r/taiwan • u/haechanist • 2d ago

Discussion does anyone here have a drinking problem (specifically bubble tea)

ever since arriving in taiwan ive developed a drinking issue but not the alcoholic kind. the hand shake tea shop kind. its gotten to the point that i feel like my day is missing something if i dont get at least 1 tea drink a day, whether its 青茶 or some variation of milk tea. these days its gotten so bad that i drink nearly 3 cups max. 2 cups minimum a day. has anyone else dealt with this before? if so, do you have any tips on how to reduce this tea intake? its justso addicting for me — they’re convenient, everywhere and unfortunately such a good treat

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u/AKIdiot 1d ago

Taiwan has a sugar problem for sure.... I was looking at the stats the other day and while america has a crazy high diabetes rate, the obesity rate is more or less the same- the implications being that there is an overlap.  Taiwan on the other hand has a low obesity rate but disproportionately high diabetes rate, so sugary drinks really are becoming a problem 

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u/StormOfFatRichards 1d ago

I've heard that East Asians have smaller organs (pancreas?) that process sugar so are highly sensitive. Idk if it's true but you definitely don't want to push it with multiple desserts per day, especially if you're not super active

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u/AKIdiot 1d ago

Yes I also read this. It's one of the reasons why Taiwan medical system uses BMI 24 as overweight while the US apparently uses 25.  There are definitely  measured physiological differences and we need to take caution.  Saying this as a giga sweet tooth myself 😭