Do I have to drink only water? Short answer, no. But (you knew there was going to be a "but"), water should be your main daily beverage. Most of your intake throughout the day should be from water. Water is what our bodies need for millions of different things, namely ridding our body of toxins, but water also helps to lubricate everything from our eyes, joints and bowels. But I think you knew that already! So what else can we drink? For people with prediabetes or diabetes (as well as most everyone else), I recommend choosing beverages with little to no added sugars and minimal calories/carbohydrates. It is easy to drink beverages that contain a lot of calories/carbs and our body doesn't register the fullness cues we would have if we ate that many calories/carbs which can result in weight gain. As for the artificial sweetener debate, well, that's a conversation for another day.
Check out my list below for recommended beverages and beverages to limit/avoid.
Drink these!
water (of course 😜)
water flavored with fruit/herbs such as lemon, lime, orange, cucumber, mint, etc
unsweet tea (regular or herbal)
Coffee ☕️ (watch what goes into it)
soda water/seltzer (ie La Croix, Polar, Bubbly, Spindrift)
diet beverages (*we will discuss artificial sweeteners another time, but if you don't use them, then don't drink these.)
Limit/avoid these!
Soda
Juice (even 100% fruit juice)
Sweet tea
Lemonade
Punches like Hawaiian Punch, Hi-C, Kool-aid
watch smoothies and juices, even green juice for high calories/carbs
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