Consumers who regularly enjoy "bubble tea" or "pearl milk tea" should be aware of the popular beverage's high calorie count, the Consumers' Foundation said after a survey found that some people drink the tea up to three times a day.
Bubble tea, which mixes tea, cream powder and tapioca pearls, has attracted a following of enthusiasts who may be harming their health by drinking it too often, the foundation said.
In a survey conducted by the foundation, 2.7 percent of respondents said they drank three cups of the beverage per day.
A foundation spokesman said that such heavy consumption was unhealthy. Three cups contain around 1,200 calories, which is more than half the daily recommended calorie count for adults.
The spokesman cited a 2006 study by Taipei Medical University Hospital, which found that a 70 centiliter cup of the tea contained 393 calories. Three cups a day could lead to significant weight gain, diabetes and heart diseases.
The survey, conducted from Feb. 22 to March 12 with 6,962 valid responses, found that 16 percent drank one cup of pearl milk tea per day.
Those who drink one cup a day for 20 days would gain a kilogram, the spokesman said.
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
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