Sugar Free Cough Syrup

• CVS Health

• Safetussin

If you have diabetes or follow a low-carb diet, sugary cough syrups may not be ideal for your needs. One of the best sugar-free cough syrups for adults and kids aged 12+ is CVS Health Tussin DM. Because it's formulated for diabetics, it's free of sugar and sorbitol - a sugar alcohol that can also affect blood sugar, albeit to a lesser degree than real sugar. The formulation contains a cough suppressant and an expectorant, so it's ideal for relieving dry and chesty coughs.

Another excellent option is Safetussin DM. This cough medicine is formulated for people with diabetes and high blood pressure and contains no sugar or alcohol. It also includes a cough suppressant and an expectorant, making it suitable for dry and chesty coughs.

While cough syrups are convenient, you may be unable to take them easily at work or while traveling. Sugar-free cough drops might be more convenient to take but can also typically be used with syrups to provide additional relief from more severe symptoms.

The number of calories in most sugar-free cough syrups is typically negligible but may not be zero. While sugar is the source of most calories in these medicines, other ingredients, such as alcohol and sorbitol, also add calories. Usually, a sugar-free cough syrup lists the concentration of these ingredients per 100ml on the label, which you can use to calculate the calorie content if you'd like.

Sorbitol typically contains about 2.6 calories per gram (compared to 4 calories per gram for sugar), while alcohol provides 7 calories per gram. If you'd like to find the total calorie count, divide the amount of sorbitol per 100ml by the recommended dose (usually 5-10mls), then multiply that number by 2.6 calories. Because the sorbitol concentration is usually 10 to 40%, most cough syrups containing it have approximately 1.3 to 5.2 calories in a 5ml dosage, so you likely don't need to worry about the calorie content.

You can shop for several kinds of sugar-free cough syrups online at CVS, making it a convenient place to buy household medicines for your family. Consider also trying non drowsy cough syrup and an immune support supplement with vitamin C to help your body recover from cold and flu symptoms sooner.