Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat to DrinkWhat to AvoidWhy You Need to Stay HydratedHow Much to DrinkFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What to Drink

What to Avoid

Why You Need to Stay Hydrated

How Much to Drink

Frequently Asked Questions

Dehydrationis a common side effect for people living with diabetes. It’s related to your blood sugar levels and how hard yourkidneysare working to manage fluids in the body as a result of higher blood glucose.

Staying well hydrated means drinking enough fluids to keep your body healthy and that’s important for people who don’t have diabetes, too. But when you’re managing diabetes, you need to be selective about the beverages you choose, avoiding those that cause your blood sugar to spike.

This article presents information about fruit juices, diet soda, coffee, tea, and other beverages. It will help you to know more about avoiding dehydration while choosing drinks that keep your blood sugar levels stable and your diabetes well managed.

Overview of Dehydration

Water is the best fluid to drink for everyone—but even more so if you’re managing diabetes, as water doesn’t raise blood sugar. But there are healthy alternatives. They include:

Diet soda isn’t a good choice but if you drink one occasionally, there is likely no harm. It may even help you to satisfy a craving so that you can stay on your healthy beverage plan in the long term.

Vegetable Juices

Vegetable juices may not raise blood glucose levels as much as fruit juices do. Consider drinking juices including:

These veggie-based blends can be a good option, so long as they’re nutrient-rich without any hidden fruit or added sugar. Check the label on the bottle or, for an even better option, make your own at home.

Hydrating Foods

Fluid intake is harder to track for people managing diabetes, but fresh fruits and vegetables count toward your daily hydration goals. You’ll get a good dose of fiber, vitamins, and minerals with this water source, too.

Salads are a simple and straightforward way to enjoy hydrating foods, as are grain bowls and stir-fries topped with radishes, cucumbers, carrots, and other fresh vegetables.

Other options include:

Milk, along with yogurt and other dairy products, may offer benefits in lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes while also providing nutrients like calcium and vitamin D. Researchers, however, say more study is needed to understand the various effects of dairy products in the diet.

Can Drinking Tea Help You Stay Hydrated?

Water and some of its alternatives are good choices for people living with diabetes, but other beverages may spike your blood sugar levels. They offer few benefits in managing your diabetes in the long term and can include:

Can You Eat Fruit With Diabetes?

Fruit Juices

Whole, fresh fruit can and should bepart of a diabetes-friendly diet, but fruit juice is a different story. It’s low in fiber, so it delivers quick carbohydrates that can also elevate blood sugar.

That may make it helpful when you’rehypoglycemicand your blood sugar is low, but fast-acting fruit juice isn’t helpful on a day-to-day basis. Fruit juice may still have benefits in that it contains vitamins and minerals, but you’re better off drinking water and eating a serving of fresh fruit alongside it for better glucose control.

Alcohol

Even though it’s a liquid,alcoholcan actually be dehydrating. Alcohol also can raise or lower blood sugar and shouldn’t be mixed with most blood sugar medications, so you need to be careful with alcohol while following a diabetes-focused plan.

It’s recommended that people with diabetes drink moderately—that means no more than two drinks per day for men, one for women—if at all. Eating something along with alcohol can help stabilize your blood sugar.

Coffee and Tea

Research shows that caffeine-containing beverages can contribute to your hydration goals—as long as you’re a regular coffee/tea drinker.Occasional caffeine drinkers should be aware of a dehydrating effect, however.

Caffeine shuts off a hormone responsible for holding onto water called the antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which causes an increase in urination.Basically, everything you drink after that morning cup will get quickly urinated out. It’s best to drink extra water two hours before and two hours after caffeine to compensate for the ADH effect.

Sports and Energy Drinks

Many people choose sports and energy drinks when thirsty or while exercising. In fact, an Australian study of sugared beverage consumption found that fruit juices were the most common type, but 12.3% of them were sports and energy drinks (compared with artificially sweetened sodas at 18.1%.)

These tend to be high in sugar and should generally be avoided. One exception may be during exercise, when small amounts can help to avoid low blood sugar.

How Athletes With Diabetes Can Manage Their Condition

Soda and Diabetes

Because soda is so easy to drink, it can increase your daily sugar consumption to very high levels without you even noticing. Sugar-sweetened soda and other sugary drinks are also major contributors to obesity.

Diet Soda and Diabetes

One study found that the artificial sweeteners in diet soda are harmful to gut bacteria, and there’s a resulting relationship between drinking diet soda and increased insulin resistance, weight gain, and diabetes.

Scientists have proposed that other behaviors that go along with drinking diet soda (namely overeating and lack of exercise) are to blame for weight gain, insulin resistance, and diabetes. There seems to be both a direct and indirect effect between drinking diet soda and diabetes.

