New Resident on Diabetic Street Needs An Answer.

Silverback

Member
Messages
6
Hello neighbours. :wave: My name is Dom, a new resident on Diabetic Street and hail from Eastbourne, East Sussex. Having been totally caught off-guard by the disastrous side-effects of Polyols (why wasn't I warned? Arrrrgh! :crazy: ), I find myself struggling to find a definitive answer to this: What is the sugar content of a bottle of Becks Blue Alcohol Free lager? I gave up drinking alcohol a while ago, but still enjoyed a nice ice cold Becks Blue - especially in the summer of course. After my diagnosis with Type2 I had to start researching good, bad and just downright evil foods. Didn't fancy giving up my Becks, though (it was bad enough having to end my intimate affair with Greggs' fresh cream apple danish pastries :thumbdown: ). So does anyone out there on planet sugarless have an answer for me? I would be most and quite sincerely grateful. x
 

Silverback

Member
Messages
6
That was a quick response. My first ever post and reply within minutes. Cool. I have been looking on-line but found varying results from 'trace' to '10g'. Being new to all this I thought I'd ask here. Thanks for your quick reply though. D.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Dom and welcome to the forum :)

I think this information, which we give to new members, will be useful to you, especially regarding food and carbohydrates in particular. Ask all the questions you like and someone will be able to answer you.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Silverback

Member
Messages
6
Thanks for your reply, Yorksman.

Personally, I think Becks Blue currently is the best tasting alcohol free lager on the market. Tastes just like the real thing and nice and refreshing straight from the fridge on a hot sunny day.
 

Silverback

Member
Messages
6
Hello there.

Following my original question, I decided to contact the brewers directly. The following is a copy of the email I received back today. I hope this helps. I shall also post this as a new topic so it can be seen more generally. But it seems to be good news in terms of sugar content.


Dear Dominic

Thank you for taking the time to contact AB InBev.

We do not use sugar as an ingredient in our beers. However as you've identified the carbohydrate content can be of concern to diabetics.

We hope the following information will be of assistance when discussing this further with your General Practitioner:

Carbohydrate content per 100ml:

Becks Blue 3.2 glucose grams
Stella Artois 2.95 glucose grams
Beck's 2.4 glucose grams
Boddingtons draught bitter 2.4 glucose grams
Brahma 3.5 glucose grams
Leffe blonde 5.0 glucose grams

Thanks for your interest in AB-InBev beer brands.

If we can be of further assistance please don't hesitate to get in touch.


Kind regards





Gayle Waller
Consumer Services Specialist, AB InBev

www.drinkaware.co.uk for the facts about alcohol