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Pepsi Max Zero

MasiJan

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello guys,

My name is Masi and I'm new here. I live in The Netherlands and I'm 21 years old. My height is 1,77 and my weight is 59 kg. Recently I've been diagnosed with prediabetes. '6.1' was my fasting blood sugar level. I follow a good diet and I exercise 1-2 hours a day. My father has diabetes mellitus type 1 and not only I want to prevent it, I want to take good care of my overall health as well.

My main question is: can I drink Pepsi Max Zero once every three weeks?

Does it really have 0 sugars and 0 carbohydrates?

Thanks in advance!
 
If you like it, there is no reason not to drink as there really is no sugar in it, just sweeteners and I see some caffeine.
 
Hello, @MasiJan , and welcome to the forum!
I guess a pepsi max once in three weeks won't do much harm, at least it really has zero carbs.

Given your age, weight and family history, are they looking into type 1 as well? Have you been given a meter to keep an eye on your blood sugars?

Good luck!
 
Hi @MasiJan welcome to the site. A situation I feel sure you would not allow to happen is a progression of your pre-diabetes. Hyperthically, if you did progress, this would be to Type 2 diabetes, not Type 1; simply put Type 2 diabetes is an ample production of insulin from your pancreas but an inability for the insulin to clear the glucose from your blood stream into your cells, Type 1's do not produce enough or any insulin, so have to take external insulin to clear the blood glucose.

A definition of a good diet is I feel, what your body says is good, so you may wish to reconsider some of your options, as diet definitely is either the major contributor to your pre-diabetes or the sole one.

There has been much debate on zero carb soft drinks. The problem is you will not be able to test if it is raising your insulin, by whichever sweetener is being used. Personally I would not go near this option, but this is your choice. I do sparkling water, black coffee, tea, herbal teas and boiled ginger, but I am trying to optimise.
 
My father is not overweight and no one from his side of the family has diabetes. He is literally the only guy who has it, unfortunately. I don't have a meter, because I try to find out which meter is the most accurate one. I read somewhere that the outcome of meters can 15 % differ from the real outcome.
 
You're most certainly right. The following drinks are fundamental for me: water, black coffee and tea. Even though Pepsi Zero doesn't raise blood sugar, I only want to drink it once every three weeks, because it is still bad for your teeth, other organs in your body, etc.
 
I would suggest the main thing about testing with a meter is the patterns you build up with time. You eat something and the response is either strong, fair or weak.. with time you learn what causes a strong reaction and maybe eat less of that... this is not absolute as when you eat you normally eat a mixture of foods...
Low carb is a way to go, it works for me.
 
@MasiJan I drink a Pepsi Max approx 4 times a week and my BS seem to be ok.
 

Drinking sugar free drinks such as these don’t affect my sugars. However it does cause absolute chaos because my body believes it has been given sugar. My hunger increases, headaches and generally feel hungover.

The sweetness can trick the body into thinking it’s had sugar.
 
I drink it once in a while... every blue moon, and even... now and again.
It has no effect on my BG levels. I test often (sometimes up to 10 times a day and have not seen any adverse results)
Drink away there are far far worse things you could be drinking... and a few far better without a doubt.

I find the french brandy when added is really not good news... but the taste OMG!
Po
 
 
Hi Masi,

Did they base the diagnosis on your fasting bloodglucose alone? And on just one prick? Because I'd call that irresponsible doctoring. Everyone experiences "dawn phenomenon", when your liver dumps glucose into your system to give you energy to start the day. Did you ride a bike to the appointment? That could've raised your bloodsugars after all. What you really want to know is how your body deals with food. And you can do that with a meter. Here, people use meters that are readily available in the UK. Most Dutch pharmacies only have a Contour by Bayer or something similar, so you'll have to decide where you want to get your strips from. Do you want to walk into any pharmacy and be able to pick some up, or are you willing to wait a while and order online? In any case, yeah, most meters have a 15% deviation/margin of error, but that's still enough to let you know where you stand. Because frankly, with your hight, weight and age, I wouldn't expect prediabetes (which is an early indicator of an approaching T2 thing). T1's don't make any insulin. A T2 makes loads of the stuff, and has thus become insensitive to it. One of the symptoms of that is weight gain. Not a problem your dad would have, so yeah, he's not likely to be overweight. In any case... Once you get a meter, test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. If your BG doesn't go up more than 2.0 mmol/l from where you started, that's wonderful. if it does but is still within the non-diabetc range, that's quite wonderful too. In the meantime though, you might want to go back to your doctor and ask for a HbA1c test. That's the average of 3 months worth of bloodglucose. That will tell you right quick whether you truly are prediabetic, because one test in the a.m... Is quite inconclusive. I'd be more worried if you were seeing 8's or 9's in the morning, actually.

