Cows Milk Substitute

[Helen1970]

Hi
I have type 2 and have noticed that cows milk increases my sugar levels and wondered if anyone could suggest an alternative suitable for use in tea please. Have tried a few and tbh can't say they taste that nice used in tea so any advice would be great.
Many Thanks

 

[bulkbiker]

Double cream? obviously far smaller amounts required.

 

[Andydragon]

Hi
I have type 2 and have noticed that cows milk increases my sugar levels and wondered if anyone could suggest an alternative suitable for use in tea please. Have tried a few and tbh can't say they taste that nice used in tea so any advice would be great.
Many Thanks

Hi, yeah it’s annoying these things we find that impact our levels
What have you tried?
So many varieties now, almond, soy, pea, coconut but they all have their own slightly different tastes. I think oat milk tends to be higher carbs so not as recommended.

Have you tried no milk at all, or tea with maybe some lemon?

 

[Resurgam]

I have stopped drinking ordinary tea and now prefer mint and liquorice, just with hot water.

 

[In Response]

Have you tried black tea?
I used to always have milk in my tea until the office I worked in only had condensed milk.
Twenty years later and I always drink my tea black.

Trialling it may be a useful experiment. Some find the caffeine in coffee raises their blood sugars. I am not sure about tea but trying it black and testing will give you a chance to exclude the "milk factor" in case it is the tea itself causing the rise.

If you can't stomach black tea you could try tea alternatives such as redbush and herbal teas.i know my preference is herbal over cream in tea.

 

[Alexandra100]

Double cream?

When I first started avoiding carbs, I took advice from this Forum that double cream has half the carbs of milk. In coffee I was delighted to ditch the "healthy" skim milk I had been using for the delicious double cream that had been such a treat in my "pre healthy" days. From cream in coffee I progressed to cream in tea. It seemed odd at first, but now I enjoy the richness. I have noticed that in 19thC novels, those wealthy enough to afford it always took cream in their tea. As I am trying to keep under 30g carbs a day, I was annoyed to find that one tea bag costs me about 0.5gc, as does 1tsp instant coffee. Over night I have taken almost exclusively to proper ground coffee, caffeinated in the morning and decaff in the afternoon.

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

Have you tried black tea?

It's the way tea is supposed to be drank, no milk in sight at Japanese / Chinese tea ceremonies.

 

[bulkbiker]

It's the way tea is supposed to be drank, no milk in sight at Japanese / Chinese tea ceremonies.

Then again little to no black tea either.. mainly green, jasmin or oolong.

 

[carty]

I stopped taking milk in my tea but found it a bit bitter but now I have a slice of lemon in it and find it very refreshing
Carol

 

[zand]

I make a pint of 'milk' for use in tea by adding 60 mls cream to water.

 

[Struma]

How about goat's milk?

 

[agwagw]

When I first started avoiding carbs, I took advice from this Forum that double cream has half the carbs of milk. In coffee I was delighted to ditch the "healthy" skim milk I had been using for the delicious double cream that had been such a treat in my "pre healthy" days. From cream in coffee I progressed to cream in tea. It seemed odd at first, but now I enjoy the richness. I have noticed that in 19thC novels, those wealthy enough to afford it always took cream in their tea. As I am trying to keep under 30g carbs a day, I was annoyed to find that one tea bag costs me about 0.5gc, as does 1tsp instant coffee. Over night I have taken almost exclusively to proper ground coffee, caffeinated in the morning and decaff in the afternoon.

Hi there, Just wondering about 0.5g carb in one teabag? My nutrition book reckons it's 0.2g per 100g of tea, so a teabag would be about 10mg or less?
Very well done on keeping below 30g - I can't get near there!

 

[Alexandra100]

Hi there, Just wondering about 0.5g carb in one teabag? My nutrition book reckons it's 0.2g per 100g of tea, so a teabag would be about 10mg or less?
Very well done on keeping below 30g - I can't get near there!

Hello @agwagw, I used to think of tea as carb free, so it was a shock to find the info. on a packet of peppermint teabags that they did indeed contain carbs. Since then, I always examine packets of tea before buying, or check the supermarket website. Some give info on carb content, many don't. Googling brings a mixed bag from "negligible" to 1.1gc per cup. Frustratingly, as with anything to do with diabetes (or indeed with health in general) there is no consensus. I tend to go with the info. on the packet if it is available.

As for keeping below 30gc daily, it took me quite a while (a) to realise I needed to go that low, (b) to spot all those carbs lurking even in the "healthiest" foods eg spinach and (c) to find (often here) low or even no-carb alternatives that make a vlc diet bearable. With luck you may be able to tolerate more carbs than I can.

 

[Iona May]

In tea i've found almond milk to be about the best. I save my 7g carbs cows milk for a coffee at the end of the day!

 

[DJC3]

Hi
I have type 2 and have noticed that cows milk increases my sugar levels and wondered if anyone could suggest an alternative suitable for use in tea please. Have tried a few and tbh can't say they taste that nice used in tea so any advice would be great.
Many Thanks

Cows milk does the same to me. I use Alpro ‘No Sugars’ almond milk ( don’t get the ‘original’ - it’s sweetened) it took a short while to get used to it but I much prefer it now and wouldn’t go back to cows milk even if I could.

 

[Yellredder]

I use lactose free in tea. Does the job for me.

 

[TeddyTottie]

Yep milk does dire things to my BG too. I use cream in coffee and drink tea black or sometimes with lemon. I would say, I have become an utter tea snob and embraced the different varieties, I love really good Darjeeling tea made from leaves in a proper tea pot. It is very low in tannin, which is what makes tea taste strong and astringent and leads people to dump in loads of milk. Maybe have a play around with different types of black tea, you might find a few which you really like without milk.

 

[TriciaWs]

I gradually gave up milk in tea years ago, pre my diabetes days.
I did drink the tea a little weaker each time I reduced the milk - otherwise it will taste very bitter.
I now prefer very weak tea without milk or sugar.
However I love milky coffee and have tried cutting back on that to reduce carbs - so far a mix of coconut, cows and cream works best. Try a few brands as some coconut milks are OK, others taste too strongly of coconut.