If you live with diabetes, it can be tricky to know which drinks are good for your health, and which ones you might want to avoid, or have less often.
Does it matter what we drink? Yes, particularly when it comes to fruit juices, smoothies and sugary drinks – you could be having more calories and sugar than you mean to because you’re drinking them and not realising
In this guide, we’ll take you through the drinks that are good for people living with diabetes and without diabetes and the drinks which could surprise you with their sugar content.
The best drinks for people living with diabetes
Water, unsweetened tea and coffee, sugar-free soft drinks, plain milk, fruit juices and smoothies all count towards your daily fluid requirements.
We also get fluid from the food we eat, especially from fruit and vegetables.
Water
Water is the best all-round drink. Your body is made up of nearly two-thirds water, so it makes sense to drink enough every day to stay hydrated and healthy
If your family likes flavoured waters, you could make your own by adding a squeeze of lemon or lime, or adding some strawberries.
Children often need reminding to drink water, so you could try giving them a colourful water bottle with a funky straw.
Tea and coffee
When drinking tea or coffee, or chai or hot chocolate – cut back on sugar and use a little sweetener if desired but try and get use to less sweetness. Your taste buds will adjust to this over time.
Herbal teas can make a refreshing change and most are caffeine-free.
Fruit juices and smoothies
Fruit juices and smoothies with 100% juice contain vitamins and minerals, and 150ml provides one portion of our five a day – but remember, they only count as one portion, however much you drink.
Drinking too much can harm teeth, so for children, dilute with water and drink at meal times. As with all juice drinks, if you enjoy coconut water, limit to one small glass (150ml) a day as coconut water can contain free sugars.
Milk
Milk is a nourishing drink choice. It’s a good source of calcium, protein and carbohydrate, and can be a particularly good for hydration after sport.
Drinks to use as hypo treatments
It’s important to know that the type of treatment for low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia or a hypo, depends on what works best for you, and you can talk to your diabetes team about this.
Fizzy sugary drinks provide little else apart from a lot of sugar, so only use these to treat hypos. Otherwise, choose sugar-free alternatives.
Energy drinks – the only time when these drinks can be helpful in diabetes is when you need to get your blood sugar levels up quickly after a hypo. Energy drinks are high in sugar, calories and can contain caffeine.
You might also want to think about the cost of hypo treatments when deciding what hypo treatment is best for you.
Health and wellbeing drinks
Many of you will have noticed the dazzling array of ‘health and wellbeing drinks’ that have hit the supermarket shelves over the last few years. Often marketed as ‘super drinks’, and claiming a wide variety of health benefits.
Such drinks include coconut water, and vitamin and mineral-enriched beverages.
The UK soft drinks industry is worth over 14 billion pounds, and half of all fizzy drinks now produced are branded ‘low calorie’. It’s important to add that ‘super drink’ - just like ‘super food’ - is not legally recognised, it’s purely a marketing term.
Some products that are labelled as ‘super’ may have some health benefits, but no more than those in naturally occurring foods, which are often cheaper.
Drinks to have during and after sport
There are different types of sports drinks available to help keep you hydrated during or after exercise. They contain various levels of fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrate. Check your drink contains enough carbohydrates needed for your activity, or adequate sodium to replace that lost in sweating.
Nutritional requirements for sport vary and the choice of drink depends on the duration and intensity of your activity, so do seek advice from your healthcare professional. If you need to treat a hypo, use your normal hypo treatment. You can’t reply on sports drinks to treat a hypo, but check the carb content if you are using sports drinks.
As with all claims attached to food and drink, it’s wise to look at the scientific evidence behind the claims, and seek advice from your registered dietitian.
Top tips for drinking healthily with diabetes
Try these practical and tasty tips for mixing up your drinks:
- Add slices of cucumber, lemon, or mint leaves to a glass of iced water.
- Mix sparkling water with a small amount of no added sugar squash
- Make ice cubes from watermelon or grapes to brighten up your sugar-free drinks.
- Gradually dilute fruit juice so you get used to less sweetness.
- Try different types of flavoured teas – fresh mint leaves in boiling water is very refreshing.
- Keep a bottle or a jug of water on the dinner table.
- Add ground elaichi (cardamom seeds) to flavour chai in place of sugar and use plain milk rather than sweetened condensed milk.
- Use diet or light versions of hot chocolate or make your own with unsweetened cocoa powder, hot water, a splash of milk and a little sweetener to taste
- Check the label on drinks cartons and choose the one that’s lowest in sugar.
