I’ve had a problem with milk since I was a child. My system doesn’t process it smoothly. Don’t get me wrong, I love the taste of milk. I grew up on 2%, but finally realized it isn’t worth the nasal inconvenience.

Consequently, I’ve been drinking soy “milk” for years. Like most, I started out on vanilla, eventually moved on to regular, and now prefer unsweetened. I sometimes drink it straight and enjoy. But, I love breakfast, especially when it involves delicious cereal infused in generous amounts of soy beverage.

Depending on what you read (e.g. dairy industry propaganda), soy contains estrogen or something similar to it. Apparently, this in excess can be bad for people, but especially young males and women. One of the big claims is that it can increase cancer, specifically breast cancer. Obviously, if this is true, it is bad.

My wife’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, so I am clearly concerned.

After my wife bought some almond milk, I happened to notice the various milk alternatives in our local Whole Foods. I decided to buy a small carton of each type and have a taste test. I bought Pacific Natural Foods brand Almond, Oat, Rice, and Hazelnut beverages, and Living Harvest Hemp beverage (Pacific Natural didn’t have hemp).

In a very scientific process, my wife labeled cups with rubber bands and distributed the beverages. I tried each one, wrote a few things down, and then ranked them in order of preference.

In the end, my favorite was Oat Milk. My preferences:

1. Oat
2. Almond
3. Hazelnut
4. Hemp
5. Rice

But, after comparing calorites, carbs, and fat, almond is the clear winner. Breakdown:

• Oat – 130 calories
• Almond – 70 calories
• Hazelnut – 110 calories
• Hemp – 130 calories
• Rice – 90 calories

If you are a soy milk drinker, weigh the pros and cons and think about giving one of these other beverages a try.

Personally, I’m going to start my mornings off right with a bowl of cereal and almond beverage.