# Sugar tax



## Redkite

Feeling so annoyed at George Osborn and all those other smug prats who think a sugar tax is a good thing.  Life just got harder and more expensive for those unfortunate enough to be on insulin and need readily available treatments for hypoglycaemia


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## Northerner

It should be like VAT on medical things - we should be exempt! The thing that bugs me is that it is so narrow-minded to think that a tax on one element of diet will transform the nation's health.


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## Redkite

Northerner said:


> It should be like VAT on medical things - we should be exempt! The thing that bugs me is that it is so narrow-minded to think that a tax on one element of diet will transform the nation's health.



Yes it's ridiculous.  Presumably fruit juices and smoothies will be recommended alternatives!!  People already know what's "unhealthy" but choose it anyway.  Taxes on cigarettes haven't stopped people smoking.  There should be a subsidy on fruit and veg perhaps....


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## AlisonM

Once again, they've gone for the 'obvious' target and ignored the real culprits, such as the hidden sugars in so-called low fat foods. Eejits!


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## Annette

Its ok though, its only on drinks! So jelly babies are still allowed...


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## trophywench

So -  what happens with my flippin Lucozade?

It is a PITA carting it about TBH, it's heavy and you always need a big bag.  However when I'm REALLY hypo - I cannot chew or swallow - my lower jaw sets very firmly indeed and it MUST taste nice to me else I will NOT swallow it.  That's why orange Luc is the thing.  You can get orange flavoured Dextrosol - fine if I ain't hypo of course - but they are no good if you can't move your jaw!

Dunno how I would react to a gel.  Bit iffy waiting til I'm mega hypo to test it?


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## Northerner

I guess if it's just fizzy/soft drinks then fruit juice might be OK  I seem to remember apple juice being a favourite of some people (NOT cider! )


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## Sally71

They aren't banning sugary drinks though, are they, just going to charge a bit more? So we'll still be able to get them!  We use full sugar blackcurrant squash for night time hypos, and don't dilute it very much, as daughter isn't very keen on anything fizzy.

I'm overweight but it's nothing to do with sugary drinks, chocolate and an aversion to exercise are my biggest problems!


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## Northerner

I'm annoyed that it's getting so much coverage instead of the much more important aspects of the budget. Do people really notice what they pay for these drinks anyway? I occasionally buy some cheap own-brand fizzy pop because some rare hypos just won't respond to JBs etc., but taste isn't important to me - I just buy the cheapest! People who buy these drinks regularly (I'm talking about muggles) probably buy on special offer or pay whatever they cost because they are thirsty, The tax will only make a difference if it makes some drinks appear significantly cheaper on the shelf.


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## Flower

I just read the headlines on ceefax and it said 'Sugar tax unveiled as growth forecasts cut' and thought crikey the government is optimistic their tax will work well -  then I realised the two statements weren't related!


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## Vicsetter

Whilst I object to this tax and also am astounded that drinks firms have 2 years to impose it??.  
At the end of the day it only amounts to 18-24p per litre of drnk (8p on a can of cola). 
As the tax (rightly or wrongly) doesn't apply to smoothies and fruit juices, why not buy fruit juice or 'no added sugar' and add your own sugar.
I am afraid that lucozade isn't a medicine (try getting it on prescription).
At least the money is supposed to go to children's sport


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## HOBIE

When I see the younger generation with a 2lt bottle of "Coke" & a massive Pizza it makes me shudder ! (The Carbs), How many T2s are we going to have in 5yrs time ?   Something has to change.


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## Redkite

Vicsetter said:


> Whilst I object to this tax and also am astounded that drinks firms have 2 years to impose it??.
> At the end of the day it only amounts to 18-24p per litre of drnk (8p on a can of cola).
> As the tax (rightly or wrongly) doesn't apply to smoothies and fruit juices, why not buy fruit juice or 'no added sugar' and add your own sugar.
> I am afraid that lucozade isn't a medicine (try getting it on prescription).
> At least the money is supposed to go to children's sport



The money from this tax won't be ring fenced and allocated to children's sport - that was just a political sound bite.  And...lucozade may not be a medicine, but we do use it as a medicine (also coke) - fruit juice with or without added sugar just isn't a fast enough hypo remedy for my son as the fructose is too slow to absorb.  Anyway, it is what it is I suppose


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## Matt Cycle

I don't think this will make a blind bit of difference to the obesity epidemic in this country.  It's just another money making exercise by Gideon.


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## HOBIE

I know everyone is different but I can not stand "Pukozade" or full Fat Coke. .  I became a "Risk Asser" for Duk .  Standing in busy shopping ctrs.  The sooner someone find out they have Diabetes the sooner they are treated & long term its better.  You can not go to the shops these days without coming home with mountains of sugar. Things will have to change or everyone will be diabetic.


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## trophywench

Like I said Hobie - I can't swallow that easily and definitely can't chew.  What else comes in handy smallish bottles (bearing in mind I cart it round everywhere with me along with my meter, purse, phone etc etc) and can happily live out of the fridge as long as you like?  I mean I might have a swig and not need any again for a week or more - or I might drink a whole bottle in 3 days - who knows!!

I don't like standard Luc - but I can drink anything orange flavoured.


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## DeusXM

I'm not really bothered about the tax in principle, particularly as it's for 'sugary drinks' and they haven't specifically said it's for fizzy drinks (AFAIK) - so it could equally end up applying to fruit juices, those 'coffees' that are basically a pudding in a cup, and that might then act as a massive wake-up call not only for the nation's health, but also be some very handy ammo for hitting back at those stupid people who are convinced that if sugar is in fruit, it becomes magical.

The overall cost increase is also going to be quite low. Given I imagine all of us don't habitually buy sugary soft drinks regularly (and if you're getting through a 2L bottle of Lucozade very regularly, I'd suggest you need to look at your BG control), I don't think many of us will be significantly affected in the same way that someone who chugs a smoothie and a can of Coke every day will be.

What DOES worry me however, is how this will pan out in restaurants and pubs. Most of these places are in the habit of listing either mixers or soft drinks as the same price at present. I can easily see them deciding if they have to increase the price of the regular drinks, because most of us are used to seeing diet and regular drinks priced the same on a menu, the diet soft drinks might also 'accidentally' increase in cost too...meaning the tax fails to deliver what it's supposed to anyway.


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## Mr TEL

I'm really fuming over this, especially as today's headlines seem to suggest that it will put up to 25p on a bottle of lucozade once the shares and other factors come into play. Maybe if Jamie Oliver and the Chancellor had to live with Type 1 diabetes, they'd have given this more thought. Although it's (arguably) not a lot of money, why should diabetics be punished again? My worry is that companies will start lowering the sugar content of their products, thus leaving us without a clue as how much we're consuming, leading to more hypos. Furthermore, this organisation must take some responsibility for actively encouraging this move. Right now they should be campaigning on our behalf for Lucozade to be classed as a medicine and tax exempted before it's too late.


