Fortify yourself: The Truth Behind the Plant Milk Headlines
By Emily Angus RD, Senior Dietitian, The Vegan Society
You may have seen yet more media coverage recently reporting ‘deficiencies’ in the nutritional value of plant milks, when compared to dairy milks.
As is so often the case, headlines such as ‘Dropping milk to go vegan is bad for you, study warns’ (Daily Telegraph, 05 November 2026) are misleading, at best.
The study concerned is by a team from the University of Surrey and Queen’s University Belfast, published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal on 04 November 2026. It focused on reduced iodine, calcium and other nutrient levels found in some dairy alternatives, including some plant milks. Those products were either completely or partially unfortified.
The Vegan Society would never recommend that vegans consume unfortified plant milks. We recommend that vegans and people following a plant-based diet choose a fortified, unsweetened, plant-based milk alternative that contains 25mcg/100ml iodine and 120mg/100ml calcium. This is a 'like for like' swap for dairy in terms of these nutrients.
Most plant-based milk alternatives available to UK consumers are fortified with calcium and vitamin D as a minimum, with organic varieties the main exception. Fortified products also tend to beneficially provide vitamin D, vitamin B12 and a range of other micronutrients. As with any product, check the nutrition label to make sure that your plant-based milk contains these nutrients.
According to the UK Government's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) guidance on plant-based alternatives to dairy milk (published 16 July 2025), 38% of plant-based dairy alternatives in the UK were already iodine-fortified in 2022. That percentage has increased since then.
Many reports on this study also claimed that calcium intake would decline, even if fortified dairy alternatives are consumed. Again, this is misleading. Two to three portions per day of fortified plant-based dairy products meets the average person's calcium needs. The UK EatWell Guide lists fortified alternatives to dairy as a valid way to meet daily calcium requirements, and both the NHS and British Dietetic Association recommend that people meet their calcium needs by consuming dairy or fortified alternatives.
The team behind this research suggested that requiring plant-based products to be fortified with iodine and adding iodised salt to bread would help avoid any iodine deficiencies in consumers of plant milks. The Vegan Society wholeheartedly supports such mandatory fortification and confirmed this in our response to the government’s 2025 SACN guidance. (Consumers should also know that meat and dairy products are only good sources of iodine because animal feed is fortified, by law. We say the same rules should apply to meat and dairy alternatives.)
Finally, for the avoidance of any doubt, we recommend vegans – and non-vegans, for that matter – take a micronutrient supplement that covers potential dietary shortfalls such as iodine. One such supplement is The Vegan Society’s VEG 1, which is available from our website.
In summary, vegans and people considering a vegan lifestyle should not be ‘spooked’ by this report – or, perhaps more pertinently, its coverage in the media. Just make sure you fortify yourself!
The views expressed by our bloggers are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
