What can I drink when I have diabetes?

Quench your thirst with water. This is one of the official dietary guidelines that applies to everyone, including those who have diabetes. Your body needs water to perform optimally. 1 to one and a half litres per day will cover the need for liquid for most adults.

If you want to complement water with flavoured drinks, it's best to choose those that don't increase your blood sugar. These are beverages that contain a maximum of 1 gramme of carbohydrate for each decilitre you drink. The carbohydrate content is shown in the declaration of nutritional value for the product. This can be listed as grammes of carbohydrates per 100 grammes. 100 grammes corresponds to 1 decilitre of the beverage.

For example, you can choose mineral water with different flavours such as citrus, wild berries or the like. Soft drinks with no added sugar are other options. These beverages are often labelled 'light'. You can also drink coffee, tea and herbal tea. However, light does not guarantee that the drink is without added sugar. Light is an indication that the sugar quantity has been reduced. That means that you can buy beverages that are sweetened with both sugar and sweetener that are labelled light. Such a beverage will cause your blood sugar to rise. Light-beverages that are sweetened only with artificial sweetener do not increase your blood sugar. Under content or ingredients on the product declaration, you can read if there is sugar or sweeteners in the beverage. You can find out more about sweeteners in the film "Sugar and sweeteners".

If you drink sugary drinks such as soft drinks and juices, your blood sugar will go up. This also applies to juice, smoothies and non-alcoholic apple cider, because they have a naturally high sugar content. Therefore, if you do not have low blood sugar, it is a good idea to avoid drinking these beverages or only drink them in very limited quantities. For example, 1 decilitre of fruit juice will give the same increase in blood sugar as an apple or an orange.

It is also recommended to drink or eat 2.5 decilitres of milk or an acidified milk product per day. Some may need 3 - 3.5 decilitres, for example, if you don't have a varied diet. In the shopping guide of the Danish Diabetes Association you can find instructions on which drinks you can choose. Although you have diabetes, the recommendations of the Danish Health Authority concerning alcohol also apply to you. Alcohol can lower your blood sugar, but many alcoholic beverages also contain carbohydrates which can make your blood sugar go up. Here you can see examples of beverages that contain both carbohydrates and alcohol.

If you take insulin and drink alcohol, there are some special issues that you need to be aware of. Therefore, it may be a good idea to talk to your caretaker about this.