So. Iced tea with ginseng - not for diabetics, is it caffeine? Am gearing for hot weather beverage

[UTUSN]

So for years I've done the no soda thing or Diet Soda sometimes thing. Am not a big consumer, but have been a user for the past couple of years of a Zero type thing.

Have managed not to turn on the cold air (give me a break on the electric bill for a couple of months). Am now up to three fans on my face.

Beverage alternative now is iced tea/ginseng. But the label says "trace of honey, not for diabetics" despite zero sugars. Huh? And what about caffeine. Google says ginseng tea has a cup of coffee's worth of caffeine.

Lead me, Lounge. Steer me. What's it all about, Alfie?!1

[flor-de-jasmim]

1. Hmmm, good question:

I found this on Very Well Health: [link:https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-effects-of-ginseng-may-include-lowering-blood-sugar-1087464|:

Ginseng may alter the effectiveness of diabetes medications, making it critically important for a person with diabetes to discuss it with their doctor and pharmacist before taking ginseng supplements. It is reported to have moderate interactions with insulin, glimepiride, glyburide, glipizide, and others, which could result in low blood sugar. You may need to have dosages of medications altered for safety if you take ginseng.

[UTUSN]

2. Thanks!

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. You're welcome.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. so, ginsing, (among other foods-herbs) lowers blood sugar.

Let's hope the bastards who raised the prices of insulin don't know this.

[Nay]

4. How many carbs does the label say the drink has? That's what diabetics need to

evaluate.

But it is weird that an ingredient is honey, but zero sugars. By law, I think that means there is less than half a gram of honey in the drink, which is very little, and so why can't a diabetic drink it? Go for the carb count as your guide, and ask your doc whether there is enough ginseng in a tea drink to mess with your meds.

[UTUSN]

5. Thanks and as you say, this is weird, because it's ZERO CARBS. Really, the only number is sodium

20 mg of sodium and zeros on everything else. Teh Google came up with something saying that ginseng *lowers* blood sugar. But also has the effect of caffeine.

What I wanted was a cold beverage type thing for the summer.

[Nay]

6. There's certainly no carby reason why you can't drink this as much as you want. But I

didn't know about the ginseng lowering the blood glucose, so ask the doc.

ZERO, in those nutrition labels, means "less than half a gram," so there's less than half a gram of honey. If there was a meaningful amount of honey, the carb count would not be zero, so don't worry about that part of it.

[Major Nikon]

7. Not all carbs are the same

Both sugar and beans are high in carbohydrates. Sugar is bad for diabetics while beans are quite good. Diabetics need to consider the glycemic index. Honey has about the same glycemic index as table sugar, although there is some variance for certain specialty honey products.

[Nay]

8. Very true, but not really applicable to this drink. It has so little sugar/carbs that it basically

doesn't register over the ZERO definitions for calories/carbs/sugars on food labels. If he drank 10 of these drinks a day, he would get a maximum of 5 carbs from the whole lot. Not much. Disclaimer: each diabetic reacts differently to different foods, so a close watch on the glucose meter is always recommended when trying a new food. People have found out, through their glucose meters, that some food labels are outright lies.

I'm a Type 2 diabetic and beans make my blood sugar soar -- I only eat 1/4 cup at a time, when I eat them (rarely). I love them and miss them (along with my favorite breakfast, oatmeal), but I rarely eat them.

[Major Nikon]

9. Not all beans are the same

Many legumes have a low glycemic index along with a significant source of fiber, both of which are generally good things for diabetics. However, not everyone is the same. It's possible your body produces more enzymes that break down the starches in beans faster than most. That's also why some people can eat beans without developing painful gas while some can't.

[Nay]

11. Also very true -- I can eat soybeans without the bump in blood sugar. Chickpeas bother me less, too.

Both, I think, have higher protein levels so affect me less.

[Major Nikon]

10. Ginseng is typically prepared for tea by marinating it in honey

I suspect whatever commercial beverage you are getting is adding a small amount of honey for flavor. The label "sugar-free" is a bit misleading. Honey most certainly contains sugar and the fructose/glucose ratio is almost identical to table sugar. If the calories listed are zero or close to zero, then there's probably just enough honey flavoring to be detectable. If the beverage tastes sweet, then artificial sweeteners are probably used.

If you are concerned about sugar or caffeine, you can make your own tea from loose tea leaves or bags, both of which can be steeped multiple times. The first steeping will contain almost all of the caffeine. In China, many people will toss the first steeping and use the same tea leaves for 3 or 4 more batches. That way you get pretty much all the tea flavor with very little caffeine.

[UTUSN]

12. Thanks, lots of good info

[PufPuf23]

14. In Summer months I make sun tea from various teas and

also make Yerba mate tea in a boiled pot that I then bottle.

I also make herbal teas from the local forests in the Fall and Winter: Prince's Pine (Chimaphila umbellate spp), Yerba Buena or Indian tea (Satureja douglasii), and California Spikenard or California Ginseng (Aralia californica that has many of same active ingredients of ginseng and is in Ginseng botanical family). The California Ginseng I make into a tonic by boiling the roots and have made an extract with alcohol in the past; the CG is more a tonic and not a pleasure to drink. The Prince's pine and Yerba buena I boil in a pot of water then strain hot and bottle.

I use recycled Snapple bottles. With the sun tea I simply put a teabag in water and close the lid and leave on a step stool on the deck feet from me at my office deck. I favor green teas but also do black teas and chai teas and named stuff from Earl Grey to Constant Comment to Sleepy Time). I drink them and offer them to visors instead of soda or beer.

I add no sugar or any other sweetener. Sometimes I will add wild lemon balm or wintergreen herb for a different flavor to the forest herb brews. Yerba mate is readily found in stores these days but most is highly sweetened. Mate is high in caffeine but basic rather than alkaline like coffee or darks teas (and easier on stomach).

The Prince's pine was used for diabetes by the Native Americans. I was drinking a bottle a day last Fall and early Winter until I ran out and am now waiting for snow to clear from good gathering areas. I have been diagnosed on meds for Type II diabetes for 2 plus years and the Prince's pine had a noticeable positive impact on my blood sugars (and my GP was aware my use, I even gave her a quart of the leaves but she is NA and in a IHS clinic). The Prince's pine is common in some areas of the western forests but there is another species of Chimaphilia in the southern Appalachian Mountains (which is the secret ingredient in Pepsi cola).

As a diabetic, I find it takes much looking at labels for cold store-bought drinks because of sugar and I rarely desire a carbonated beverage.

[UTUSN]

15. Will be waiting for your bottles, Haha, thanks!1 Won't lie, too complicated for me

But I really admire your dedication

[PufPuf23]

16. The sun tea is easy.

!. Fill Snapple bottle with water.
2. Add teabag of choice and clamp on string when screw on bottle cap.
3. Place in Sun for a day.
4. Remove tea bag and refrigerate.
5. Drink.

Lots of various teas available.