Milk can be a hot-button topic. And with so many new alternative forms of milk out there (alternative meaning non-cow’s milk), it may make you feel like the OG milk is simply bad for you. At least, that’s what I thought. Everybody around me was ordering their coffee with oat milk, so I thought they must know something that I didn’t and started ordering it, too.

So, what really is the deal? I turned to nutritionist Laura Parada to find out more.

Cow’s milk: Is it healthy?

First things first: Cow’s milk isn’t actually bad for you, according to Parada. “Organic cow’s milk and organic dairy products are good for you as long as you aren’t lactose intolerant,” she says. “Dairy products provide us with much-needed calcium to keep bones and teeth healthy, as well as minerals like magnesium and phosphorus, as well as vitamins A and B, and protein.”

Cow’s milk is one of the only complete proteins, which means it contains all nine essential amino acids that we are unable to produce on our own. Although cow’s milk is not an essential part of the human diet (other complete proteins include eggs, meat, tofu, and other soy products), it’s an easy way to hit a lot of dietary necessities.

Now, to discuss some of the concerns and potential misconceptions about cow’s milk: It’s loaded with antibiotics and hormones, or can cause inflammation. A 2024 study specifically looked at three types of milk—homogenized milk, pasturized milk, and raw milk—and how consumption would affect the gut. The biggest takeaway? “These new findings suggest that consumption of raw milk can be potentially inflammatory due to its vast microbiota, in addition to the well-known risks of its consumption, and that processed milk can prevent or promote inflammation according to the type of processing to which it was submitted.” Out of the three, it was found that only pasteurized milk decreased the inflammatory reaction.

So when it comes to cow’s milk, the way it’s processed matters.

Oat milk: Is it healthy?

We all know where cow’s milk comes from, but what about oat milk? It starts with just combining oats and milk and then potentially adding in ingredients like enzymes, minerals and vitamins to fortify, oils and sugars to help with texture, and potential flavors.