Is one soy milk better than another?

Do you love soy milk but find that it doesn’t love you? Those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) often think that soy milk is a better option to cow’s milk. It can be but not if you have an issue with GOSs or galactooligosaccharides. But, if you do love soy milk and have IBS you just have to choose the right type of soy milk.

Look at the ingredients on the side of the carton. What you are looking for is a soy milk made from the soy protein not the whole soy bean.

Here’s the ingredients in the Sanitarium soy milk:

Filtered water, soy protein (3.5%), corn maltodextrin, vegetable oils (sunflower, canola), cane sugar, minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium), acidity regulators (332, 450), antioxidant (ascorbic acid), vitamins (B12, D2, A, B2, B1), natural flavour.

The Sanitarium option is made from soy protein so it shouldn't be a problem if you have IBS and a GOS sensitivity.

Let's look at another version, the ingredients from the Bon Soy milk:

Filtered water, organic whole soybeans, tapioca syrup, sea salt, job's tears (hato mugi), calcium carbonate.

This would not be good for those of you who have IBS and sensitivity to GOSs because of the whole soybeans.

When choosing a milk alternative it’s important to choose one with calcium added to it. You can see that there is a big the difference in these two versions above so choose what is best for you. Adults need ~1000 mg/day of calcium so have a look to see if you are getting enough calcium.