However, the artificial sweeteners in diet soda and other sugar-free beverages have not been found to cause other health issues and can provide flexibility for planning diabetes-friendly meals.​

5 Best Sweeteners for People With Diabetes

At the same time, being dehydrated is a common side effect of diabetes. When the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or becomes less sensitive to insulin (a condition known asinsulin resistance), sugar can build up in the bloodstream. This forces the kidneys to work extra hard and increases the amount of urine produced and how often you need to urinate (pee).

Ultimately, the body becomes dehydrated as fluid is pulled from the organs and tissues. Keeping on top of your fluid intake can help to support your kidneys and keep your other organs healthy, while at the same time stabilizing your glucose levels.

How Much Water to Drink Each Day

For most people, including those with diabetes, about 20% of your water intake comes from the water in soups, fruit, and other foods you eat.The rest comes from beverages, ideally including large amounts of water.

The recommended daily fluid intake varies for different groups. Guidelines from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy are:

Ask your healthcare provider if this is the right amount of fluid for you, as many factors can increase or decrease your fluid needs—including caffeine intake, weight, and kidney function. Additionally, when it is very hot or you are exercising, you may need more fluid.

Be sure to note if you frequently have other symptoms of dehydration, such as:

Tell your healthcare provider if you experience these symptoms along with excessive thirst.

If you find yourself so thirsty that you are regularly drinking more water than recommended, or you feel your thirst is unquenchable, bring this to your healthcare provider’s attention. These can be signs you aren’t managing your diabetes as well as you could.

Summary

People living with diabetes who seek to manage their illness and keep blood sugars stable need to be mindful of their beverage intake as well as their food choices. Some drinks, including fruit juices, are likely to spike blood sugar.

Water is always the best choice, but other good options include vegetable juices and homemade iced teas. Drinks to avoid include alcoholic beverages and soda (even artificially sweetened sodas).

Staying hydrated is especially important with diabetes, so make sure that you’re drinking enough. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have concerns about the beverages that you drink.

Frequently Asked QuestionsWater is the best drink to help lower blood pressure and control diabetes. There’s some research that other beverages may have benefits. For instance, hibiscus, which can be made into a tea, has shown some promise, but more research is needed.Learn MoreHow Long Does It Take to Lower Blood Pressure?Yes, but keep in mind several tips to ensure you enjoy that drink safely.Stick to the recommendations of one glass per day for women and two per day for men.Don’t drink on an empty stomach.Talk to your endocrinologist about appropriate insulin dosages for different types of alcohol.Alternate between water and alcoholic drinks.Be mindful of the carb levels of different types of alcohol.Learn MoreGuide to Type 1 Diabetes

Water is the best drink to help lower blood pressure and control diabetes. There’s some research that other beverages may have benefits. For instance, hibiscus, which can be made into a tea, has shown some promise, but more research is needed.Learn MoreHow Long Does It Take to Lower Blood Pressure?

Water is the best drink to help lower blood pressure and control diabetes. There’s some research that other beverages may have benefits. For instance, hibiscus, which can be made into a tea, has shown some promise, but more research is needed.

Learn MoreHow Long Does It Take to Lower Blood Pressure?

Yes, but keep in mind several tips to ensure you enjoy that drink safely.Stick to the recommendations of one glass per day for women and two per day for men.Don’t drink on an empty stomach.Talk to your endocrinologist about appropriate insulin dosages for different types of alcohol.Alternate between water and alcoholic drinks.Be mindful of the carb levels of different types of alcohol.Learn MoreGuide to Type 1 Diabetes

Yes, but keep in mind several tips to ensure you enjoy that drink safely.Stick to the recommendations of one glass per day for women and two per day for men.Don’t drink on an empty stomach.Talk to your endocrinologist about appropriate insulin dosages for different types of alcohol.Alternate between water and alcoholic drinks.Be mindful of the carb levels of different types of alcohol.

Yes, but keep in mind several tips to ensure you enjoy that drink safely.

Learn MoreGuide to Type 1 Diabetes

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Harvard Health.Artificial sweeteners: sugar-free, but at what cost?

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Johnson EC, Bardis CN, Jansen LT, Adams JD, Kirkland TW, Kavouras SA.Reduced water intake deteriorates glucose regulation in patients with type 2 diabetes.Nutr Res.2017;43:25-32. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2017.05.004

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.How to Help Students Implement Effective Diabetes Management.

Platania A, Castiglione D, Sinatra D, Urso M, Marranzano M.Fluid intake and beverage consumption description and their association with dietary vitamins and antioxidant compounds in Italian adults from the mediterranean healthy eating, aging and lifestyles (Meal) study.Antioxidants. 2018;7(4):56. doi:10.3390/antiox7040056

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Al Disi SS, Anwar MA, Eid AH.Anti-hypertensive herbs and their mechanisms of action: part i.Front Pharmacol. 2016;6. doi:10.3389/fphar.2015.00323

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