A Nutrition Comparison of Soy Milk and Rice Milk

For anyone that doesn't drink milk, or is planning to not drink it or drink less of it, there are alternative beverages that you can drink or add to your cereal or oatmeal that will provide you with Calcium and Vitamin D. Two options are rice milk and soy milk, if you are contemplating which you should drink, I was at one time was, here is how they are alike and different in nutritional facts.

Soy Milk, Silk Original Flavor, Nutritional Facts

Calories ----------------------- 100
Calories from Fat ------------- 35
Daily Value Percentage for a 2000 Calorie Diet
Total Fat 4g --------------------- 6%
Saturated Fat 0.5g ------------ 3%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.5g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 120mg ---------------- 5%
Potassium 300mg ------------ 8%
Total Carbohydrates 8g ----- 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g --------------- 4%
Sugars 6g
Protein 7g
Vitamin A ---------------------- 10%
Vitamin C ----------------------- 0%
Calcium ----------------------- 30%
Iron ------------------------------- 6%
Vitamin D --------------------- 30%
Riboflavin --------------------- 30%
Folate ---------------------------- 6%
Vitamin B12 ------------------ 50%
Magnesium ------------------ 10%
Zinc ------------------------------ 4%
Selenium ---------------------- 8%

Rice Milk, Rice Dream Rice Drink Original Flavor, Nutritional Facts

Calories ----------------------120
Calories from Fat ----------- 20
Daily Value Percentage for a 2000 Calorie Diet
Total Fat 2.5g ---------------- 4%
Saturated Fat 0g ------------ 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 80mg --------------- 3%
Total Carb. 23g -------------- 8%
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars 10g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A -------------------- 10%
Vitamin C ---------------------- 0%
Calcium ---------------------- 30%
Iron ------------------------------ 4%
Vitamin D --------------------- 25%
Vitamin B12 ------------------ 25%
Phosphorous --------------- 15%

What Nutrition Values are Different

Rice milk has more calories but less calories from fat, and no saturated fat, while soy milk has half of a gram. Soy milk has 120mg of sodium and 5% daily needed intake and rice milk only has 3%. Rice milk gives you 8% of carbohydrates that you need daily, with 23 grams, and soy milk only offers you 8 grams a mere 3%. There are 10 grams of sugars in rice milk and only 6 grams in soy milk. Soy milk has 30% of you daily needed intake of Vitamin D, rice milk has only 25%. Soy milk has 6% of the Iron that you need daily while rice milk has only 4% and soy milk has 7 grams of protein, only 1 gram less than milk, and rice milk only has 1 gram of protein.

What Nutrition Values are Alike

Both soy milk and rice milk have 0mg of cholesterol. They both give you the same amount of Vitamin A, 10%, Vitamin C, 0%, and Calcium, 30%.

What Soy Milk Has That Rice Milk Doesn't

Perhaps rice milk does offer some of these things but they do not mention them in their nutrition facts, with the exception of dietary fiber where they clearly state that there are zero grams, there is 1 gram in soy milk which is 4% of what you need daily. The following are the nutrients that soy milk offers that soy milk does not mention.

Potassium 300mg 8%
Riboflavin --------- 30%
Folate ---------------- 6%
Magnesium ------ 10%
Zinc ------------------ 4%
Selenium ----------- 8%

What Rice Milk Has That Soy Milk Doesn't

There is one thing that rice milk mentions that soy milk doesn't and that is Phosphorous. There is 15% of the daily need intake of Phosphorous in rice milk.

Taste will obviously be a factor of why someone would choose a beverage, honestly neither taste anything like milk and comparing them in taste is like comparing apples and oranges, they are just different. They are the same price at the grocery store where I shop, so I don't really factor in the cost as a reason to choose one or the other. I usually choose soy milk for the protein that it provides but I will still get a half gallon of rice milk from time to time. Depending on the rest of your diet and what you are looking for in a calcium providing beverage will determine which will be best for you.