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## Northerner

Us Type 1s are pretty much a minority in society - there are, what, 400,000 of us in total? As @DeusXM says, we shouldn't really be drinking a lot of it for it to have a huge economic impact on us. Not enough of us for it to be worth making an exception for, I imagine. I do agree with @Mr TEL though, changing the formulation might cause some problems, if it doesn't treat hypos as well.

My main objection is the singling out of one item (soft drinks) and one food item (sugar) and the suggestion that it will have any impact on obesity. It's a lazy and cheap target that absolves the powers-that-be of doing the job properly (because that would need more care, investigation and investment).


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## DeusXM

Why Lucozade specifically, too? Aside from the usual BBC disclaimer ("Other energy drinks are available"), you can equally treat a hypo effectively with a regular soft drink. That then leads to even more confusion - how on earth would you create some kind of exemption system for people with diabetes to buy sugary drinks to treat a hypo? We have to carry a special card entitling us to a discount? Drinks only available on prescription? Or would this create an interesting loophole where suddenly, all sugary drinks are classed as 'medicines', which then would have the converse effect of people thinking these things are generally good for them?

I agree it is not a perfect solution but I am struggling to see how else it would be possible to encourage people to lower their sugar intake - particularly as the impact on us in particular is actually pretty minimal. It could even be beneficial - if diet drinks become the norm rather than the exception, that might then put an end to being served the wrong drink (which I bet has happened to all of us at some point) or even some greater innovation in diet soft drink provision - for instance, it'd be nice to go to a bar or restaurant and have a soft drink option other than diet Coke to choose from, and if more people start drinking diet, the manufacturers might respond positively with greater choice.


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## Vicsetter

I don't understand some of the comments in this thread.  When I was on insulin I was advised to keep a bottle of lucozade by my bedside. Unfortunately I ended up chucking it away because of the shelf life.  I cannot see why anyone would buy a large bottle of lucozade for treating hypos.  Surely when you've used it once, it will be ready to chuck before you need it again.
Note:{Deusx} all the stuff I have read says that the tax is based on the sugar added to drinks.  So colas and sweetened fizzy drinks will be taxed but 'no added sugar' and fruit smoothies will not.

Interestingly for those that think lucozade should be exempt, not long ago the head of NHS was going to introduce a sugar tax in hospitals.

If adding your own sugar isn't fast enough then you can buy glucose syrup and use that (however I would suspect that this would cost more than the tax!)


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## Redkite

I agree that the price increase isn't a massive problem (though I'm willing to bet DeusXM is right that pubs/restaurants will up the price of sugar free drinks to match!).

The main irritation for me is the constant linking of "sugar" as a cause of "childhood obesity".  And associated with that is the prevailing belief in society that my son brought his diabetes on himself (or I caused it) by eating/drinking too much sugar.  Seeing Jamie Oliver posturing and preening on the telly had me reaching for the sick bowl!  So NO his diabetes wasn't caused by too much sugar, and NO this idiot tax won't prevent other children being overfed unbalanced diets and being inactive, leading to being overweight and unhealthy adults.  There will be a lot more overweight people in twenty years' time, and more incidence of heart disease, cancers, and type 2 diabetes.  This tax won't make one iota of difference.


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## trophywench

I don't buy large bottles - my handbag's big enough already LOL - these are 380ml bottles and we buy them in 6-packs which we keep in a cupboard in the dark.  When I finish a bottle, I open a new one .  After a few hours when it's gone a bit flat, I decant half into the old bottle.  When the old bottle is empty I recycle it and put the remaining half a bottle in my handbag.  I'm not at all interested in the health giving LOL qualities of the drink or any 'enjoyment' from consuming it  - ONLY the glucose in it - and the flavour which makes it easier than  the 'original' sort - which acts QUICKER than sugar in Coke or Lemonade or neat (ughh!) Ribena etc.  And of course - you need less Luc than Coke,  100ml is quite a lot for me, in that state.  60ml to get the equivalent carb value is just better all round.


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## trophywench

I also fear that Coca Cola & similar companies WILL just substitute some aspartame rather than reducing the sweetness - which will not do anything to retrain people's palates and make it more difficult for anyone trying to use normal Coke etc to treat hypos.  But - it's the retraining which is the failure IMHO - since we ARE in the minority and we can't argue that we aren't since it's true.

I know sometimes I've accidentally had a G&T or VaT which someone has stuck 'normal' tonic in, and it does defo taste different - much less alcoholic.  More like pop!  I like both - but it's a sod if you don't know and can't therefore allow for it.  I had a (non-D) work colleague who didn't tend to pig out on carbs of any kind - lovely and slim - but when both having a G&T whilst out, if the person getting the round had failed to remember which was which - Tana always was the taster - she'd know instantly if she had the wrong one -  since she only liked the full sugar sort!  (She wasn't daft - and was the daughter of a GP and a nurse, LOL)


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## pippaandben

Please remember that it is not only the type 1 population affected but us type 2s who are insulin dependant . Probably only type 2 cos GPs can't be bothered to test properly or  to test early enough after original diagnosis.


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## Northerner

pippaandben said:


> Please remember that it is not only the type 1 population affected but us type 2s who are insulin dependant . Probably only type 2 cos GPs can't be bothered to test properly or  to test early enough after original diagnosis.


Yes of course - and not just T2s on insulin, but also those on hypoglycaemic drugs like gliclizide as well.


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## DeusXM

> Surely when you've used it once, it will be ready to chuck before you need it again.



Depends how often you have hypos. A 2L bottle of Lucozade can easily still be good for weeks after opening (even if it might not still be fizzy).


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## Vicsetter

a) what T2s are dependent on insulin?, they may be on insulin but they are not dependent.I have been on insulin and have stopped using it as my dosage requirements were just getting sill
b) it may be overcautious but the sainsburys orange energy drink says use within 3 days of opening.


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## Copepod

I think it is overcautious to follow "discard 3 days after opening" instructions on drinks bottles. Probably best to keep in as cool place as possible, though eg not next to a radiator, not on windowsill where it might be exposed to sunlight etc. But 200ml cartons of juice avoid such problems, and won't be affected by thus tax / levy.


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## KookyCat

I don't much care about the tax on sugary drinks personally (don't use them myself) but I object to the notion that sugar is the root of all evil, mostly because it may be one of them, but not the only one, and it absolutely won't make any difference to the notion that sugar in fruit has magical properties because people don't understand.  Case in point, a woman I chat to on my bus said on the way home yesterday, "well my kids will be OK they have fruit juice and it's just Coke and stuff that getting taxed".  The manufacturers will just adjust their product so it means it reaches the lower limit and then stuff it with artificial sweetener which will taste sweeter and won't moderate taste buds at all.  The most vile part of the assumption is essentially that all people who are economically disadvantaged are stupid.  The only people this has a real impact on are those on restricted incomes, 25p on a 2 litre bottle of Coke wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to the middle class numpties coming up with this stunner, but it will make a difference to someone on a low income.  The problem is it won't actually do anything to improve diet.  Call me naive, but aside from the sociopathic element who span all classes and incomes most parents want to do right by their children.  They don't want to make their children's lives more difficult.  There have been some excellent results from courses aimed at teaching people about nutrition, stuff like portion size and what a balanced meal for a child looks like.  It's not rocket science, most people of average intelligence can grasp it they just have to be taught it in the first place.  Oh but wait, that would require someone to have the guts to tell the NHS that they're healthy plate is erm not healthy, and tell the policy makers that low income doesn't mean low intelligence.  The poor are not another species who need to be manipulated by financial penalties into doing what's best for them, some are daft as a brush, some are stupid, some are kind, some are evil, some are great, some are bright some are not, just like all human beings.  They'd get a lot further if they stopped thinking like people who believe money equals superior intellect.


