Soya World’s healthy alternative to milk

A rise in lactose intolerance coupled with some bad publicity concerning milk and dairy products is fueling a burgeoning industry in soy beverages and giving milk lovers a healthy alternative to the taste and texture of their favourite drink.

Tara White, business development leader for Vancouver-based Soya World Inc., knows what it’s like to have to give up milk and find something… better.

“I’m a believer in alternatives to milk,” says White. “Human beings should not really be consuming cow’s milk. We’re the only species that consumes another animal’s by-product.”

Former milk drinkers like White, who is lactose intolerant, have taken up the call for soy replacements.

“We’re all lactose intolerant to a degree,” says White, “and we can’t break down the milk enzymes so we end up with a stomach ache.”

The statistics bear out her claim.

It’s estimated that 75 per cent of adults globally show some degree of lactose intolerance — an inability to metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products.

That means alternatives, like soy, are in high demand.

“I don’t pshaw people that drink milk, but I think there are potential benefits to our bodies from soy,” says White.

Soya World Inc. is an international brand born 11 years ago in Vancouver featuring the product lines So Good, So Nice and Sunrise. Purchased in 2003 by the Australian health food giant Sanitarium, Soya World now boasts annual sales in excess of $60 million, with sales of soy-based products that run the gamut from fortified soy beverages to yogurt, frozen desserts, and even rice milk.

Getting hip to soy as the new dairy means embracing a bean with huge nutritional value. Soy has no cholesterol and no trans fat. It can help reduce the risk of heart disease and studies are now linking it with a reduction in cancer.

Soya World uses the whole soybean, ground and fortified with 15 essential vitamins and minerals, and having the same calcium content as milk. Everything they produce is also non-genetically modified.

Grinding the bean, says White, means getting rid of some of that distinctive bean flavour.

“If you’re a non-consumer of soy, you think it’s going to taste bean-y, but it doesn’t.”

White points out that with schools phasing out pop and juice from their cafeterias and vending machines, parents are looking at soy drinks as healthy alternatives.

“As far as kids were starting to see an increase in them using it.”

The rise of soy beverage popularity is staggering. In 1997, when Soya World started, the total soy beverage market in Canada was about $12 million. Today it’s over $105 million.

Health awareness and product innovation have created a market of converts from milk, who still get just what they want with soy.

“Because there are health benefits to soy it’s an alternative to milk and it still allows people to have it on their cereal or in their coffee,” says White.

Soya World is unveiling some new products, including a So Nice strawberry drink and a unique basmati rice beverage.

The latter complements Ryza, Soya World’s whole grain brown rice beverage line. With 16 grams of whole grain per glass, Ryza is the runaway leader in helping reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

And this holiday season consider giving up a traditional favourite without really giving it up.

So Nice Noel Nog is an egg and dairy-free eggnog alternative. All you’re really giving up is a lot of fat. A serving of Noel Nog contains only three grams of fat, whereas regular eggnog has up to 18 grams. And the organic soy-based Noel Nog has six grams of protein without cholesterol, lactose, gluten, or preservatives.

It’s just as easy to substitute a soy beverage in place of milk for any of your holiday baking, too.