When managing diabetes, do not assume that an apple drink is low in sugar or suitable for you simply because it says “no added sugar”. Choose 100% apple juice if you want pure juice and can account for the amount you drink; consider a sweetener-containing juice drink if its listed sugars, ingredients and fruit content better fit your preferences and individual plan. Diabetes UK notes that fruit juice contributes free sugars.
If you prefer juice, compare its carbohydrate and sugar figures with the amount you intend to drink. Diabetes UK says there is no single diet for everyone with diabetes and explains that juice contributes free sugars.
A diluted apple-based juice drink may have a lower listed sugar figure than a 100% juice, but check how much fruit juice it contains and which sweeteners it uses. For example, Tesco Groceries lists 4.6g sugars per 100ml for Growers Harvest No Added Sugar Apple Juice Drink; Copella lists 10g per 100ml for its Cloudy Apple juice.
Choose a 100% apple juice if fruit-juice content matters more to you than a lower listed sugar figure. Tropicana describes Orchard Apple as 100% pressed juice, while Copella lists 10g sugars per 100ml for Cloudy Apple. Neither choice makes portion size irrelevant.
Decide whether you want pure juice, a diluted juice drink or a squash, then compare the nutrition figures for the quantity you will actually drink.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Sugars and carbohydrate | Read both figures per 100ml. Compare drinks on the same volume basis, then check the values for the amount you plan to pour. | I need figures I can use for the drink I will have, rather than relying on “no added sugar”. Diabetes UK explains that sugars in fruit juice count as free sugars. |
| Juice content | Check whether the product is 100% juice or a juice drink, and read the fruit percentages. Tesco Groceries lists 50% apple juice in Growers Harvest No Added Sugar Apple Juice Drink; Asda Groceries lists 6% apple and 4% pear juice in its Apple & Pear Juice Drink. | If I want pure apple juice, a diluted juice drink will not meet that preference even if its listed sugar figure is lower. |
| Sweeteners | Read the ingredient list rather than judging by the front label. Tesco Groceries lists sucralose in the Growers Harvest drink, while Sainsbury's lists sweeteners in its No Added Sugar Apple & Pear Juice Drink. | I may prefer a lower listed sugar figure, or I may prefer to avoid a drink containing sweeteners. The ingredient list helps me distinguish those choices. |
| Serving and dilution | Check the pack size and whether nutrition values describe the drink as sold or prepared. Asda Groceries lists less than 0.5g sugars per 100ml for its Apple & Blackcurrant Squash when diluted as directed: one part squash to nine parts water. | For a squash, I want to compare the prepared drink I will have, not mistake its diluted figures for those of the concentrate. Squash is an apple-flavoured drink, not 100% apple juice. |
The claim does not give the total sugar figure. Copella lists 10g sugars per 100ml for Cloudy Apple juice, or 15g for a 150ml serving.
Read the sugars and carbohydrate rows, then use the figures for the portion you intend to drink. Diabetes UK notes that fruit juice contributes free sugars.
A juice drink can differ considerably from pure juice. Asda Groceries lists 6% apple juice, 4% pear juice and sucralose in its Apple & Pear Juice Drink.
Check the product name and ingredients before deciding whether you want 100% juice or a diluted drink containing sweetener.
Asda Groceries’ figure of less than 0.5g sugars per 100ml for Apple & Blackcurrant Squash applies to the drink diluted as directed, not the concentrate.
Follow the pack’s one-part-squash-to-nine-parts-water direction when using its prepared-drink nutrition figures.
These named products illustrate why fruit content, sweeteners and nutrition units matter; the figures apply to the products stated, not every drink from each brand.
Tropicana describes Orchard Apple as 100% pressed, not-from-concentrate apple juice.
Copella Cloudy Apple is a pressed apple juice with ascorbic acid.
Growers Harvest No Added Sugar Apple Juice Drink contains apple juice from concentrate, water and sucralose, according to Tesco Groceries.
Sainsbury's No Added Sugar Apple & Pear Juice Drink combines apple and pear juice with sweeteners.
Asda Groceries lists both an Apple & Pear Juice Drink and an Apple & Blackcurrant Squash; they are different types of drink.
M&S offers an Apple & Blackcurrant Juice Drink described as having no added sugar and no artificial sweeteners.
This option is a no-added-sugar, apple-containing mixed-fruit drink for shoppers considering a juice-drink alternative to pure apple juice. Check its label against the portion and ingredients that matter to you.
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A no-added-sugar apple-containing drink in eight 200ml bottles. It is a mixed-fruit drink rather than pure apple juice; check the current pack’s ingredients, sugars and carbohydrate figures for the amount you drink.
No. The claim does not tell you the drink’s total sugars or carbohydrate content. Copella lists 10g sugars per 100ml for Cloudy Apple juice, while Tesco Groceries lists 4.6g per 100ml for Growers Harvest No Added Sugar Apple Juice Drink. Check the nutrition panel and ingredients, including whether the product is juice or a diluted juice drink.
No single answer applies to everyone. Diabetes UK explains that fruit juice contributes free sugars and that there is no one-size-fits-all diabetes diet. If you choose juice, use its carbohydrate information and the amount you drink within your individual care plan.
Consider one when a lower listed sugar figure matters more to you than having 100% juice, and you are comfortable with its ingredients. Compare figures on the same volume basis and check fruit percentages and sweeteners: Asda Groceries lists 1.2g sugars per 100ml for its Apple & Pear Juice Drink, which contains apple and pear juice, water and sucralose.
Only when you compare drinks as you will prepare and consume them, using the same volume basis. Asda Groceries’ figure of less than 0.5g sugars per 100ml for Apple & Blackcurrant Squash applies when it is diluted one part squash to nine parts water; it does not describe the concentrate.