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## pippaandben

*"what type 2s are dependent on insulin?"  I AM*
After 18 months of all different types of tablets which would take a couple of weeks to start working - then work for c one month - my blood sugars were mid to high 20s and then into 30s with continual high readings on my meter and HbA1c of 111. 3 months 40s of insulin later down into 70s and now low 50s/high 40s. This was just 4 years ago when I was 68 and BMI of 29.
We all know high blood sugars are what cause us all harm. We also all know that diabetes is NOT a one size fits all auto-immune disease.
Really disappointed in you Vicsetter


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## Austin Mini

When I was a child in the 40s and 50s there was no low fat diet drinks. We had lemonade as a treat probably three times a year lemonade was bought. If we were thirsty we were told 'theres plenty of water in the tap'. We drank orange squash and ginger beer both 95% water plus we were out playing all day, football, cricket, rounders Scouting we never sat still long. There were no 'plump' people as there was food rationing. As for the sugar tax, well if people cant control their sugar intake then taxing them is a last resort, sorry. But on the plus side they will have much better teeth. Coke should be banned but thats Me.


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## Northerner

Tap water = 'Corporation pop'  ('Council wine for the adults!)


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## Vicsetter

pippaandben said:


> *"what type 2s are dependent on insulin?"  I AM*
> After 18 months of all different types of tablets which would take a couple of weeks to start working - then work for c one month - my blood sugars were mid to high 20s and then into 30s with continual high readings on my meter and HbA1c of 111. 3 months 40s of insulin later down into 70s and now low 50s/high 40s. This was just 4 years ago when I was 68 and BMI of 29.
> We all know high blood sugars are what cause us all harm. We also all know that diabetes is NOT a one size fits all auto-immune disease.
> Really disappointed in you Vicsetter


I am sorry you are disappointed, but I was objecting to the use of the word dependent!  which means you cannot live without it!


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## Northerner

Vicsetter said:


> I am sorry you are disappointed, but I was objecting to the use of the word dependent!  which means you cannot live without it!


I'm not sure I understand you Vic, if you're not producing insulin, or enough insulin, then you are dependent on it - every human being who ever lived has been dependent on it, just that most lucky souls produce enough of their own


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## Northerner

I'm saying nowt!  
 ``


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## robert@fm

Whoever designed that Jamie Oliver package either was an idiot, or had an eeeeevil sense of humour!


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## Northerner

robert@fm said:


> Whoever designed that Jamie Oliver package either was an idiot, or had an eeeeevil sense of humour!


I suspect it might be photo-shopped...


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## Sally71

I've really gone off him, I liked him when he was campaigning for healthier (sorry, more nutritious ) school dinners, but since then he's got far too big for his boots.  Now he thinks he's won the sugar tax argument, he's apparently going to start campaigning for women to be allowed to breast feed wherever they feel like it (his wife is pregnant with their 5th). Why does he have to be campaigning about anything at all?!


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## SlowRunner

I am a bit concerned that this may mean that soft drinks manufacturers will start to reduce the amount of sugar in standard soft drinks to lower the tax rate on them & replace some of the sugar with sweeteners. This may render them less effective (or worse, totally useless) for treating a hypo. May be worth keeping an eye on the nutritional info of your regular favourite!


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## Vicsetter

Northerner said:


> I'm not sure I understand you Vic, if you're not producing insulin, or enough insulin, then you are dependent on it - every human being who ever lived has been dependent on it, just that most lucky souls produce enough of their own


The vast majority of T2s do produce enough insulin and can be made to produce enough with drugs and/or exercise, but are unable to use the insulin they produce effectively.  GPs will put a T2 on insulin in preference to some of the more expensive drugs like byetta, bydureon, victoza.  It may even be that they have been misdiagnosed as a T2. This doesn't make them dependent on insulin.  You would need a c-peptide test to see what level of insulin you produce to prove insulin dependence. T2 diabetes used to be called non-insulin dependent diabetes.
Re-reading Pippandbens post I realize that she may have just been referring to herself and not T2s in general, although she seems unsure as to whether her T2 diagnosis is correct.  Interestingly a T2 with thyroid troubles is likely to require insulin treatment.


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## trophywench

I think that, just because you have managed to come off insulin doesn't actually mean everyone will be able to, Vicsetter.  For some people - Victoza, Byetta etc or even Glic etc just will not work either at all or sufficiently, ever - no matter how much exercise they take or how few carbs they eat - to stay alive and maintain a reasonable - even if not actually 'good' QOL.

Yes - I certainly agree with you that there are no doubt MANY mis-diagnosed people - but until the NHS has enough money to check every 'T2's C-pep levels sufficiently frequently to make sure they aren't really LADA etc - then it's going to continue happening for the foreseeable future.


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## Northerner

As I understand it, what can happen in T2s is that their beta cells may become 'exhausted' by constant over-production of insulin and die off as a result, causing a rapid decline in insulin. This is why drugs that work by stimulating more insulin production begin to fail over time (and are often thought to speed decline and cell death) and insulin insufficiency occurs. You may be as strange in the T2 world, Vic, as I am in the T1 world not needing basal, in being able to come off insulin thanks to Victoza


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## HOBIE

I am not bothered what treats my hypo - what it tastes like etc as long as it works. Gluoco Gel comes in small tooth paste tubes.  Easily fit in to a pocket or a handbag TW


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## Copepod

Or fruit puree pouches are relatively cheap, plus taste much nicer. Need to check labels to get optimum carbohydrate content, as they range from about 8g to 10g in an 80g pouch, to 9 to 20g in a 100g pouch. Generally pouches containing banana and / or rice have highest CHO content, while those based on berries are lowest. Not available on prescription, naturally, but pretty cheap, especially if bought in batches of 3 to 5 pouches.


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## HOBIE

Whats wrong with a bottle of TAP water with as many spoons of sugar in it ? HYPO TREATMENT.


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## Vicsetter

HOBIE said:


> Whats wrong with a bottle of TAP water with as many spoons of sugar in it ? HYPO TREATMENT.


Some people do not think that is fast enough ( as it contains fructose which must be processed by the liver to produce glucose) and require glucose syrup (which is what is in lucozade).  
p.s. Lucozade orange contains glucose-fructose syrup (designed to help athletes we are told) and delivers 10g glucose per 100ml of drink.


