Spooky Ingredients in Nut Milks that You Won’t Find in Your Elmhurst

Have you ever looked at a Nut Milk’s ingredient list and decided you’re better off drinking lactose-free dairy?

You’re not the only one. But there are better options out there! 

We could talk all day about the health benefits of swapping from dairy to Plant-Based Milks. But that’s pretty pointless if all you're thinking is, "how can it be healthy with soooo many added ingredients?!"

Not all Nut Milks are the Same!

Good news– you won’t find any added junk in our ingredient lists. All our Plant-Based Milks are made with as few as 2 ingredients.

Our Nut Milks are made with just nuts and water– they’re that simple!! That way we can fit more nuts in every glass, for more nutrition in every unbelievably creamy sip.

Read more about how we craft our Plant Milks with the unique HydroRelease™ method.

So Why Do Other Nut Milks Have Such Long Ingredient Lists?

Many other brands add fillers and other junk to create a Plant Milk that looks and tastes more like, well, milk. But when your Nut Milk is made the right way, these ingredients are totally unnecessary. (Or at least at Elmhurst they are, anyway.) While any ingredient in your nut and other plant-based milks will be FDA approved and regulated, that doesn't mean you need to consume them. Especially if you can avoid it!

So what are these ingredients? And why are they in your milk?

Gums

Guar gum. Gellan gum. Xanthan gum. Locust bean gum.

If you’re familiar with the lengthy ingredient lists of some nut milks, you’ve probably seen those words before.

Why are they in your Nut Milk? Usually because there’s not a whole lot of nuts, and without added gums, the ‘nut’ milk would be pretty watery. Brands use these additives to mimic the creaminess of dairy. 

While gums are generally safe in small quantities, they can affect people differently. For many they can be hard-to-digest, and are completely unnecessary when Plant Milks are made the right way. Nobody wants to sip a glass or enjoy a recipe loaded with artificial thickeners.

Emulsifiers

Have you ever tried making nut milk at home?

If you have, then you’ll know that separation is natural! It’s not the end of the world. A good shake will bring all that creamy deliciousness back together again. 

But many brands use emulsifiers to hold their plant milks together and to fake a creamy texture. Gums can be emulsifiers, and so can alternatives like Palm Oil, which has been a major driver of deforestation. 

While the gums we mentioned above are generally safe, there have been more warnings about some specific emulsifiers that have potentially been linked to serious long-term health issues.

Emulsifiers in Nut Milk? No thank you!

Carrageenan

Carrageenan comes from red seaweed, which sounds natural and harmless enough, right? But it has long been a controversial ingredient in foods due to evidence it may possibly cause digestive issues and inflammation.

Brands use carrageenan as a thickener and to prevent natural separation– but what’s a quick shake of the carton versus serious gut problems? The bottom line is it’s a processed and unnecessary ingredient that you don’t want to see in your Nut Milk.  And when Plant Milks are made the right way, there’s no need for added thickeners. 

Just remember to double-check drinks labeled as "carrageenan-free" to make sure they're not loaded with other spooky ingredients!

Added Sugars

When it comes to sugar, it’s all about moderation and balance– but some Plant Milks are loaded with so much added sugar that they’re outright bad for you. 

Think about it. Why would you want to buy an Almond or Cashew Milk that’s more sugar than nuts? All that added sweetener means there’s less room for their natural nutritional goodness to shine through. 

Don’t get us wrong– we’ve got a sweet tooth too. That’s why we use as little as 1 gram of added sugar to add a touch of sweetness to our Sweetened Plant Milks and Oat Creamers.

And when you’re looking for an unbelievably creamy option without any added sugar, we’ve got an entire family of Unsweetened Nut Milks for you to enjoy. You can even add your own natural sweeteners and customize them to get your perfect sweetness.

Other Added “Nutrients”

When Nut Milks are made the right way, there’s no need for added nutrients or fortification. All the vitamins, minerals and healthy fats come straight from the nut itself. 

If you see vitamin and mineral blends in your nut milk’s ingredient list, it’s generally a sign that the best parts of the nut are destroyed during harsh processing. Our unique HydroRelease™ method uses just water to capture all of the nut’s nutritional goodness.

You can learn more about food fortification here.

Try Elmhurst nut milks and avoid all the spooky stuff

If you’re looking for nut milks without all this unnecessary junk, you’re in the right place!

Gums, thickeners, emulsifiers, carrageenan and other artificial additives have no place in Elmhurst Nut Milks. We just use more whole nuts in every carton to craft Plant Milks that are real creamy, not fake creamy. That’s the Elmhurst difference.

Check out our full range of plant-based milks here.