Diabetics Should Have Drinks With Low Glycemic Load (GL)
The American Diabetes Association recommends drinking low calorie (or even zero calorie drinks) like plain water or unsweetened tea and coffee.
When you need a cool drink, have water with a squeeze of lime. Flavored water with orange slices could work just as well.
But what about orange juice? The Association advises against consuming sugary drinks of any kind, and that could well mean your favorite packaged orange juice doesn’t pass muster. In fact, some fruit juices can be as high in natural sugars as sodas, even if they don’t have any added sugar in them.
If you’re watching your diet and taking care not to have high glycemic index (GI) foods which increase blood glucose levels quickly (causing a potentially dangerous spike in sugar levels), then aim for foods with a glycemic load as well.
Glycemic load measures the portion of carbs in a food and how quickly those break down into glucose. Foods with a glycemic load below 10 are low GI foods.
Once the GI goes over 20, they’re considered high GI and are not a good idea for someone with diabetes.
Orange Juice And Orange-Flavored Drinks Have Mid-To-High Glycemic Load
An orange on its own, eaten as a fruit, clocks a glycemic index of just 45 for a 120 gm portion, against a glycemic load of 5. The average glass of fresh squeezed unsweetened orange juice has a glycemic index of around 50, and a glycemic load of 12. So far so good.
Orange-flavored drinks, on the other hand, have much higher glycemic index levels, like aerated sweetened orange flavored sodas which have a GI of 68 and glycemic load of 23. Even packaged unsweetened orange juice could contain more sugar or carbs and may have a higher GI and glycemic load, so be sure of what you’re drinking.
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