Almond Beverage
Food · Drink · Food, Typed Supps
A low-calorie drink that is mostly water. Check the label for added calcium — that is the part that matters.
Stage by stage
- Intake (Swallowed as a dilute liquid): A thin emulsion of roughly 2 to 3% almond in water; nothing requires chewing.
- Stomach (Empties quickly): Little protein or fat to slow gastric emptying, so satiety is minimal.
- Small intestine (Calcium and sugar absorbed): Added calcium absorbs at a rate broadly similar to dairy, provided it was still suspended in the glass.
- Skeleton (Calcium deposited): Absorbed calcium joins the regulated pool that maintains bone mineral.
Time to effect
- Hours: Calcium from a fortified serving is absorbed over the following few hours.
Allergens
Contains: Tree nuts. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Keto, Low-FODMAP, Gluten-free.
Satiety
Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.
Environmental footprint
0.7 kg CO2e and 371 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Almond milk" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Cheap — roughly £2.5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 27
- Protein: 0.5g
- Carbohydrate: 3g
- of which sugars: 2.2g
- Fat: 1.4g
- of which saturated: 0.1g
- Fibre: 0.6g
- Sodium: 43mg
Food vs. supplement
A calcium-fortified almond beverage is effectively a calcium supplement dissolved in a drink, and that is a reasonable way to take one — the dose arrives with a meal and without a tablet. The honest caveat is that the almonds themselves contribute very little at 2 to 3% of the product, so this is a fortified drink rather than a nut food.
Kitchen tip
Shake the carton properly before every pour, not just the first. The added calcium is a suspended solid and it settles between pours, so an unshaken glass from a half-empty carton can deliver far less than the label states, while the last glass delivers far more.
Common myth
"Almond milk is a healthy swap for cow's milk." In reality: It is a swap on calories and, if fortified, on calcium. It is not a swap on protein, which sits at roughly a seventh of milk's. Whether that matters depends on whether the rest of the diet already supplies enough.
More in Drink
In the glossary
Sources