Diabetes Management: Stay Away From These Beverages If You Don't Want Diabetes

Sweetened, sugary beverages can increase the risk of developing diabetes

We always long for some cool refreshing drinks while eating junk food, working, watching a movie or reading a book. The need to drink chilled beverage all the more increases during the summer season. Some people are even in the habit of taking juices or other beverages even while eating their meals. Well! You might not know several health hazards associated with it. When consumed in excess quantities, added sugar can have disastrous effects on your health. Sugary soft drinks, also called as 'full fat' drinks, provide no nutritional value and can lead to several health problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. These drinks are coca colas, canned juices, lime soda, fizz drinks, soft drinks, energy drinks, powdered drinks, fruit beer and the list goes on.

Sugary soft drinks, also called as 'full fat' drinks, provide no nutritional value
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Sweetened beverages and diabetes:

Sweetened, sugary beverages can increase the blood sugar levels of people suffering from diabetes, pre-diabetes and gestational diabetes. Therefore, it is best to avoid drinking these sugary drinks and opt for some healthy alternatives. Type 2 diabetes is a very common medical condition, affecting millions of people worldwide. However, type 2 diabetes can be managed by proper diet and regular physical diet. Hence, it becomes extremely important that people who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should completely exclude these beverages from their diet. Severe insulin spike can lead to mood swings, low energy and addiction to sugar. Moreover, these drinks do not contain any essential nutrients. No vitamin, no mineral, no antioxidants and zero fiber. It literally does not benefit your health in any way. It adds nothing to the diet except excessive amounts of added sugar and unwanted calories. Unwanted calories can lead to weight gain which is another risk factor of diabetes.

Sweetened, sugary beverages can increase the blood sugar levels for people suffering from diabetes, prediabetes and gestational diabetes.
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Other health hazards related to sweetened beverages:

Liquid sugar contained in these beverages does not cause satiety in the same way as solid nutritious foods, making people consume all the more calories. People even after consuming these drinks long for food or other beverages. If you consume these sugar-sweetened beverages on a regular basis it may lead to weight gain. Therefore, if you are on a weight loss programme, you should eliminate these drinks from your diet. Fructose present in these aerated drinks tends to increase the fat around the belly and organs. This is known as visceral fat, or belly fat. This unhealthy weight not only leads to high blood sugar levels but also other health issues such as dental cavity, high blood pressure, obesity and heart diseases in both children and adults. Excessive intake of the added sugar can also lead to weak bones as these drinks have phosphoric acid which leaches out calcium from the body.

Also read: 7 Ways Aerated Drinks Are Affecting Your Child's Health

Some healthy alternatives to these sugary drinks are:

• Lime water
• Milk
• Coconut water
• Herbal tea
• Homemade smoothie with milk, fruits, healthy nuts and seeds
• You can enhance the flavour of water by adding some tulsi leaves, jeera or mint leaves
• Fresh fruit juice
• Fresh vegetable juice
• Buttermilk
• Soups(both hot and cold)

Go for healthy coconut water if you feel thirsty
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Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.