Meet Donna Chen, a popular dietitian from Taiwan whose expertise of more than 13 years include nutrition, food research and development, preventive healthcare and weight loss management, to name a few.
Not too long ago, Chen posted a four-minute video teaching people how to make their bubble tea habit relatively “healthier” — and we simply couldn’t miss it!
For starters, Chen recommends a gradual reduction in the amount and level of sweetness of your favorite boba recipe.
This means reducing the size of your cup from large to small, decreasing the sugar level from full to less, cutting down from daily consumption to every few days, choosing flavors with less sugar and having jelly — or herbal jelly — instead of pearls.
Subscribe to NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
According to the dietitian, GLUT4 — the insulin-regulated glucose transporter found in cardiac and skeletal muscles — is most active during this period, using the sugar in your boba tea much more quickly.
This increases the chances of preventing weight gain from the drink, but it does not necessarily help in losing weight after the workout.
Image via NextShark
Finally, Chen highlights the importance of consuming the drink within the recommended time frame, as doing so beyond it will turn the sugar into fat instead.
Watch the full video below:
Featured Images via YouTube / Donna營養師-陳怡錞 營養保健專家 (Left) and NextShark (Right)
Many people might not know this, but NextShark is a small media startup that runs on no outside funding or loans, and with no paywalls or subscription fees, we rely on help from our community and readers like you.
Everything you see today is built by Asians, for Asians to help amplify our voices globally and support each other. However, we still face many difficulties in our industry because of our commitment to accessible and informational Asian news coverage.
We hope you consider making a contribution to NextShark so we can continue to provide you quality journalism that informs, educates, and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for supporting NextShark and our community.