Can a diabetic patient drink barley water and soy milk?

Patients taking barley and diabetes medications may cause their blood sugar levels to drop too low and need to watch those levels, states WebMD. However, unflavored fortified soy milk, a source of vitamin D and calcium, is one of the best dairy choices for diabetics, states the American Diabetes Association.

Patients need to ask their doctor whether to adjust their diabetes prescriptions for lowering blood sugar when taking barley, which decreases the amount of sugar absorbed from food and may also affect the absorption of medicine in the body, notes WebMD. Some diabetes medications that may interact with barley include insulin, glimepiride, pioglitazone, rosiglitazone and tolbutamide.