drink wholesome is the best non dairy coffee creamer powder. It is made with just 2 simple simple ingredients, making it perfect for people who need a creamer without the extra processing and added junk.
Dairy Free Milk Powders
the alternative:
Almond milk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Cane Sugar, Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Acetate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2), Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Sunflower Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Gellan Gum, Ascorbic Acid
Written by Jack Schrupp & endorsed by Baylee Reller, RDN
Many people are looking to eat less dairy these days. Dairy is not environmentally-friendly, and can cause side effects like bloating and gas. Dairy is hard to give up, however, especially for coffee drinkers. This is where non-dairy creamers come in. But what exactly does ‘non dairy’ mean?
Dairy products are products made from (or containing) milk. Dairy-free products do not contain milk or ingredients derived from milk.
Non dairy, on the other hand, just means that “milk” is not an ingredient. Unlike dairy-free products, non dairy products can contain milk derivatives like caseinate, milk solids, and whey protein.
No regulatory definition exists for ‘dairy-free’ and ‘non dairy,’ meaning the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate their use. That said, the FDA does state that labeling must be truthful and not misleading.
No company selling dairy-free products labels their products with the term ‘non-dairy.’ Why would they? Their products are free from dairy. A company would only use the term ‘non-dairy’ if they had something to hide. In other words, the term “non dairy” is used to trick customers into thinking that what they are eating or drinking does not contain dairy, when it actually does.
I have no problem with a company that makes dairy-free products using either term. What I do not like is when companies whose products are NOT dairy-free use the term ‘non dairy’ on their packaging or in their advertisements. This is misleading, and should be banned by the FDA.
For the record, our non dairy creamer powder does not contain any dairy whatsoever, making it suitable for people with lactose intolerance and dairy allergies.
Take a look at the ingredient list below.
CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COCONUT AND/OR PALM KERNEL AND/OR SOYBEAN), SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE)**, 2% OR LESS OF DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ALUMINOSILICATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ANNATTO COLOR
These are the ingredients in Coffee mate Original Powdered Creamer, America’s #1 non dairy creamer powder. The first two ingredients (ingredients are listed by descending weight) are dairy-free. The third ingredient is not. Sodium caseinate, as the label itself indicates, comes from milk.
I bring up Coffee mate because it is a perfect example of a company that uses the term non-dairy in a misleading way. Their products CONTAIN DAIRY, but they throw around the term ‘non dairy’ as if they do not. Check out the screenshot below taken on July 20, 2023 on Amazon.com.
Whoever created this Amazon listing titled it “Non-Dairy Powdered Creamer,” which is potentially dangerous. Sodium caseinate should not be in a product that claims to be non dairy, as it is not safe for individuals with dairy allergies. Take this as a reminder that reading ingredients list is important, especially if you have food allergies or sensitivities.
If you look closely, you will see that the packaging itself reads “LACTOSE-FREE.” Lactose is the sugar in milk, and even though Coffee mate contains a milk derivative, the lactose has probably been removed. This claim is therefore not necessarily misleading.
Let us turn our attention to another ingredient list.
CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, VEGETABLE OIL* (COCONUT AND/OR PALM KERNEL), SODIUM CASEINATE (A MILK DERIVATIVE), LESS THAN 2% OF DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SILICON DIOXIDE, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, ARTIFICIAL COLORS, DATEM. *ADDS A TRIVIAL AMOUNT OF FAT. CONTAINS: MILK.
These are the ingredients in an Amazon Brand Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer. In this case, the term ‘non-dairy’ is printed directly on the package (see below), despite sodium caseinate being one of the ingredients. In this case, the use of the term ‘non-dairy’ is absurd, because the packaging itself reads “CONTAINS” MILK.”
The takeaway here should be that a coffee-creamer that uses the label ‘non dairy’ is not necessarily dairy-free. You yourself must read the ingredient list closely in order to ensure that what you are putting in your coffee does not contain milk or ingredients derived from milk.
Before moving on, I would like you to take another look at these ingredients, and think about how unnatural they are. I am not saying that they are artificial per se, but they are certainly not naturally occurring. Every single ingredient on both of these lists, except for those that are explicitly artificial, is a heavily-processed derivative of real food.
Unfortunately, this is par for the course for dairy-free and non dairy creamer powders. In order to replicate the creamy mouth-feel of dairy, manufacturers resort to using heavily-processed ingredients like corn syrup solids and food additives. Both are bad for your health.
Making ingredients like corn syrup solids requires extensive mechanical and chemical processing. As a result, what you add to your coffee looks nothing like real food, which is because your digestive system is designed to handle only minimally or unprocessed real foods. Consuming anything other than real foods, it follows, can cause problems.
While the long-term effects of consuming processed ingredients like corn syrup solids are still being investigated, emerging studies suggest that they have the potential to disrupt the gut microbiome – the community of microorganisms living in your gut.
In addition to its role in digestion, the gut microbiome acts as a protective barrier against harmful pathogens, educates the immune system, and influences many physiological processes. Disruptions to the balance of the gut microbiome have therefore been linked with the development of numerous chronic illnesses. Basically, regularly using non dairy powdered creamer made with ingredients like corn syrup solids could kill you.
Most non dairy creamer powders contain food additives such as emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives, and flavors. Even in small amounts, these added ingredients can cause gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms like bloating and diarrhea, especially for individuals with pre-existing gut issues.
Because they look little to nothing like real food, additives are only partially digested, which leads to one of two outcomes: either your gut can absorbs excess water, resulting in diarrhea, or the partially digested additives feed your gut bacteria. Gut bacteria produce gas, and excessive gas in the gut can cause symptoms like bloating, flatulence, and stomach pain, and even constipation.
Here are some of the common food additives in non dairy powdered creamers:
acacia gum, canola oil, carob bean gum, carrageenan, cellulose gum, dicalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, disodium phosphate, gellan gum, guar gum, gum arabic, inulin, locust bean gum, monosodium phosphate, “natural” flavors, palm oil, phosphoric acid, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, soy lecithin, sunflower lecithin, sunflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, xanthan gum
The real reason to avoid food additives, however, is their long-term effects. Regardless of whether or not you have pre-existing gut issues, regularly eating additives can disturb regulatory pathways in your intestines. This increases the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and various systemic inflammatory disorders. Food additives can also disrupt your gut microbiome, which, as you just learned, is terrible for you overall health.
Our non dairy coffee creamer powder, on the contrary, is made with just 2 simple ingredients: oats and coconut. It is rich and creamy like half and half, but 100% dairy-free. Give it a try to see for yourself.
“I didn’t think that I needed this, but I do now! It is so much better than the almond milk I was buying. I didn’t realize how many additives are in almond milk!!! This tastes better too. Much creamier.” – Amy
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Dairy Free Milk Powders
This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. drink wholesome is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
