While everyone talks about the right diet and foods that a diabetic should eat, nobody gives any emphasis on the water intake for diabetic patients. Know that fluid intake is equally important for diabetics. That being said, sugary fruit juices or colas don’t fall into the category of healthy liquids for diabetics. ‘In fact, a diabetic patient who doesn’t suffer from any other health condition, can drink as much water as he needs. Remember, drinking water will also help to limit the intake of other high caloric juices and colas, which in a way will keep your blood sugar in check,’ says Dr Pradeep Gadge diabetologist, Shreya Diabetes Centre, Mumbai. There are a few vegetables too that diabetics should eat.
In fact, a recent study showed that drinking adequate water over other liquids like tea, coffee or sweetened and unsweetened beverages helped to keep blood sugar level under control. People who drank less that 0.5 litre of water each day needed more therapeutic and preventive measures in place to keep their blood sugar under control [1]. Here is an ideal diet plan to follow if you have diabetes.
How much is too much?
When it comes to drinking water here are few rules a diabetic should follow:
- Drink 1 ml of water per calorie consumed, which means if your caloric intake in 2000 your water intake should be 2000 ml or 2 litre. There is no harm if you exceed your water intake to even 3 litre, given that you do not have problems like kidney diseases or have medications that can influence your frequency of urination.
- If you are taking diuretics for one or the other health conditions, limit your water intake to the regular 8 to 10 glasses else you might be visiting the restroom every hour.
- Diabetics with chronic kidney problems can limit their water intake to 1000 ml a day; else there would be water retention which could be fatal.