The advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and diabetics can take it. But be careful when taking it, as different syrups have different sources of sugar. Some Chinese herbal medicines contain sugars themselves, some have added fructose, maltose and other low-calorie sugar products, and some have been processed through honey refining. These syrup preparations with different ingredients have different effects on diabetic patients, and they must be treated differently when selecting drugs.

Some honey-refined syrups are made from honey that has been heated to a viscous state and mixed with drugs. This can not only improve the efficacy of the drugs, but also prevent the drugs from deteriorating. However, due to the high sugar content of honey itself, the honey is concentrated after heating, and the sugar content of this syrup can even exceed 75%. Therefore, diabetic patients should try to avoid using syrups with the word "honey refining". In addition, syrup-type drugs with a large sugar content are generally marked with words such as "forbidden for diabetic patients" in the contraindications of drug use. Patients should pay attention to reading the instructions during the selection process.

Other types of syrup contain relatively low sugar content, approximately 2 g per 10 ml of syrup. If taken 2 to 3 times a day, it will have less impact on the patient's blood sugar. In addition, most of the sweetness of licorice syrup comes from the licorice drug itself, which has little effect on blood sugar.

Tips to Reduce the Impact on Blood Sugar When taking syrup-based drugs, there are also some tips to reduce their adverse effects on blood sugar. Syrup medicines should be taken according to the instructions. Some patients believe that syrup is a traditional Chinese medicine, and taking it in larger doses multiple times can improve the efficacy. For diabetic patients, doing so will inevitably increase the burden of blood sugar and is not advisable. In addition, when taking syrup, you can separate it from the daily staple food by about 2 hours, or you can increase the amount of exercise appropriately after taking syrup.