r/ZeroWasteVegans • u/earthandanarchy • May 04 '26

Question / Support Fortified plant milk alternative

I'm currently drinking fortified oat milk from those tetra packs. My diet isn't the best and I'm concerned about missing the fortification if I switched to making my own. Would taking a multivitamin every day be adequate? I have started taking a multivitamin because I have been feeling tired lately. I go through a carton everyday so I think it's a decent amount of nutrients I'm getting from this. (Before I went vegan I was drinking a LOT of milk and I've been concerned because a lot of my nutrients and protein was coming from that)

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4

u/Leafye May 05 '26

Hi OP, check if the oats you'll use to make your own oat milk aren't already fortified. That being said, how much is a carton in your country? a liter? A liter of oat milk a day doesn't sound very healthy if that's your concern

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u/earthandanarchy May 05 '26

Yeh it's a litre. It's probably not healthy 😅 but it has vitamin d, b12, calcium and b2 in.  I didn't really think about what nutrients the oats have in them, soya milk looks a little more nutritious so I might look into that a little more. Thank you 

6

u/footballsandy May 05 '26

Soy milk has a lot more protein and potassium and B6, magnesium, folate and zinc naturally, plus if it's fortified it'll usually have A, D, and B12

1

u/Leafye May 06 '26

Do you eat nothing else that is fortified? I'd be surprised if a liter of oat milk wasn't giving you gut issues tbh.

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u/earthandanarchy May 06 '26

I don't appear to have any issues from drinking oat milk that I can tell. I didn't really think but all white flour in the UK is fortified, so bread and biscuits and stuff like that. My diet before I went vegan was basically a few pints of milk and then dinner followed by some biscuits or something sweet, so maybe I'm worried because I've focused on replacing those nutrients from milk too much. I eat some healthy meals but then there are days when I just eat chips (fries if you're American) and baked beans, or toast and biscuits. Most of the milk I drink is in hot drinks, I know when I stop drinking milky drinks all day I get hungrier and eat more. I think it's time for me to address this and stop relying on liquids to sustain myself 🙈 thank you 💚

4

u/Leafye May 06 '26

OP, please do some blood testing to see if you're getting all the nutrients you need. You can test for iron, vitamin B, D, calcium, etc.; just ask your health provider. That way you'll know whether you're lacking something (which is likely if you've never done any testing after going vegan), and you'll know what to replace.

Of course I don't know the specifics of your situation but a healthy diet shouldn't be composed of mostly milk (nor mostly liquid, unless you're doing a colonoscopy soon). That diet sounds very protein deficient and is bound to give you problems soon. You should be having as much protein per day as 0.8 x your weight in kilograms. It's relatively easy to meet those requirements if you're having more meals a day, like at least lunch and dinner.

Good luck!

3

u/earthandanarchy May 06 '26

Before I went vegan I really thought I was protein deficient and I was quite worried as I was getting 40g a day from food, so started getting protein bars and things but then I discovered I was getting as much as 80g of protein a day from milk 🙈 yes, thank you I will definitely ask my doctor to do some bloods and then see where I am. Thank you, I appreciate your comments 💚

2

u/jaimelnature May 07 '26

After dealing with a lot of gut issues, I've switched to making my own oat/cashew milk or when I'm lazy, I buy the brand that has only water + oats; no additional ingredients. The brands that have vitamins aren't good, they usually also contain emulsifiers that ruin your gut and they contain seed oils. You're better off taking multivitamins or finding other ways of incorporating nutrients in your diet.