The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.115).

TZU CHI 115 59 Ng Hui Ling A nutritionist with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Sports Science, who served at the Singapore Heart Foundation before becoming self-employed, providing dietary consultations to vegetarians and writing a nutrition column for a health magazine. fare with the use of brown sugar. Are these popular handcrafted beverages truly a healthier option than carbonated drinks 2 , as this mother claimed? Sugar overload In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a daily sugar intake of less than 25 g (approximately six teaspoons) for optimum health. However, in their preoccupation with hopping on the bubble tea bandwagon to avoid falling behind on the latest trends, most of the younger generation fail to realize that a 500 ml cup of brown sugar pearl milk tea contains about 90 g of sugar (approximately 18 teaspoons), which is double to triple the amount recommended by the WHO. Not to mention the additional sugar intake from other types of food, like dishes with sweet and sour sauce, as well as pastries, breads and cakes. Consuming a large amount of sugar within a short period of time is likely to result in a sharp spike in blood sugar levels, hence the pancreas has to secrete a significant amount of insulin in order to restore blood sugar levels to normal. Excessive sugar will be converted into fat and stored in the body – a worrying consequence for a sweet tooth. Some bubble tea outlets advertise their beverages as “happiness in every cup”, but veil the heavy price consumers have to pay in the long run for such short-lived “happiness”. Achild’s lifestyle choices are influenced by those of their parents’, be it dietary preferences or reading habits. A friend I have known since secondary school and her spouse, both advocates of a healthy diet, have dedicated their time to educating their children on concepts of health and nutrition. Their adolescent children remain unswayed by the bubble tea frenzy as the awareness that plain drinking water is the ideal thirst-quencher has been ingrained in them since young. Bubble tea is a rare treat for them. So have I been feeding Rui Jia health- boosting nutritional supplements, as my friends assumed? I make it a point to constantly educate her on proper dietary choices, because an error in judgment would adversely affect her overall growth, as well as her health and academic performance. But no, nutritional supplements have never been a part of her diet. The key catalyst of Rui Jia’s intellectual development is, in fact, the endless supply of quality reads at home. I believe that she cultivated a love of reading by observing and imitating my daily routine of reading and writing – a habit I inherited from my father. Notes: 1. Bubble tea commonly refers to beverages concocted with black tea, tapioca pearls, sugar or sweeteners and other additives. 2. A can of carbonated drink contains approximately five to six teaspoons of sugar.