BEVERAGE CHOICES
What is your go-to beverage? As we all know, water is best for quenching thirst, but sometimes we enjoy other beverages as a treat or when we are celebrating those special occasions. Some beverages, such as milk and fruit juice naturally contain sugars (lactose in milk; fructose, glucose and sucrose in fruit juice), other beverages such as tea and coffee do not contain a significant amount of carbohydrate (sugars) naturally, but often, we, or food manufacturers/retailers, add sugar to these drinks.
Also, over the past few decades, “artificially” (intensely) sweetened beverages have become very common in our shops as an alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages. However, we cannot measure their glycemic index as they do not contain significant amounts of carbohydrate.
Let’s look at some beverages that do contain enough carbohydrate to measure their GI. Please note that this month’s shopping guide is intended to simply compare different beverages, not to recommend or promote them.
For people with diabetes
To those of you who count your carbohydrate intake in grams, exchanges or portions, we have included the details for each of these.
15g carbohydrate exchange – a serve containing 12-18g carbohydrate.
10g carbohydrate portion – a serve containing 7.6-12.5g carbohydrate.
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 675 kJ or 160 Cal |
40 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 740 kJ or 175 Cal |
38 |
2.5 | 4 | 16 |
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 145 kJ or 35 Cal |
8 | 0.5 | 1 | 5 |
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 425 kJ or 100 Cal |
25 | 2 | 2.5 | 18 |
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 650 kJ or 155 Cal |
11 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 605 kJ or 145 Cal |
20 | 1.5 | 2 | 14 |
| Energy | Available carbohydrate (g) | Exchanges | Portions | Glycemic load |
| 580 kJ or 140 Cal |
15 | 1 | 1.5 | 13 |
Read more:
Karen Ky Lau is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who works as a Research Dietitian at Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS).
Contact: here
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