黒糖 – brown sugar
There is no need to sweeten almond milk, and you can always sweeten it with sweeteners you prefer at home. Also, some kind sugar is made with using animal ingredients. The best sweeteners for almond milk are dates or coconut syrup.
pH調整剤 – ピーエッチちょうせいざい
Acidity regulators, or pH control agents, are food additives added to change or maintain pH (acidity or basicity). They can be organic or mineral acids, bases, neutralizing agents, or buffering agents. Typical agents include these acids and their sodium salts: sorbic acid, acetic acid, benzoic acid, and propionic acid. Acidity regulators are indicated by their E number, such as E260 (acetic acid), or simply listed as “food acid”.
水あめ – Mizuame (水飴) is a sweetener from Japan which is translated literally to “water candy” (also known as millet jelly). A clear, thick, sticky liquid, it is made by converting starch to sugars. Two methods are used to convert the starches to sugars. The traditional method is to take glutinous rice mixed with malt and let the natural enzymatic process take place, converting the starch to syrup. The second and more common method uses potatoes or sweet potatoes as the starch source and added acid, such as hydrochloric, sulfuric or nitric acids. If done by the first method, the final product, known as mugi mizuame (麦水飴), is considered more flavorful than the potato version.
ぶどう糖果糖液 – High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
It’s one kind of high-fructose corn syrup、HFCS 異性化糖（いせいかとう). High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (also called glucose-fructose, isoglucose and glucose-fructose syrup is a sweetener made from corn starch that has been processed by glucose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. Name in Japan is often written as fructose dextrose sugar.
There are 4 different types of HFCS in Japan:
ブドウ糖果糖液糖
果糖含有率（糖のうちの果糖の割合）が 50 % 未満のもの。
Fructose content (fructose content of sugar) is less than 50%.
果糖ブドウ糖液糖
果糖含有率が 50 % 以上 90 % 未満のもの。
Fructose content is 50% or more but less than 90%.
高果糖液糖
果糖含有率が 90 % 以上のもの。
Those with fructose content of 90% or more.
What it is: Heavily processed sweetener made from cornstarch, contains more fructose than regular corn syrup.
Why to avoid: This sweetener increases appetite, the risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia. HFCS especially contributes to type 2 diabetes in children. One study also found it can be contaminated with toxic mercury.
Commonly found in: Soft drinks, pancake syrup, BBQ sauce, ketchup, cookies, bread, buns, frosting, pies.
植物油脂 – Vegetable oil
What kind of oil do they use? Oils such as palm and rice bran are commonly used for sweets etc. As edible vegetable oils, rapeseed oil, palm oil, soybean oil are the most consumed in Japan. Palm oil is dignified second in terms of consumption in 2013. I hope you know already why Palm oil is bad for your health and bad for our Planet?
If you go to a supermarket or convenience store, you can see many foods using palm oil. It is said that Japanese eat an average of 4 kg of palm oil a year!
乳化剤（にゅうかざい) – Emulsifier (also known as an “emulgent”) Emulsifiers are additives that help two liquids mix. For example, water and oil separate in a glass, but adding an emulsifier will help the liquids mix together. Among the emulsifiers used for foods, there are five types of foods that are permitted to be used under the Japanese Food Sanitation Law. Glycerin fatty acid esters, sorbitan fatty acid esters, propylene glycol fatty acid esters, sucrose fatty acid esters are approved as synthetic additives, of which glycerin fatty acid esters are the most consumed. Japan was the first country that allowed the use of sucrose esters as food additives. Outside Japan, calcium stearoyl lactate is used for baking bread, monoglyceride ammonium phosphate, etc. as a viscosity reducing agent for chocolate, but these are not approved in Japan. There are some “natural emulsifiers” can be used: lecithin (made from soybeans, sunflowers or egg yolk), saponin and sodium caseinate.
水溶性食物繊維 – (SDF: soluble dietary fiber). What kind of fiber did they add? It could be Xanthan gum E415, carrageen E407 or other, we don’t know. To find exactly what kind they used, probably we must call and ask them. Anyway, I don’t want any dietary fiber in my milk, I have my healthy fiber from fresh greens, veggies, and fruits.
米油 – Rice bran oil. Rice bran oil contains a higher percentage of vitamin E than many other oils. Also, rice bran oil contains tocopherol and tocotrienol, the two forms of vitamin E, while other oils only contain the tocopherol form. Rice bran oil has an almost balanced fatty acid composition that is close to this ratio. Rice bran oil is rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and free of trans-fats. But why we need it in Almond Milk?
