The calories contained in a single portion of some traditional Taiwanese snacks found in night markets nationwide can be as high as 60 percent of the required amount an average woman needs per day, according to the results of a survey released yesterday.
The survey, conducted by Common Health Magazine, which compiled the list on the basis of calories per gram in any given food, suggested that the top 10 unhealthy snacks are deep-fried chicken and squid (鹽酥雞), green-onion pancakes (蔥油餅), fried/steamed meatballs (肉圓), pan-fried dumplings (鍋貼), oyster noodles (蚵仔麵線), oyster omelet (蚵仔煎), deep-fried stinky tofu (油炸臭豆腐), glutinous rice cakes (米糕), sausage wrapped in glutinous rice (大腸包小腸), braised pork rice (滷肉飯) and bubble tea.
There can be as many as 585 calories in 150 grams of such fried snacks — about the same as two bowls of rice or almost six tablespoons of cooking oil — said Wu Ying-jung (吳映蓉), chief executive of the Nutrition Foundation of Taiwan.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“This does not mean that these snacks are too unhealthy to eat,” added Wu, who is also a nutritionist. “You just need to know how to eat smart.”
Wu said the key to enjoying good food and remaining healthy was to eat in small amounts, eating more vegetables, choosing dishes made using low-calorie methods, such as steamed food over fried food, and starting a meal with low caloric food as they are usually bigger in size so one is likely to eat less of the high calorie foods.
Since the Taipei City government plans to apply to UNESCO to list Taipei as a gourmet capital, the magazine called on the government to enact stricter controls on traditional foods and provide a better and healthier environment for local gourmet food to flourish.
However, the Food and Drug Administration said that because of difficulties in standardizing local snacks and night-market foodstuffs, it would be hard to order food vendors in night markets to provide nutritional information.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from