8 Good and Bad Drinks for Diabetics

People with diabetes need to make sure they follow a healthy diet but this doesn't just refer to food as drinks also affect blood sugar levels.

When you have diabetes, your body doesn't use insulin properly to pull glucose, or blood sugar, into your cells for energy. This can lead to high blood sugar and a number of serious complications.

5 best drinks for diabetics

The following drinks are good choices for people with diabetes:

Water

Water is one of the good drinks for people with diabetes.

The healthiest drink is water. Proper hydration affects physical and mental health and every system in the body needs water. It is also possible to mistake thirst for hunger or a craving for sweets. This leads some people to drink soft drinks and fruit juices. If this craving occurs, it is best to drink a glass of water first and see how the body reacts.

Flavored water

Some people choose juice or sugary drinks because they find the taste of water boring or bland. You can add flavor by infusing water with the juice of a citrus fruit, such as lemon, lime zest, or a splash of cranberry juice. Infusing water with fruit, such as berries, also adds a healthy flavor.

Herbal tea

Herbal teas are another way to flavor water. Boiling the leaves of certain plants in water can provide both flavor and health benefits. Licorice root, for example, provides a mildly sweet flavor without raising blood sugar levels.

Milk

Sometimes your body wants more than just water. Milk can be a good choice. Cow's milk, soy milk, rice milk, or nut milk can provide calories, vitamins, and minerals. However, it's important to choose unsweetened varieties.

Cow's milk, rice milk, and soy milk all add carbohydrates to the diet and so this must be taken into account in your meal planning.

Most unsweetened nut milks are low in carbohydrates, but people with diabetes should check the nutrition facts of their milk of choice and note how many carbs are in a serving to manage blood sugar levels.

American Diabetes Association

Choose fat-free or low-fat milk (to help control saturated fat). Be careful when drinking cow's milk because the protein in cow's milk slows digestion and improves insulin response, which affects blood sugar levels.

Pure fruit juice in moderation

Pure fruit juice is fine, but since fruit juice provides sugar from the fruit, diabetics should only consume small amounts. Any fruit juice should be taken into account in the meal plan. For example, a 8-ounce glass of fresh, unprocessed orange juice contains nearly 26 grams of carbohydrates, of which nearly 21 grams are sugar.

Portion size is an important factor in managing carbohydrate intake when drinking fruit juice with meals. Drinking fruit juice alone can cause a spike in blood sugar, but drinking fruit juice with other foods, especially protein or healthy fats, is healthy and helps prevent this.

Eating fruit is a great way to quench your thirst and it offers more nutritional benefits than fruit juice.

3 types of drinks to avoid when having diabetes

Soda, soft drinks, fruit cocktails and alcoholic beverages are all things that people with diabetes should avoid.

The following drinks are not good choices for people with diabetes:

Soda water, soft drink, energy drink

Sodas and other sugary drinks may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and metabolic syndrome. Excess weight is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, and both obesity and diabetes are features of metabolic syndrome.

For people who already have diabetes, these drinks provide a large amount of sugar and require little digestion. Additionally, these drinks are not filling because they contain only simple carbs and no fiber.

Drinking soda without healthy foods can lead to spikes in blood sugar. It is best to avoid or limit sugary sodas, soft drinks, and energy drinks to reduce the risk of spikes in blood sugar.

Fruit cocktail

These drinks may taste like fruit juice, but they are often high in sugar/corn syrup and contain little or no natural fruit juice. These ingredients cause blood sugar spikes similar to soda.

They provide high sugar content but much less nutritional value than 100% pure fruit juice.

100% fresh fruit juice can be enjoyed in moderation, but beware of pre-mixed fruit cocktails that do not contain real fruit juice.

Alcoholic beverages

Most wine is sugar-free but beer contains carbohydrates and many alcoholic drinks contain sugar. This increases blood sugar levels and increases the risk of weight gain.

Alcohol affects the way the liver produces glucose, which can lead to a sudden drop in blood sugar, or hypoglycaemia. People who use insulin should be aware of the effects of alcohol on glucose levels. Excessive drinking can lead to liver disease and other problems for people with diabetes as well as for everyone else, so everyone should drink in moderation.

Alcohol can lower blood sugar levels. This can be a problem for people who use insulin. Although people with diabetes can drink small amounts of alcohol, the American Diabetes Association recommends the following reasonable limits:

• 1 glass per day for women.
• 2 drinks a day for men.
• 1 glass is equivalent to: 30ml of spirits, 150ml of wine, 360ml of beer.

People with diabetes should drink alcoholic beverages with food to reduce the risk of low blood sugar, do not exceed the limit recommended by the doctor, count daily carbohydrates, check the calories and alcohol content of the beer they drink.

Alcohol should never be used as a substitute for carbohydrates in food. Instead, people should limit their alcohol intake and consume it in addition to their normal diet.

For people with diabetes, healthy dietary choices are effective in controlling the condition and reducing the risk of complications. Beverages, like foods, can cause blood sugar spikes and other problems, so with the right choices, people with diabetes can enjoy a wide variety of beverages. For specific carbohydrate intake needs, consult an endocrinologist or dietitian.

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