10 Best Drinks for People Living With Diabetes, and the Worst

Reviewed by Mera Goodman, MD, FAAP | February 16, 2024

Key takeaways:

Water is the best drink for people with diabetes, but it isn’t the only option. There’s a long list of other healthy drinks you can enjoy if you have diabetes.
Many drinks have added sugars, which makes them high in carbohydrates. These drinks can quickly raise your blood glucose levels. They’re also high in calories and low in nutrients, so they aren’t a good choice.
When it comes to alcohol, there isn’t a “best” alcoholic drink for people with diabetes. But there are definitely alcoholic drinks to avoid, like sugar mixers and sweet wines. Drinking in moderation is key.

Reviewed by Mera Goodman, MD, FAAP | February 16, 2024

When people think about their diet, they often focus on food. But what you drink can also have a big effect on your health. This is especially true for people who live with diabetes. That's because you digest drinks faster than solid foods. And if you have diabetes, this can cause spikes in blood sugar.

Part of the issue is that some drinks have a long list of ingredients, including sugar and carbohydrates (carbs). Here’s a list of the best drinks for diabetes and specific ingredients to look for.

The 10 best drinks for diabetes

If you have diabetes, the best drink choices are naturally sugar-free or low in sugar. Keep in mind that nutritional contents can vary between brands. So, it’s important to read nutritional labels to make sure your drink fits your blood sugar goals.

The good news is that there’s a long list of thirst-quenching and satisfying drinks for people with diabetes. Let’s take a look at 10 diabetes-friendly drinks that don’t have excess sugar or calories.

1. Water

Plain water is the best drink for everyone, especially for people living with diabetes. It’s naturally hydrating and free of carbohydrates and calories. How much water you need every day depends on your age, activity level, and other health conditions. If you’re thirsty, you can confidently grab a glass of water.

2. Carbonated or seltzer water

Sparkling water is another satisfying drink that has no calories, carbohydrates, or additives. Be sure to read the nutrition label, though. Some brands add sugar, which can surprise you.

3. Water with fresh additions

If carbonation isn’t your thing, there are other ways to liven up the healthiest drink. You can make water refreshing and interesting by adding a garnish:

Fresh fruit: Berries and citrus slices
Fresh herbs: Mint or rosemary
Frozen fruit: Watermelon or grapes

4. Unsweetened tea or coffee

Coffee and tea are safe to drink as long as you limit added sugars. Keep it simple by ordering plain tea or coffee, iced coffee, or an Americano.

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Carbohydrates can add up quickly in specialty drinks, so order yours unsweetened. Then, add small amounts of milk or sweeteners yourself.

5. Milk or plant-based milks (unsweetened almond or soy milk)

Milk products aren’t free of carbs, but they’re full of vitamins and minerals. Some milk alternatives, like rice milk and oat milk, have more carbohydrates and less protein than others. And some brands and flavors of plant-based milks contain added sugars. So, be sure to check the nutrition label and choose unsweetened varieties instead.

6. Drinks sweetened with stevia or monk fruit

Stevia and monk fruit are plant-based sweeteners with almost no calories or carbs. Drinks like Zevia, Vitaminwater Zero, and Bai have these sweeteners. You can also buy stevia or monk fruit and sweeten your tea, coffee, or other drinks.

7. Low-sugar kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented drink full of gut-friendly probiotics. The amount of carbohydrates varies by brand, especially if juice is added. Be sure to check the serving size. Some bottles have two or more servings, so check how many carbohydrates it has per serving.

8. Healthy smoothie

Carbohydrates in smoothies can vary a lot. But you can make a carb-friendly smoothie at home where you control the ingredients. You can also get your protein in smoothies, as well.

Try blending the following:

8 oz of milk (dairy, soy, or almond)
1 tbsp of unsweetened Greek yogurt
1 handful of frozen spinach and berries
1 tbsp of chia or flax seeds
1 tsp of almond butter
Water as needed for thickness

9. Vegetable juice

Vegetables commonly found in juices include carrots, celery, and cucumbers. They can also include spinach, kale, beets, and ginger. Nutrients and carbohydrates are different between homemade and store-bought juices. Total carbs can vary depending on the vegetables and any added fruits. For example:

V8 Original 100% Vegetable Juice: 11.5 oz has 13 g carbs and 920 mg sodium. You can reduce carbs to 6 g and sodium to 440 mg by drinking half the can.
Biotta Beet Juice: 8 oz has 24 g carbs and 95 mg sodium. The carb load can be cut by diluting it with water.

