Filtered water
Filtered water does not contain sugar, carbohydrates or calories, so it does not directly increase blood sugar.
More importantly, replacing sugary drinks with water helps prediabetes patients significantly reduce the amount of added sugar and energy in their diet.
People with or at risk of diabetes should prioritize water instead of other drinks. Replace sugary drinks, including juice, with water or low- or low-calorie drinks.
This is especially important because sugary drinks often provide a large amount of carbohydrates but make you feel less full than raw foods.
Sugar-free tea
Green tea, black tea, or some sugar-free herbal teas can become suitable drinks for people with pre-diabetes.
Tea provides polyphenols and many plant compounds with biological activity, in which catechin in green tea is of great interest in metabolic research.
For people with pre-diabetes, the most important point is not to drink a lot of tea but to drink pure tea, without adding sugar, syrup or condensed milk.
Sugar-free coffee
Pure coffee, if users tolerate good caffeine, can also be a suitable choice. Many observational studies have found a link between coffee consumption and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
Pre-diabetes people can therefore drink black coffee or unsweetened diluted coffee, but need to be careful with bottled coffee, sugary milk coffee, cream coffee or mixed drinks because sugar and calories can increase rapidly.
Things to avoid are sugary drinks
Carbonated soft drinks, milk tea, energy drinks, bottled fruit juice, sugared bottled tea and many types of brewed coffee can become significant sugar supplements.
On the other hand, people with pre-diabetes if they lose weight through healthy eating and increase physical activity can reduce about half the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Therefore, a simple habit that can be applied daily is to drink filtered water as the main drink; use sugar-free tea or coffee at an appropriate level; and minimize soft drinks, milk tea and sugary drinks.
This is a small but meaningful change in the long-term blood sugar control strategy in people with pre-diabetes.