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## Robin

Vicsetter said:


> Some people do not think that is fast enough ( as it contains fructose which must be processed by the liver to produce glucose) and require glucose syrup (which is what is in lucozade).
> p.s. Lucozade orange contains glucose-fructose syrup (designed to help athletes we are told) and delivers 10g glucose per 100ml of drink.


I just googled Liquid Glucose, out of interest, to see how it compared. It says it's got 81 carbs per 100g, of which 55 are sugars. So what are the rest?


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## Northerner

Robin said:


> I just googled Liquid Glucose, out of interest, to see how it compared. It says it's got 81 carbs per 100g, of which 55 are sugars. So what are the rest?
> View attachment 1117


Liquid?


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## Robin

Northerner said:


> Liquid?


Ha-di-ha!


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## trophywench

Vicsetter said:


> Some people do not think that is fast enough ( as it contains fructose which must be processed by the liver to produce glucose) and require glucose syrup (which is what is in lucozade).
> p.s. Lucozade orange contains glucose-fructose syrup (designed to help athletes we are told) and delivers 10g glucose per 100ml of drink.



15g carb per 100ml  http://www.lucozadeenergy.com/our-products/orange/

I don't have anything marked 'sport' - don't want or need the caffeine etc.


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## Copepod

Not all sports gels, drinks or tablets to dissolve into water contain sugar or caffeine, so you have to check labels carefully.


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## pottersusan

trophywench said:


> I don't have anything marked 'sport' - don't want or need the caffeine etc.



There's also the danger that you  might catch the sporty bug... to be avoided. I would like to keep my own knees!


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## Copepod

pottersusan said:


> There's also the danger that you  might catch the sporty bug... to be avoided. I would like to keep my own knees!


Plenty of activities available that don't put so much stress on knees as running on roads / pavements / tarmac. Eg walking, cycling, running on trails, foot orienteering except urban, swimming, canoeing, kayaking etc.


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## Vicsetter

trophywench said:


> 15g carb per 100ml  http://www.lucozadeenergy.com/our-products/orange/
> 
> I don't have anything marked 'sport' - don't want or need the caffeine etc.


If you look carefully the 15g carbs is 10g glucose, 5g fructose.


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## Vicsetter

Robin said:


> Ha-di-ha!


No it says 81g carbs, 55g glucose, so its probably something like Maltodextrin.


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## Vicsetter

BTW I've just looked at the ingredients list on a tub of Glace Cherries and saw that they are 66.4g glucose-fructose syrup per 100g.  I know they are not liquid but good all the same.


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## AlisonM

Northerner said:


> I'm saying nowt!
> View attachment 1103 ``


ROFLMAO!


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## trophywench

Yes but you wouldn't need many glace cherries to correct a hypo and they are terribly sticky to drop a few in your handbag or pocket!  LOL

(and @Copepod, I rather think Susan may have been jesting, actually .....  )


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## KookyCat

Right well kids, I'm not dissolving table sugar in water, life could never be long enough for that, I most certainly am not carrying a tube of bakers sugar syrup in my handbag and casually squirting a dab of that in my mouth on my bus, up North that'd be considered suspicious behaviour, also in many states of America since crystal meth users have a similar need for quick acting sugar.  If I whipped out a glacé cherry from my carefully prepared Tupperware pot I'm fairly sure I'd get stabbed, the bus dwellers don't recognise fruit as a suitable bus snack (we're all about the pies here, hmm that delightful smell of meat pie is what keeps me warm of an evening....they also jump out of the fire exit on the top deck of a bus though just to see the emergency brake engage, so I'm not sure I'd recommend their choices, you'll have to decide for yourself , in their defence though it's good exercise, all that jumping and fleeing keeps them very fit).  You'd be hard pressed round here to find a drink with sugar in in a small shop all diet stuff, we're not big on sugar, ooh but we're big on pies (did I mention that?).  Pie tax?  Or perhaps we can all put in a claim for PIP on the basis of the extortionate price of sugar, it being a medical aid and all.  I may have gone to a very sarcastic place, in my defence my blood sugar is a bit low, and I couldn't find any full sugar Ribena anywhere


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## Northerner

I once worked with a lad from Wigan, who taught me about the delights of a 'pie buttie' - apparently very big on your side of the Pennines!


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## Annette

My OH (a scouser) swears anything is improved by being put in between 2 slices of bread. Especially pies and fish fingers.


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## Diabeticliberty

Do not worry for there was a health service official being interviewed on the radio last week. He was confronted by a type 1 diabetic who said that she used the dreaded orange Lucozade fluid of Satan himself to bring her out of hypo's. The official concerned said he sympathised but suggested that she refer herself to a dietician. We are all now saved from ourselves. Lucozade is now a thing of the past for me  and I hope all of you too. The sad fact is however whenever I hear or read comments like this it just serves to further convince me that a lot of doctors just do not get it. When you are in the midst of an aggressive hypoglycaemic attack no amount of well meaning 'eat more brown bread and Weetabix' which is the standard message pedalled out by dieticians will bring you around like Lucozade. Yes of course it ain't good for you. It is however infinitely more preferable to the alternatives during a hypo at 2.00am in a morning.


Sorry folks, rant over. This is my first post on this forum. I have been type 1 for 32 years and I am very pleased to meet you all.


Kind regards,
Geoff


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## Northerner

Hi Geoff, welcome to the forum  Good rant, love the 'brown bread and weetabix' hypo solution!


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## AlisonM

North of the Border, we're into pies too, and deep fried Mars bars (surely there's enough sugar in one of those?), but the thought of carrying one of them in my pocket gives me the boak and would certainly ruin my outfit. Next time I have to work on a PIP claim, I'll factor in the jelly babies as an aid, thanks for that @KookyCat, great idea. A pie tax, though, that would be cause for another referendum, and we'd win it.


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## Diabeticliberty

While they have me good and mad now, how about an annoying little twit tax? The proceeds as with the sugar tax can go to fund school sports. From the proceeds of what they take away from Jamie Oliver alone every child could have an Olympic sized swimming pool dug in their back garden - PUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Diabeticliberty

Northerner said:


> Hi Geoff, welcome to the forum  Good rant, love the 'brown bread and weetabix' hypo solution!



Thank you for the welcome, good to be on board


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## AlisonM

Diabeticliberty said:


> While they have me good and mad now, how about an annoying little twit tax? The proceeds as with the sugar tax can go to fund school sports. From the proceeds of what they take away from Jamie Oliver alone every child could have an Olympic sized swimming pool dug in their back garden - PUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'd vote for that. Add in the proceeds of the tax for irritants like IBS... I mean IDS, I'd spell twit with an A for him.

ETA. Who else thinks Ozzie would make a better chancellor than George?


----------



## Diabeticliberty

AlisonM said:


> I'd vote for that. Add in the proceeds of the tax for irritants like IBS... I mean IDS, I'd spell twit with an A for him.
> 
> ETA. Who else thinks Ozzie would make a better chancellor than George?