10. Mocktails

Consider trying a non-alcoholic drink at happy hour. The American Diabetes Association suggests a Cucumber-Basil Mocktail. Combine fresh cucumber, basil, and lime with club soda and your sweetener of choice.

What are the worst drinks for diabetes?

Drinks with added sugars have extra calories and zero nutrients. They can also cause a surge in blood sugar. These drinks aren’t a good option for anyone. But you should take extra care to avoid them if you have diabetes. Many drinks you see on store shelves have added sugars.

The “Rethink Your Drink” campaign was created to reduce the number of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed by people in the U.S. It provides helpful guidance that applies to people with diabetes too. The idea is to avoid or limit:

Fruit juice (unless you’re treating low blood sugar)
Sweetened coffee or tea
Sweetened sports or energy drinks
Regular soda

A 12-oz can of soda contains about 10 tsp of sugar, or 39 g of carbohydrates. Just 1 can of soda exceeds the American Heart Association’s recommendations of no more than:

6 tsp of added sugar per day for women
9 tsp of added sugar per day for men

Why do people with diabetes need to watch what they drink?

With diabetes, any amount of carbohydrates (sugar) can raise blood glucose levels. This is especially true for carbs you drink because they’re digested faster than carbs you chew.

Sweet drinks are absorbed quickly, so they can increase blood glucose levels quickly too. Staying within your target glucose range as much as possible can help you feel better. And it’ll reduce your risk of other diabetes-related health issues.

To avoid spikes in blood glucose, you’ll need to pay close attention to the carbohydrates in your drinks — not just the ones in your food.

Not all carbohydrates are created equal. There are three main types:

Sugars are simple carbohydrates occurring naturally in fruits, vegetables, and milk products. Added sugars are found in processed foods like sugary drinks and baked goods.
Starches are complex carbohydrates found in vegetables, beans, and grains.
Fibers are complex carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and beans. Fibers help to slow down how quickly starches are absorbed and help you feel full for longer.

What ingredients should you check for in your drinks?

Added sugars go by many names, so it can be hard to tell from a food label what’s nutritious and what’s not.

When reading labels, avoid drinks with the following added sugars:

Raw sugar, cane sugar or cane juice, brown sugar
Date sugar, beet sugar, coconut sugar
Honey, agave, molasses, maple syrup
Fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose
Corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, malt syrup
Invert sugar (a liquid sweetener that’s half glucose and half fructose)
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin

If your drink contains any of these, the nutrition facts label will show total carbohydrates and added sugars. You can then follow steps from your care team on managing carbohydrates in your diet.

Recommendations may vary depending on the type of diabetes you have, as well as your age, health, and activity level.

What are safe drink additives for people with diabetes?

When you’re trying to cut back on sugar in your diet, it’s natural to turn to artificial sweeteners or other non-caloric natural sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit. But like with sugar, it’s best to limit your use of artificial sweeteners.

Generally speaking, it’s OK to have moderate amounts of more natural sweeteners, like honey, maple syrup, dates, or others. But all sugars can raise blood glucose, so even natural sweeteners should be used carefully.

Can people with diabetes drink alcohol?

Having any amount of alcohol can affect your diabetes management and overall health. It also brings some safety risks. With diabetes, alcohol increases your risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Plus, alcohol can make it harder to recognize the signs and symptoms of low blood sugar.

So, it's important to talk with your healthcare team before drinking alcohol. In general, low-carbohydrate drinks are OK in moderation.

If approved, stick with the daily recommendations for alcohol consumption:

Women: No more than 1 drink per day
Men: No more than 2 drinks per day

When choosing a drink, keep these tips in mind:

Light beers and dry wines have less alcohol and fewer calories.
Sweet wines and mixed drinks contain added sugars.
For mocktails or mixed drinks, club soda or diet soda is a better choice than juice or regular soda.