You know what, get the HbA1c done first, before you shell out on a meter. (They're not expensive, but they only come with 10 test strips. And the strips are the money pit). The HbA1c is covered by your insurance, so shouldn't be a problem. Testresults come in in a day, maybe two, depending on whether you get the blood drawn right by the hospital's lab or elsewhere at a different "prikpost".

As for what constitutes a good diet, that's a discussion for another day, (De Schijf van Vijf/EatWell plate is a load of ****, sadly) but as for your original questions... Yeah, Pepsi Max, once in a while, is fine.

Whatever the outcome of the HbA1c, you're going to be fine. Loads of info here, and hope too.
Groetjes,
José
 
I drink lots of sugar free drinks closely preceded by coffee. 20 years ago I thought I may be suffering from aspartame migraines but that’s not the culprit so I carried on. It doesn’t affect my BG at all or makes me crave. What an ice cold, fizzy drink does is hit the spot nicely.

Aspartame imbibers are often vilified for their intake, (alcohol imbibers aren’t!) so all you have to do is test and see what happens. My personal opinion is that drinking any sugar free drink is absolutely better than the full sugar one.
 
Yes, I was just diagnosed with a simple fingerprick. Where can I purchase the most accurate blood sugar meter?

Btw, I will go for a HbA1c test, thanks for the essential information!
 
MasiJan said:
Yes, I was just diagnosed with a simple fingerprick. Where can I purchase the most accurate blood sugar meter?

Btw, I will go for a HbA1c test, thanks for the essential information!
Click to expand...
I'm good with a Contour TS by Bayer, teststrips about 20 euro's for 50. (Though I usually order strips online in bulk). Same one my doc and dn use. Your pharmacy should have those. Whatever you do, don't get a generic one at Blokker or something. Inaccurate, and heck to use.

But if a fasting fingerprik test is all they used for diagnosis, that's... Rather negligent. Go after a proper lab test first, and make sure it's the HbA1c one, because a regular glucose test, fasting or otherwise, is just too random and a waste of time & money. And make sure you get the numbers. Just "fine" or "not fine" aren't good enough. You'll wants specifics.
 
Thanks! 3 weeks ago, before the diagnosis, my fasting blood sugar was '5' (I used my dad's blood glucose meter, with the proper instructions and with his supervision).

I will look further into these meters.
 
@MasiJan

as @hankjam mentioned its trends you need to look for.

think of it like a speedo for cars...most have a margin of error.

but whatever car you drive, you'll always check the speedo if close to a police car or upcoming traffic camera.

same thing with meter, you need a glance at the info when you are checking if the foods you eat agree or disagree with your diabetic state..

only then can you begin to remove certain foods that raise your BG too much and relax about others that have limited affect on your BG.

and over time you'll test many, many times, which is where the strip cost comes in.
 
I drink far too much of it, probably around 2ltr a day. Has zero impact on my BS. Same goes for Coke Zero, or Diet Coke.
 
MasiJan said:
Thanks! 3 weeks ago, before the diagnosis, my fasting blood sugar was '5' (I used my dad's blood glucose meter, with the proper instructions and with his supervision).

I will look further into these meters.
Click to expand...
Everyone gets a liverdump in the morning. I know if I skip breakfast and have a shower and walk to my GP's, (like today), I shouldn't be surprised to see my FBS go up well past what I'd normally get if I'd eat a bit of cake. I mean, I could hit a 7, maybe even 8. Because my liver's dumping glucose to help out, give me energy, as I'm being active and have taken no food. I assume the test with your dad's meter was done in situ? And the other test was possibly after being relatively active and getting to the doc's office? In any case, if you want to have a look at your FBS, have the meter on your nightstand and test before you get up out of bed. "Feet on the ground" can make bloodsugars rise as it'll cue your liver. Basically... A FBS doesn't say all that much at this time.
 
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