I'm the new kid on the block so have to choose my spelling with some degree of care. Granted though, in truth an A would have been far more appropriate. Your IBS comment is a veritable work of art and I must confess I fell off the chair in my office laughing. As for Ozzie? Does being the Prince Of Darkness title not belong to that other Conservative gentleman Michael Howard?


----------



## Northerner

I watched PMQs today. Whilst everyone was appropriately sombre and in solidarity with the poor people in Brussels and Ankhara, Cameron later chose to turn to a huge 'joke' during Corbyn's questions about the disabled cuts, on something totally unrelated to the questions asked. This annoys me more than anything about PMQs, that there is no censure of the PM when he completely evades answering the questions put to him. I propose a PMQ evasion tax, a bit like a swear box, where the PM has to donate one tenth of his income for each diversion from the questions put to him. The fact that all the government benches were united in hilarity shows just how much they 'care' about the disabled and the stress they have unnecessarily been subjected to  A week ago, it was a 'hard decision' that they had to make to cut the disabled budget, yet now they are saying it doesn't matter that they no longer have those cuts - why make them if they are unnecessary. Plus (last bit of rant!) the only reason the chancellor 'listened' was because he would have lost the vote on the budget if he hadn't!  

Getting back on topic, I wonder if he's going to up the sugar tax to 80% now, to cover fill the hole left by the u-turn?


----------



## DeusXM

It's worth maintaining a little perspective though. Realistically, we're talking about an extra 8p or so on a bottle - you can find far greater variations in price simply by going into a different shop. I do wonder if, in the sense of outrage we've had over having something we use singled out, that we've sort of forgotten that they're not actually banning sugary drinks. 

If we assume that we require one bottle per week to treat a few hypos, with an extra 8p to spend per bottle, then we're talking about a whapping £4.16 extra per year. I appreciate none of us are millionaires but I suspect I most of us could probably find this much in shrapnel down the back of the sofa or stuck in a trouser pocket in the wash over the course of a year. I would suggest that all of us probably buy fewer sugary soft drinks than the average person too, so yes, while we might be a little unfairly affected by this (purely because we're buying these drinks for specific health reasons rather than because we're lazy), I'm not sure that as a group we're actually _disproportionately_ affected - or whether this is really the cause that we should be throwing our efforts in to. If we're going to pick a battle, shouldn't we really be looking at test strip availability or pump access rather than getting furious over an extra few pennies on pop?


----------



## trophywench

Pah to the sugar tax making the soft drinks more expensive - let the poor people of Britain eat cake!!!


----------



## trophywench

Oh Deus, do please stop being so sensible when we're all having a bloody good larf, will you?  LOL

And I completely deny having any so-called shrapnel down the side of my settee since the settees (note plural please, we are RICH and have two) we have don't have removable cushions, the look separate but aren't, they are sort of sewn-in thus preventing the entrance of most coins of the realm but only acceding free passage to eg cake biscuit and crisp crumbs and other comparatively sized household detritus of that ilk.


----------



## trophywench

Oh, though - I did recently find 27.50 Euros I didn't know was there in a coat packet whilst sorting out a wardrobe the other week!  Several years since I've taken the garment to Euroland.


----------



## Diabeticliberty

Northerner said:


> I watched PMQs today. Whilst everyone was appropriately sombre and in solidarity with the poor people in Brussels and Ankhara, Cameron later chose to turn to a huge 'joke' during Corbyn's questions about the disabled cuts, on something totally unrelated to the questions asked. This annoys me more than anything about PMQs, that there is no censure of the PM when he completely evades answering the questions put to him. I propose a PMQ evasion tax, a bit like a swear box, where the PM has to donate one tenth of his income for each diversion from the questions put to him. The fact that all the government benches were united in hilarity shows just how much they 'care' about the disabled and the stress they have unnecessarily been subjected to  A week ago, it was a 'hard decision' that they had to make to cut the disabled budget, yet now they are saying it doesn't matter that they no longer have those cuts - why make them if they are unnecessary. Plus (last bit of rant!) the only reason the chancellor 'listened' was because he would have lost the vote on the budget if he hadn't!
> 
> Getting back on topic, I wonder if he's going to up the sugar tax to 80% now, to cover fill the hole left by the u-turn?




Human nature tends to make some people crack funnies when they are nervous or a little bit rattled. Perhaps he was attempting to make light because he realised he had just about scraped through without additional damage being inflicted by Gorgeous George's ill advised,  ill conceived attempted raid on some very poor unfortunate people eh desperately need state help to give them a half decent quality of life. Please be advised that I am no great fan of Jeremy Corbyn either so have no leftist agenda with this comment


----------



## AlisonM

Diabeticliberty said:


> I'm the new kid on the block so have to choose my spelling with some degree of care. Granted though, in truth an A would have been far more appropriate. Your IBS comment is a veritable work of art and I must confess I fell off the chair in my office laughing. As for Ozzie? Does being the Prince Of Darkness title not belong to that other Conservative gentleman Michael Howard?


Just so long as you didn't spill your coke all over the keyboard.


----------



## KookyCat

Northerner said:


> I once worked with a lad from Wigan, who taught me about the delights of a 'pie buttie' - apparently very big on your side of the Pennines!



That'll be what we refer to as a butter barm, one carefully dissects the pie and places a large wodge of butter inside, then one squishes it back together and places it between two halves of a barm cake (or flour cake in my neck of these woods) also covered in butter.  Delightful regional cuisine at its very best, can't imagine why we haven't got a Michelin star yet can you?  



AlisonM said:


> North of the Border, we're into pies too, and deep fried Mars bars (surely there's enough sugar in one of those?), but the thought of carrying one of them in my pocket gives me the boak and would certainly ruin my outfit. Next time I have to work on a PIP claim, I'll factor in the jelly babies as an aid, thanks for that @KookyCat, great idea. A pie tax, though, that would be cause for another referendum, and we'd win it.



Missing a trick there Alison, perfectly legit medical expense I tell you!  Tried a deep fried mars bar once (used to spend a lot of time in Glasgow and Edinburgh for work because we had offices there) in the spirit of "when in Rome", it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected .  The haggis on the other hand was not for me, neither is a Bury black pudding or our other regional delicacy of tripe and onion.  On the whole I prefer my animal bits to be better disguised and less functional it seems.  Poncy southerner me


----------



## Northerner

See, we were health pioneers in West Yorkshire - we deep-fried fruit e.g. pineapple fritters


----------



## Diabeticliberty

AlisonM said:


> Just so long as you didn't spill your coke all over the keyboard.




There you go again. I now have Coke all over my keyboard and Irn Brew all over my tablet. At the rate you are going you will have me back on an abacus by 10.00pm


----------



## SB2015

Welcome Geoff.  
I have chuckled, and joined some rants, through my (rather late) meal with this thread that you started.  
Thanks


----------



## AlisonM

Diabeticliberty said:


> There you go again. I now have Coke all over my keyboard and Irn Brew all over my tablet. At the rate you are going you will have me back on an abacus by 10.00pm


We aim to please.


