Hi there.

[Runner51]

I have been a type 1 diabetic for over 50 years and on many occasions have suspected that having requested a diet drink from the dispenser in a pub have been serviced one containing full sugar. Does anyone know of a convenient way of testing your drink to ascertain its sugar content?

 

[helli]

Although, I have never tried it, I know some people dunk a test strip in their “diet” drink to measure how much sugar is in it. I don’t know how reliable it is but I guess it’s pretty convenient for those of use with finger prick meters.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Although, I have never tried it, I know some people dunk a test strip in their “diet” drink to measure how much sugar is in it. I don’t know how reliable it is but I guess it’s pretty convenient for those of use with finger prick meters.

Was easier back when we had urine test tape. I imagine that would (still) be really cheap to make, so maybe someone does? It does seem odd that there's nothing standard for doing this (as there was back when we tested urine).

 

[Leadinglights]

I can definitely tell by the taste, but ask for the drink in a bottle so you can be sure.

 

[PattiEvans]

Also beware of some so called "Light" versions of some bottled drinks. F*ver T*ee splits in bottles have significan carbs in them even if they are the "light" versions. I always ask for Sshhhh tonic as it really is carb free.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Although, I have never tried it, I know some people dunk a test strip in their “diet” drink to measure how much sugar is in it. I don’t know how reliable it is but I guess it’s pretty convenient for those of use with finger prick meters.

Apparently it should work, at least this web page tried a variety of test strips and found they all seemed to work: https://www.mysugr.com/en/blog/diet-drink-really-diet-check-sugar/

It ends by suggesting Diastix, relatively cheap urine testing strips for glucose and/or ketones which are still being made (though the glucose aspect is pretty useless for people who actually have diabetes).

I'm not inclined to bother, but if you found yourself wanting to check frequently enough I guess it would be worth £5 for 50 strips (they probably expire in ~6 months, so you'd need to want to check quite a bit). (Now I look more carefully I think the cheapest is £5.50 for 100 strips.)

 

[Lucyr]

I have been a type 1 diabetic for over 50 years and on many occasions have suspected that having requested a diet drink from the dispenser in a pub have been serviced one containing full sugar. Does anyone know of a convenient way of testing your drink to ascertain its sugar content?

Stick a finger in and rub a small drop on the back of your hand. If it’s sticky when dried it’s sugary, if not it’s diet. If you have a diet and regular coke together you can usually tell the difference visually, as Diet Coke has more and smaller bubbles that are stronger and stay longer, whereas full sugar coke isnt as bubbly and the bubbles it does have don’t last as long.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Stick a finger in and rub a small drop on the back of your hand. If it’s sticky when dried it’s sugary, if not it’s diet. If you have a diet and regular coke together you can usually tell the difference visually, as Diet Coke has more and smaller bubbles that are stronger and stay longer, whereas full sugar coke isnt as bubbly and the bubbles it does have don’t last as long.

Yup! that’s what I do. I find the soft skin in between my fingers is sensitive to the tackiness (which you’ll know if you’ve simply spilt some soft drink while carrying it, or had one of those ‘gusher’ bottles when opening

Standard BG strips can work I think (though it may depend on brand/technology). Either reading Hi or Lo/Err?