My four year old daughter, who has had diabetes for over two years, doesn’t like plain water so I give her Crystal Light to drink (about two quarts a day). Can Crystal Light cause constipation and dehydration?

Crystal Light uses aspartame as its sweetener source, and there are no contraindications for using aspartame sweetened beverages as a alternative source of fluid rather than sugar sweetened beverages. Crystal light is caffeine-free so there should be no harm of dehydration just with drinking it. Moderation is key to all diabetes meal planning and is equally true with using artificial sweeteners, but it would be better to use these products than not for optimal blood sugar control.

JMS
Additional comments from Lois Schmidt Finney, diabetes dietitian:

I assume she has milk with meals. Then I think a glass of Crystal Light between meals is fine, but in my opinion any more than that should be plain water.

LSF