----------



## robert@fm

KookyCat said:


> That'll be what we refer to as a butter barm, one carefully dissects the pie and places a large wodge of butter inside, then one squishes it back together and places it between two halves of a barm cake (or flour cake in my neck of these woods) also covered in butter. Delightful regional cuisine at its very best, can't imagine why we haven't got a Michelin star yet can you?


One thing that annoys me is, when (in a shop's "food to go" cabinet with the sarnies, and sushi if it's a posh or pretentious shop) I see a so-called "sausage butty" (or "bacon butty"), it's always just sausage in a bap! Surely it's missing the required ingredient of butter, which gives a sausage butty the second half of its name and is what distinguishes it from a mere sausage bap?


----------



## KookyCat

robert@fm said:


> One thing that annoys me is, when (in a shop's "food to go" cabinet with the sarnies, and sushi if it's a posh or pretentious shop) I see a so-called "sausage butty" (or "bacon butty"), it's always just sausage in a bap! Surely it's missing the required ingredient of butter, which gives a sausage butty the second half of its name and is what distinguishes it from a mere sausage bap?



Good grief Robert, there'd be a riot here if the "bap" was without butter, the local sandwich shop nearly went bust when they decided to omit the beautiful yellow from their sandwiches with mayonnaise.  Incidentally lets just keep my use of the word "bap" between us shall we, I'll get run out of town for calling a bread item that name, not quite as viciously as I might for use of the other B word, but still I'm pretty sure they can evict me from Lancashire for such things


----------



## AlisonM

KookyCat said:


> Incidentally lets just keep my use of the word "bap" between us shall we, I'll get run out of town for calling a bread item that name, not quite as viciously as I might for use of the other B word, but still I'm pretty sure they can evict me from Lancashire for such things


You'd be run out of town on a rail from here as well as being hung in effigy.

Besides, you can't have a 'proper' butty on anything other than a morning roll and only if it includes lashings of butter and a big dollop of broon soss.


----------



## Annette

Butties are made from *one* slice of bread, covered in butter, and wrapped around whatever is to hand. Sausage, pie, fishfingers, bacon, crisps, chips, etc, etc.
Rolls are way too posh to be butties. And two slices of bread just makes a sandwich.


----------



## KookyCat

AlisonM said:


> You'd be run out of town on a rail from here as well as being hung in effigy.
> 
> Besides, you can't have a 'proper' butty on anything other than a morning roll and only if it includes lashings of butter and a big dollop of broon soss.



Shhh Alison they might be listening....I think I can hear them lighting the torches now 



Annette Anderson said:


> Butties are made from *one* slice of bread, covered in butter, and wrapped around whatever is to hand. Sausage, pie, fishfingers, bacon, crisps, chips, etc, etc.
> Rolls are way too posh to be butties. And two slices of bread just makes a sandwich.



You'd be alright here Annette, you've got the important element of the butter down pat (boom boom) 

I discovered today we have a butter pie!  I didn't know this not being a pie fan (oh cripes they're defo coming for me now) but it's potato in a butter sauce in pastry AND you can actually get a butter pie flour cake which you've guessed it has more butter


----------



## robert@fm

KookyCat said:


> I discovered today we have a butter pie!


I know Paul McCartney mentioned them in his classic song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", but I thought that was just his bizarre Liverpudlian humour -- I didn't know they were real! 

ETA:


----------



## trophywench

I was brought up eating 'rolls' on occasion, however when I ventured in the centre of Birmingham to work they became 'baps' if they were round, the elongated ones were still 'rolls'.  You have the choice there of either a floury bap or a crusty bap.

However many years later in beautiful downtown Beduth - or indeed the metropolis of Coventry and as far away as Hinckley - No entienden 'Bap'.  Aah - you mean a batch!!

Sorry, a 'batch' is a collection of manufactured articles, usually delineated by actual physical number - as far as I am concerned!


----------



## Robin

trophywench said:


> I was brought up eating 'rolls' on occasion, however when I ventured in the centre of Birmingham to work they became 'baps' if they were round, the elongated ones were still 'rolls'.  You have the choice there of either a floury bap or a crusty bap.
> 
> However many years later in beautiful downtown Beduth - or indeed the metropolis of Coventry and as far away as Hinckley - No entienden 'Bap'.  Aah - you mean a batch!!
> 
> Sorry, a 'batch' is a collection of manufactured articles, usually delineated by actual physical number - as far as I am concerned!


Yea, well, you get a batch of rolls, i.e. a set number manufactured in a large tin, and all spreading into each other when cooking (hence the lovely soft bits on the side when they've been separated). Quite normal, but then I was born in Coventry.


----------



## Northerner

In West Yorkshire, a 'bap', would be called a teacake. There were plain, brown or currant teacakes. In South Yorkshire a 'teacake' was already assumed to contain currants - the plain and brown varieties were called 'breadcakes'. Rolls, as suggested, were elongated, not flat and round. Also, teacakes in West Yorkshire were about 3 times the size of the ones in South Yorkshire


----------



## AlisonM

Northerner said:


> In West Yorkshire, a 'bap', would be called a teacake. There were plain, brown or currant teacakes. In South Yorkshire a 'teacake' was already assumed to contain currants - the plain and brown varieties were called 'breadcakes'. Rolls, as suggested, were elongated, not flat and round. Also, teacakes in West Yorkshire were about 3 times the size of the ones in South Yorkshire


Up here the round ones were rolls, or morning rolls and the long ones finger rolls. Baps were bigger, flatter and rather dry. Teacakes were (and still are) a chocolate confection manufactured by that great Scottish institution Tunnock's.


----------



## Northerner

AlisonM said:


> Up here the round ones were rolls, or morning rolls and the long ones finger rolls. Baps were bigger, flatter and rather dry. Teacakes were (and still are) a chocolate confection manufactured by that great Scottish institution Tunnock's.


Those are chocolate teacakes!


----------



## AlisonM

Northerner said:


> Those are chocolate teacakes!


And?

We don't have any other kind up here.

 A roll with fruit in it would be a bannock.


----------



## Flower

When I lived in Sheffield a 'posh' bakers opened up near us and instead of asking for the usual barm cakes I asked for a baguette. The girl behind the counter hadn't a clue and offered me a paper bag!


----------



## trophywench

A round roll with fruit in it is a teacake - like a hot cross bun without the cross or so much spice (though nicer if it does have some!) which you split and butter. 

Good grief - Alison - have you never partaken of High Tea in a British Rail dining car?  The toasted teacake was a major integral component thereof!  Bootiful.

Shopping since childhood for Pete and I - someone says Oooh, we need/shall we get some teacakes - either they specify or their companion automatically asks the question 'toasted sort - or Tunnocks?'  LOL


----------



## trophywench

Flower said:


> When I lived in Sheffield a 'posh' bakers opened up near us and instead of asking for the usual barm cakes I asked for a baguette. The girl behind the counter hadn't a clue and offered me a paper bag!