天日塩、てんぴじお – hand-harvested, sun-dried whole salt. according to some sources, sun-dried fully mineralized moist sea salt is of the highest potency containing minerals and natural trace elements essential to the body’s daily needs. Less salt in our diet is better, we don’t know how much they added it to milk.
香料、– こうりょう – flavor – The flavor of the food can be altered with natural 天然香料（てんねんこうりょう）or artificial 合成香料（ごうせいこうりょう) flavorants which affect these senses. Natural flavors – sound so nice, but be careful! Natural Flavors – If they simply used more fresh almonds and less “thickening agents”, would these fake flavors be needed? This proprietary concoction of chemicals could contain just about anything naturally-derived, and as recently reported on CNN, may contain “anywhere from 50 to 100 ingredients. And all of the extra ingredients in flavors often aren’t as innocent as you’d hope they would be. The mixture will often have some solvent and preservatives — and that makes up 80 to 90 percent of the volume”.
ビタミンE – Vitamin E . The common name for E306 is tocopherol-rich extract, otherwise known as Vitamin E. The antioxidant E306 is obtained by extraction from vegetable oils, such as wheat and rice germ, and can help prevent oxidation of Vitamin A. In the food industry, tocopherol is often added to food products as an antioxidant to prevent oxidation reactions, including antioxidant tocopherol that is stable to acid, heat, and alkali, but can be damaged by oxygen and the oxidation process can be accelerated if there is light. Types of products that are often added tocopherol are fat and oils, butter, margarine, processed or preserved meat, frozen fish, salted fish, and others.
Categories of Tocopherol
Blends of Antioxidants: Commonly, blends of different antioxidants are used to obtain the best antioxidant activity at a low cost and dosage.
- Blends of Natural Antioxidants:
The most popular are blends of Natural Tocopherol and Ascorbyl Palmitate. They are very active and good for vegetable oil applications. The inconvenience is that Ascorbyl Palmitate adds viscosity to the final product and it is difficult to dissolve at ambient temperatures. - Blends of Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants
These blends were developed with the aim of obtaining the properties of Tocopherols and the excellent activity of synthetic antioxidants for low dosage. Natural Tocopherol blended with Propyl Gallate stabilize animal fats, especially when used in the cooking or frying process.
Vitamin E ( tocopherol) is not produced by our body and has to be obtained from our food. Vegetable oils are the richest natural sources of tocopherols! I think we don’t need vitamin E in our Almond milk.
アーモンドペースト- Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and white sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, beaten eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to marzipan.
アーモンドフレーバー Almond flavor – Almond Extract is a concentrated liquid that provides almond flavor to foods. Most almond extracts are made from almond oil blended with the flavorless alcohol, ethyl. Bitter-almond oil is generally used rather than oil from sweet almonds as it has more of an almond flavor. The artificial almond extract is made from benzaldehyde (which is the element in almonds and apricot kernels that tastes like almond), ethyl alcohol, and water.
None of these ingredients belong in almond milk, and they certainly don’t improve the nutritional value!
The crazy thing is that almond milk is one of the easiest things to make in the world (please see a recipe). There’s absolutely no reason to ever buy almond milk at the grocery store) when it literally takes less than five minutes to make!
What You Can Do Instead
Milk substitutes are wildly popular and something many people consume almost every day so it’s important that if you were relying on one of these products above to start making your own milk or find another substitute. It’s so easy to make your own. Check my recipe to see how I make it. Check it out, just to see how easy it is! You won’t ever be tempted to buy processed almond milk in a carton again.
Do you know someone who is still buying overly processed almond milk at the store? Please share this article with them and inspire them to make their own! Also if you know someone getting almond milk lattes at Starbucks – tell them what’s up! Knowledge is power.
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P.S. Cause I am not a native speaker, please feel free to write me if you found some mistakes, I will correct them 😉 Thank you!
If you want to be healthy.
If you want to grow stronger.
If you want to be slim, not fat.
If you want to feel trim, not bloated.
Then you need to eat real whole food
No starch, no white sugar, and no refined carbs.
I don’t think there are any good options for store–bought almond milk, BUT If you really don’t have a choice and don’t want to make your own hand-made Almond Milk, try to find brands with minimum ingredients. Usually, they are European brands. Also, you can find some nice brands of rice milk or soy milk.
