Oats are one of the healthiest and most sustainably grown grains on the planet and have always been a central part of a Scandinavian diet. I’ve studied oats for over a decade and introduced the first oat milk in the US in 2011. Even though Simpli OatShake won many awards I wanted to create a better, healthier oat milk that would be naturally nutritious and 100% clean.
How are oatmilks made?
Most oat milks sold in the US are made in a process called enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymes are used to turn starch into sugar, basically the same way high-fructose corn syrup is made. After that the fiber is extracted. The sugary syrup is then diluted with water, and artificial ingredients like emulsifiers and binders are added to create a milk-like consistency. Some manufacturers add synthetic vitamins or industrial phosphates.
How is Hälsa oatmilk and oat yogurt made?
We invented a completely chemical-free process that keeps all the health benefits of whole grain oats intact. Nothing natural is removed, nothing artificial is added. Nutritionally it resembles drinking oatmeal, but in a really delicious, smooth form.
For our yogurt we ferment the oat milk with yogurt bacteria and add billions of gut-loving probiotics.
Whole grain oats contain 0 grams of sugar. Why do oat milks that claim to have no added sugar then contain between 4 – 12 grams of sugar per serving?
Great observation. You’ve discovered the dirty little secret of oat milks. ‘No added sugar’ is a misleading statement because the sugar is created with enzymes from oat starch. The process is similar to how high-fructose corn syrup is made.
Also, the enzyme bath given to oats in the beginning of the process also alters other parts of the grain. It’s questionable whether beta glucan—the soluble fiber in oats that helps lower cholesterol—has any of its cholesterol-lowering properties left after it has gone through the enzyme treatment.
Why is it important to avoid artificial ingredients?
Artificial ingredients destroy the good bacteria in the digestive tract, irritate the stomach, and cause allergies.
We eat yogurt to balance our gut. But if the yogurt contains additives like food gums (gellan, xantham, etc gums) phosphates or other food additives, it defeats the purpose of consuming all those billions of probiotics.
Latest studies have revealed that the industrial phosphates (calcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate) used in many plant-based milks contribute to vascular calcification.
We at Hälsa believe food can be truly healthy and nourishing only if it’s free from every artificial ingredient.
Oats are not genetically modified. Why, then, are they sprayed with glyphosate?
This is a marketing trick by Monsanto to sell more RoundUp.
Oats contain a small amount of fat and have to be dried immediately after harvesting to prevent them from going rancid or moldy.
Monsanto created a shortcut for farmers: “If you spray your crop with our RoundUp right before harvesting you don’t need to worry about mold.”
Spraying glyphosate kills the grain, so there’s no longer mold formation to worry about!
EU has determined unsafe levels of glyphosate to be 0.3 mg per kilo of body weight, while US allows six times higher levels, 1.7 mg per kilo of body weight.
Where do Hälsa oats come from?
We buy our oats from our own contract farmers in Scandinavia who have grown oats for generations, and know how to do it the right way.
Because Scandinavian farms are small in size farmers are able to transport the oats to a drying silo immediately after harvesting, and there’s no need to spray the crop with toxic pesticides.
In Scandinavia it also rains enough so no irrigation is needed, and as a result our water footprint is zero. In contrast, growing one pound of almonds requires 1,900 gallons of water.
“Every time somebody picks Hälsa from the shelf they are making a better, healthier choice. They may not even know it themselves but they get to enjoy a product that is much cleaner than competition and that truly nourishes the body.”
– Helena Lumme, Founder of Hälsa