Were it a French Stick, luv ?


----------



## trophywench

Robin said:


> Yea, well, you get a batch of rolls, i.e. a set number manufactured in a large tin, and all spreading into each other when cooking (hence the lovely soft bits on the side when they've been separated). Quite normal, but then I was born in Coventry.



Well see Robin - that's a batch of batches they've baked, whereas I'd bake a batch of baps !


----------



## robert@fm

AlisonM said:


> And?
> 
> We don't have any other kind up here.
> 
> A roll with fruit in it would be a bannock.



So your teacake choice is Tunnock's or bannocks? 

(I'll get me coat...)


----------



## Mr TEL

Looking back to my post, it seems I was right. All the drinks companies are dropping their sugar content now. What lucozade have just done is outrageous as it is, but to change the formula without telling anyone, and to keep the packaging exactly the same, is just plain reckless. As usual, the only organisation on the planet that could shout out on our behalf, are predictably silent. Is it too much to ask of DUK to at least send a letter of protest to this company, indicating the life-changing event that they have created for so many people?


----------



## Copepod

My approach is that it's everyone's responsibility to read food and drink labels. It's a "greatest good for the greatest number" issue, as there are far more people at risk of health problems from being overweight or obese than there are who use insulin or other medications that bring the risk of hypoglycemia. Sugar tax is an attempt to reduce intake of "easy" calories at a population level, whether by manufacturers changing composition of their products or by consumers buying fewer of more expensive items.


----------



## mikeyB

I quite agree, Copepod. Lucozade was promoted and made as an energy drink. Its hardly reckless reducing the sugar content. It has never been made just for the benefit of diabetics, so protesting about it is ludicrous. Find something else to correct hypos.  I can't stand the stuff anyway, so I couldn't give a toss how much sugar was in Lucozade. And I can't carry a bottle in my trouser pockets, but I can carry Dextro tabs, which never change.


----------



## Matt Cycle

The makers of Lucozade will not give a sh*t about Type 1 diabetics.  It's not like they're running the business for altruistic purposes.  Their only concern is increasing profits for shareholders.  That's how capitalism works.  Sugar tax reduces profits so they reduce sugar in the product to comply and carry on with their profit making.  Probably putting some sort of marketing spin on it by saying - same great taste but now better for you.  We've already had Lucocade Zero.  People using it for hypos will be that insignificant in the scheme of things it won't even have entered their equation.  I use dextrosol tabs as well.


----------



## Copepod

I also prefer hypo treatment that is easier to fit in trouser / jacket / rucksack pocket than a bottle of Lucozade eg sweets or fruit puree pouch.
Meanwhile, I hope that reduced sugar content may contribute to less obesity / overweight on a population level. That's what public health means.


----------



## mikeyB

It's not just the drinks. How many times do you see folk eating a Big Mac with large fries and a Diet Coke? It's certainly a start though.


----------



## HOBIE

Redkite said:


> Feeling so annoyed at George Osborn and all those other smug prats who think a sugar tax is a good thing.  Life just got harder and more expensive for those unfortunate enough to be on insulin and need readily available treatments for hypoglycaemia


When I was a kid a glass of water with a spoon full of sugar was what you got.    If people ate less sugar the NHS would have a lot more money ?


----------



## Vicsetter

There are a number of glucose products available (try Gluco Juice from Amazon, boots) or Glucogel glucose gel (formerly Hypostop) in tubes, or you can always buy poweder glucose and make your own drinks.


----------



## Mr TEL

HOBIE said:


> When I was a kid a glass of water with a spoon full of sugar was what you got.    If people ate less sugar the NHS would have a lot more money ?



Trouble is, you can't pop into a supermarket or petrol station and buy a bottle of water with sugar dissolved in it. As for your second point, I really don't think it's going to make any difference to the nation's health; taxation is a very blunt instrument.


----------



## Mr TEL

Vicsetter said:


> There are a number of glucose products available (try Gluco Juice from Amazon, boots) or Glucogel glucose gel (formerly Hypostop) in tubes, or you can always buy poweder glucose and make your own drinks.


Tried the Glucojuice, and:
It's not readily available – Boots have to order it specially; it's very expensive; and you don't get enough of it in that tiny bottle. It's ok making up your own drinks, but there's always a chance that you will run out, usually when you're a long way from home!


----------



## Vicsetter

Mr TEL said:


> Tried the Glucojuice, and:
> It's not readily available – Boots have to order it specially; it's very expensive; and you don't get enough of it in that tiny bottle. It's ok making up your own drinks, but there's always a chance that you will run out, usually when you're a long way from home!


It's available from Amazon for next day delivery, why go to Boots?  Yes it's expensive.  You could try buying glucose powder (£3 per kg) and then you should never be caught out, all you need is a bottle of water.  I don't know why you would run out a long way from home, it's called planning ahead


----------



## Mr TEL

Amazon, Boots wherever. It's still not readily available. As for planning ahead, you can't plan when you're going to have a hypo. If I'm really busy I could have two in a day. Finally, when you live out in the sticks like I do, being away from home is quite common. I like the idea of using the glucose powder to 'top up' the Lucozade though, which is something I'm going to investigate.


----------



## HOBIE

Mr TEL said:


> Trouble is, you can't pop into a supermarket or petrol station and buy a bottle of water with sugar dissolved in it. As for your second point, I really don't think it's going to make any difference to the nation's health; taxation is a very blunt instrument.


I have been T1 for more than 50yrs. In the 60s they DID NOT have puchozade etc. What do you think we put in our bag when out on a day out ?   Mr TEL ?. If the supermarkets slowed down with putting 6 bags of sugar in everything we would all be better. Everything has extra sugar in.


----------



## Northerner

HOBIE said:


> I have been T1 for more than 50yrs. In the 60s they DID NOT have puchozade etc. What do you think we put in our bag when out on a day out ?   Mr TEL ?. If the supermarkets slowed down with putting 6 bags of sugar in everything we would all be better. Everything has extra sugar in.


In the '60s they most certainly did have lucozade - I got given it when I was poorly  I also got bottles of pop twice a week from the Pop lorry, and ate kayli (basically coloured sugar) by dipping a wet finger in it and licking it  Lots of sugar around in the '60s. I think the difference was that it was seen more as a treat, in my family at least.


----------



## Robin

Northerner said:


> In the '60s they most certainly did have lucozade - I got given it when I was poorly  I also got bottles of pop twice a week from the Pop lorry, and ate kayli (basically coloured sugar) by dipping a wet finger in it and licking it  Lots of sugar around in the '60s. I think the difference was that it was seen more as a treat, in my family at least.


I was allowed lucozade in the 60s too, when I was poorly, it was almost worth it, except I was made to stay in bed, none of this lounging on the sofa in front of the TV with a duvet I allowed my kids when they were ill! I was only allowed lemonade at parties, though ( and certainly not any sort of cola!)