Best drinks if you’re having a ‘hypo’

Experiencing hypoglycemia, or a “hypo,” is the one time people with diabetes will need to drink fruit juices or a regular soda. A hypo happens when your blood sugar falls below 70 mg/dL. This can cause uncomfortable — and even dangerous — symptoms that you’ll need to treat.

The fastest way to treat hypoglycemia is with juice or regular soda. Liquid carbohydrates are absorbed quickly, which raises blood sugar quickly.

To treat hypoglycemia, follow the “15-15 rule”:

Have 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrates (about 4 oz of juice or soda).
Wait 15 minutes.
Check your glucose.
If it’s still below 70 mg/dL, repeat these steps.

Frequently asked questions

It’s best to avoid juices if you have diabetes. This is especially true of store-bought juices that often contain added sugars, but it’s also true for freshly pressed juices.

When you squeeze the juice from a fruit, you get lots of sugar (fructose) without the fiber that comes from eating a whole fruit. Fiber slows how quickly your body absorbs the carbohydrates, which helps prevent a sugar spike.

Homemade smoothies can also be an option since you can control the ingredients and include whole fruits, vegetables, and low-sugar liquids.

Energy drinks typically contain electrolytes, sugar, caffeine, and calories. They aren’t a good choice for most people, especially those with diabetes. Low-sugar or no-sugar options contain artificial sweeteners, which may have long-term health risks.

For some extreme athletes with diabetes, small sips during exercise can help maintain steady blood glucose, but for most people, water is the best for hydration.

The only exception is a hypo (low blood glucose), where an energy drink can quickly raise blood sugar.

Milk provides important nutrients for people with diabetes. But it contains lactose, a type of sugar that can affect blood glucose. Even lactose-free milk has broken-down lactose, which can also affect blood sugar. In moderation, low-fat or fat-free milk is a safe part of a balanced diet.

Plant-based milks don’t contain lactose but do have other types of carbohydrates. Some brands of plant-based milks contain added sugar, so it’s best to choose unsweetened milks that are fortified with calcium and vitamin D.

Water or other no-calorie, caffeine-free drinks can help lower glucose levels. Staying hydrated helps your kidneys remove extra sugar through urine. But water doesn’t lower blood sugar the way insulin or other diabetes medications do. So don’t expect any drink to lower your blood sugar immediately.

Orange juice is a good choice for treating low blood glucose. Otherwise, it’s best to limit or avoid juices because of their high sugar (carbohydrate) content.

It’s best to avoid juices if you have diabetes. This is especially true of store-bought juices that often contain added sugars, but it’s also true for freshly pressed juices.

Homemade smoothies can also be an option since you can control the ingredients and include whole fruits, vegetables, and low-sugar liquids.

For some extreme athletes with diabetes, small sips during exercise can help maintain steady blood glucose, but for most people, water is the best for hydration.

The only exception is a hypo (low blood glucose), where an energy drink can quickly raise blood sugar.

Orange juice is a good choice for treating low blood glucose. Otherwise, it’s best to limit or avoid juices because of their high sugar (carbohydrate) content.

The bottom line

With diabetes, your drink choice matters. Drinks with added sugars are high in carbohydrates and can quickly raise blood glucose. For your health, it’s best to replace sugar-filled drinks with no-sugar, low-sugar, or sugar-free options. By reading labels and counting carbs, you can spend more time in your target glucose range.

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Written by:

Jewels Doskicz, RN, BA

Jewels Doskicz, RN, is an Arizona-based registered nurse with more than 20 years of hospital-wide clinical nursing experience. She has spent over a decade in medical writing and editing, with a focus on diabetes and autoimmune disease.

Edited by:

Sophie Vergnaud, MD

Sophie Vergnaud, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for GoodRx Health. A pulmonologist and hospitalist, she practiced and taught clinical medicine at hospitals in London for a decade before entering a career in health education and technology.

Reviewed by:

Mandy Armitage, MD

Mandy Armitage, MD, has combined clinical medicine with her passion for education and content development for many years. She served as medical director for the health technology companies HealthLoop (now Get Well) and Doximity.

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The Best (and Worst) Drinks for Diabetes

Key takeaways: