Newly diagnosed. Drinks?

Confucius

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
@dunrena The best drink is plain water. Before I had any symptoms, I used to drink coffee too (one or two cups a day). Now I limit my coffee intake. There are sugar-fee drinks on the market, just look at the ingredients, but I don't think they're healthy at all.
 
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chalup

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,745
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Water, coffee, tea, diet drinks, dry wine and spirits in moderation. Do not add sugar or milk to your coffee or tea but cream is fine.
 
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Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.
@dunrena - Hello and Welcome to the Forum. @daisy1 will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive. Have a read around the threads and ask as many questions as you need :).
 

Nicksu

Well-Known Member
Messages
743
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Grumpy bosses!
Sugar free flavoured water is a good one.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@dunrena

Hello Dunrena and welcome to the forum :) As mentioned above, here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


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 220,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
 

Llinz04

Well-Known Member
Messages
81
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
hi , have been newly diagnosed , not sure what low calorie/sugar free drinks I can have , thanks in advance

Hi,

Water is the best! I sometimes find water on its own a bit boring, so I use robinsons sugar free squash with it! It's really tasty and very healthy at the same time :joyful:

Hope this helps :happy:
 
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Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
dunrena welcome here I must admit that I do drink diet drinks like pepsi zero and Coca cola zero.. but not too much cause then I can´t sleep on the low carb diet .... but yes Water is the best, there is also lot of kinds of teas with different tastes that is wonderful to drink..herb teas without coffeine are the best... if with cinnamon it can sometimes lower blood glucose a bit
 
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dawnmc

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,431
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
How about a squeeze of fresh lemon in hot water, you get used to it pretty quickly and it's good better for you than juice.
 

Mbaker

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,339
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Available fast foods in Supermarkets
I drink herbal teas (once you get used to the taste no problem), regular tea - usually black, black filter coffee (for me no more than 1 a day), cranberry juice (freshly made via Nutribullet, very tart, so down in 1) and water.
 

MikeTurin

Well-Known Member
Messages
564
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome!
Anyway, plain water and carbonated water are ok.
Then tea is a good choice and also infusion like mint, hibiscus, ginger and lemon, mint.
Coffee if you like it is good on moderation, because a too many coffees could make difficult to sleep, you could try decaf.
I like the Vergnano brand: http://www.caffevergnano.com/en/paper-coffee-pods.php The blue pack is the decaf one.
If you prefer Italian old skool style may I suggest:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bialetti-Moka-Express-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0019M4H16/
Dont buy the knockoffs or the steel-made espresso makers, buy the classic aluminium one.
Buy also some replacement seals when you're at it an the you could buy some coffee.
For decaf I like Vergnano Brand (blue tin) I like also for the regular coffee their Black tin
I like also Malabar Indian Coffee don't know is it's available in UK. Actually I buy it "wholesale" at the factory.

I gave up carbonated drinks both sugary and sugar free because if you go in a fast food sometimes they give you the sugary version instead of the sugar free one and because some artificial sweeteners could have secondary effects like constipation or diarrhoea...
 
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Ross.Walker

Well-Known Member
Messages
291
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
sprouts, evil things
Learn to love water, a few soda waters with a slice or lime and ice is nice in summer

A few have mentioned that artificial is not great for the body and I have to agree, cut as much "£$r out of your diet as possible and give it the best chance to work well.

Everyone is different, everyone will have a view. Mine is cut everything back to a basic diet, lowest carbs possible for yourself then build up your "good foods/drinks" pool by testing.
 
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Prem51

Expert
Messages
7,393
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
*
Hi @dunrena and welcome to the forum. I stick to water mainly. I use the Robinson's fruit squash in the summer to make cold drinks, they contain virtually zero carbs.
I do have a mug of coffee in the morning with sweetener and double cream or full fat milk, and usually a mug of tea in the afternoon with sweetener and full fat milk. I did drink more green tea and herbal teas for the first few months after I was diagnosed, but since my bs has reduced I do drink ordinary tea now.
 

Eireannn

Well-Known Member
Messages
81
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Tomatoes, yuck
hi , have been newly diagnosed , not sure what low calorie/sugar free drinks I can have , thanks in advance

If you used to drink a lot of juice or fruity drinks, you could try sugar free Vimto, Ribena (I had this today, mmm), Oasis (did not know this existed until I saw some small boy drinking it!). Just check that there's not many carbohydrates in it.

If you miss your fizzy drinks, try: Diet Coke, Pepsi Max, Diet Pepsi, basically anything 'diet'.

Since my diagnosis, the only full sugary drink I had was Pepsi and that raised my blood sugars a lot even though I took insulin. You will get used to the none sugary drinks and soon, you'll probably prefer that over the full sugary ones. :)
 
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dipsydo

Well-Known Member
Messages
175
As you will find , people are all likely to have different reactions to various food and drinks so is a bit trial and error. I have definitely been better since I reduced the diet drinks , the occasional one is fine. Sparkling or soda water with or without a slice of lemon is also nice and a good drink if in pub with friends as looks like G&T ! Normal tap water that is really cold is very enjoyable...at this time of year not such an issue as in the summer. Interestingly I found water nicer after I started low carb. It might be all in my mind but low carb for me seems to take away the need for anything sweet.
 
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dunrena

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Type 2
As you will find , people are all likely to have different reactions to various food and drinks so is a bit trial and error. I have definitely been better since I reduced the diet drinks , the occasional one is fine. Sparkling or soda water with or without a slice of lemon is also nice and a good drink if in pub with friends as looks like G&T ! Normal tap water that is really cold is very enjoyable...at this time of year not such an issue as in the summer. Interestingly I found water nicer after I started low carb. It might be all in my mind but low carb for me seems to take away the need for anything sweet.
thanks so much for the prompt reply and information :)
 
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