----------



## Martin Canty

Growing up, sodas (fizzy pop) were a rare luxury reserved only for Christmas & visits to the Grand Parents (who had a sodastream machine)


----------



## khskel

Northerner said:


> In the '60s they most certainly did have lucozade - I got given it when I was poorly  I also got bottles of pop twice a week from the Pop lorry, and ate kayli (basically coloured sugar) by dipping a wet finger in it and licking it  Lots of sugar around in the '60s. I think the difference was that it was seen more as a treat, in my family at least.


You knew there was illness about if grapes +/or lucozade appeared. Used to love kayli in a paper bag from the corner shop.

 @Notherner did you ever come across benzade the Ben Shaw's version of lucozade?


----------



## Northerner

khskel said:


> @Notherner did you ever come across benzade the Ben Shaw's version of lucozade?


I don't recall it, perhaps it was a Keighley thing


----------



## khskel

Northerner said:


> I don't recall it, perhaps it was a Keighley thing


LOL Only ever saw it in Huddersfield Poly Students union


----------



## Northerner

khskel said:


> LOL Only ever saw it in Huddersfield Poly Students union


Obviously for Southerners then!


----------



## Matt Cycle

We ate sweets when we were kids (70's and 80's) but not all the time and we didn't eat all the other crap that people have nowadays plus and this is a crucial point we were also very active.  There weren't many fat kids when I was at school.


----------



## Mr TEL

We did indeed have it in those days. It came in a glass bottle wrapped in yellow cellophane and you got it from the chemist. The marketing slogan was 'Lucozade aids recovery". I began using it in earnest when they started selling it in the smaller glass bottles, which you could get in newsagents. As for what I carried in my bag then; sugar lumps wrapped in foil, which rapidly turned into loose powder in my pocket. I won't go into what happened when it rained. Then latterly glucose tablets which taste horrible and require 6-8 to work. They don't last long in you pocket either and have usually formed a hard unpalatable lump by the time you really need them. As for today's diet, people seem to forget the things we ate in the sixties; tinned peaches in syrup, treacle puddings (given most days at school), cream or Carnation, fried bread, sugar on toast, sweets, and most people took 2 or 3 sugars in their tea. As for diet drinks, they didn't exist at all until the mid 70s. All you could get was a diet bitter lemon from the pub!


----------



## Robin

Mr TEL said:


> We did indeed have it in those days. It came in a glass bottle wrapped in yellow cellophane and you got it from the chemist. The marketing slogan was 'Lucozade aids recovery". I began using it in earnest when they started selling it in the smaller glass bottles, which you could get in newsagents. As for what I carried in my bag then; sugar lumps wrapped in foil, which rapidly turned into loose powder in my pocket. I won't go into what happened when it rained. Then latterly glucose tablets which taste horrible and require 6-8 to work. They don't last long in you pocket either and have usually formed a hard unpalatable lump by the time you really need them. As for today's diet, people seem to forget the things we ate in the sixties; tinned peaches in syrup, treacle puddings (given most days at school), cream or Carnation, fried bread, sugar on toast, sweets, and most people took 2 or 3 sugars in their tea. As for diet drinks, they didn't exist at all until the mid 70s. All you could get was a diet bitter lemon from the pub!


We also lived in houses that weren't centrally heated, and must have burnt off a fair few of the treacle sponge calories just keeping warm! I also think, looking back at what I ate and what my parents ate, that we had smaller portions.


----------



## HOBIE

Northerner said:


> In the '60s they most certainly did have lucozade - I got given it when I was poorly  I also got bottles of pop twice a week from the Pop lorry, and ate kayli (basically coloured sugar) by dipping a wet finger in it and licking it  Lots of sugar around in the '60s. I think the difference was that it was seen more as a treat, in my family at least.


When I see a teenager with a 2lt bottle of sugar in a bottle I am really worried for them when they stuff there face with a 12ins pizza !


----------



## Martin Canty

Is it just me or do others stand in line at the supermarket judging the poor choices in food by the person in front of you? I swear that, growing up, all Mum bought was real food & the occasional packet of cookies....


----------



## Northerner

Martin Canty said:


> Is it just me or do others stand in line at the supermarket judging the poor choices in food by the person in front of you? I swear that, growing up, all Mum bought was real food & the occasional packet of cookies....


Not just you Martin  I always feel a massive urge to intervene when I see someone putting cheap white sliced loaves in their basket!


----------



## Vicsetter

Feeling naughty and nostalgic? Are flying saucers suitable for hypos? how about sherbert dabs (or dips)? See : https://www.aquarterof.co.uk/most-popular-retro-sweets-ever
They also do a range of sugar free sweets : https://www.aquarterof.co.uk/product/sugar_free. Though I expect they are full of artificial sweeteners so take care.


----------



## Mr TEL

Back to the subject of Hypo treatments: Has anyone tried Mountain Dew? It's a fizzy drink, tastes of Citrus, and has 13g of Carbs per 100ml. What's more it seems it's being sold in the high street. Not quite up to the old Lucozade strength but a lot better than 8g. Keep it quiet though before the government try and ban it!


----------



## mikeyB

If Mountain Dew has the same formulation as in the US it contains about as much caffeine as 5 espressos, so definitely not a good idea for those nighttime hypos. The government may well ban it because of that, not the sugar.


----------



## Mr TEL

Really? That's handy to know. Oh well...


----------



## pav

Went shopping the other day and restocked my hypo treat of wine gums, the packet had new formula on it. Checking the carb and sugar content and they have reduced it from 86 g to 79 g of carbs per 100 g, one extra sweet needed to get the same sugar hit.


----------



## mikeyB

I had a similar experience when the local Spar stopped stocking Maynard jelly babies and replaced them with Spar’s own brand. Ok, but about 2/3 the size. Should have been called jelly foetuses.


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## Mr TEL

I see wine gums and jelly babies have now fallen foul of the dreaded sugar tax. But you all knew that would happen didn't you? All we wanted was for one product to stay as it was, because of it's well-documented medical use.


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## Davein

mikeyB said:


> I had a similar experience when the local Spar stopped stocking Maynard jelly babies and replaced them with Spar’s own brand. Ok, but about 2/3 the size. Should have been called jelly foetuses.


Bad taste Mike.  I don't think they would sell many with your rebranding


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## mikeyB

Davein said:


> Bad taste Mike.  I don't think they would sell many with your rebranding


Bad taste? Moi? As if...


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## Davein

mikeyB said:


> Bad taste? Moi? As if...


You're sense of humour is like a breath of fresh air. I've never met a doc with one before


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## Mr TEL

I have, but I'm not allowed to say who she is apparently...


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## trophywench

No you aren't - same as I'm not allowed to tell you where the best place on someone else's body to inject insulin is probably least likely to be noticed in A&E, if you happen to want to kill them (or at least make em extremely ill)  LOL


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## Davein

Martin Canty said:


> Is it just me or do others stand in line at the supermarket judging the poor choices in food by the person in front of you? I swear that, growing up, all Mum bought was real food & the occasional packet of cookies....


Especially when they're full of multiple yellow label items such as birthday cakes, tins of Quality Street etc


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