PepsiCo, the manufacturers of soft drinks Pepsi and Pepsi Max, have confirmed that supermarkets and retail shops are now selling classic Pepsi drinks with 57% less sugar. This could impact people living with diabetes who use Pepsi as a hypo treatment.
How is Pepsi changing?
The new classic Pepsi (blue can) will now contain 4.55g of sugar per 100ml. This will replace all previous classic Pepsi drinks. This reformulation does not impact Diet Pepsi or Pepsi Max.
This is how Pepsi drinks will be affected:
- A 2L bottle will now contain 91g of sugar. Previously it was 213g
- A 500ml bottle will now contain 22.75g of sugar. Previously it was 53.25g
- A 330ml can will now contain 15g of sugar. Previously it was 36g.
These canned and bottled products will include updated nutritional information on the packaging to show how much sugar is in each drink. It is important to check the labels as there could be old and new versions on sale in shops for a while as the new products are rolled out.
This reformulation will only apply to Pepsi drinks sold in supermarkets and retail shops. PepsiCo has confirmed that out-of-home locations, such as pubs and restaurants will continue to serve the original product for the time being, which contains 10.65g of sugar per 100ml.
Alternative hypo treatments
If you use Pepsi as a hypo treatment then it is important to be aware of this change, as you are likely to need a larger volume of the new version to effectively treat your hypo. If you are looking for alternative hypo treatments, you could consider:
- Five glucose or dextrose tablets
- Five Jelly Babies
- A small glass of a sugary (non-diet) drink
- A small glass of pure fruit juice
- Two tubes of a glucose gel such as GlucoGel®
Hypo treatments should usually contain 15g to 20g of fast-acting carbohydrate to be effective.
You can get hypo treatments like glucose gel, glucose tablets and dextrose tablets on prescription. Your diabetes team will be able to give you advice about how much to take and which treatment to choose.
If you have any questions or concerns about treating hypos you can ring our helpline on 0345 123 2399.
