Written by Bryan Tan – Marketing and Communications Associate at YPC, currently a PRP at a retail pharmacy, and pun enthusiast

We all have cravings for those chewy tapioca balls.The fragrant aroma of freshly brewed tea. The occasional layer of cheese that melts on the surface which gives that burnt yet robust flavor. Let me just get myself…a cup of bubble milk-

Ahem! Okay, that was close. Since we live in Asia, the founding region of the infamous bubble milk tea, many of us have been roaming the streets of SS15, hunting down cups after cups of bubble milk tea like a hunter expanding his arrays of pelts and skins. Some of us even go as far as having a cup everyday of the week!

Our Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly has finally sounded the warning bells. We should avoid, or at least cut down on our intake of these drinks which may contain twice the amount of recommended daily sugar intake in EACH serving. Yes, you heard that right. That Hojicha Milk Tea you just posted on instagram is THAT sweet.

“Bubble tea has become a popular drink and contains excessive sugar content of about 20 teaspoonful (100g) for 500ml, while the ideal amount is eight teaspoons (40g) for daily intake. This is well in excess,” says Dr Dzulkefly at a recent “Kurangkan Gula, Hidup Sihat” campaign at Giant Hypermarket. “What is important is for consumers to be smart and make informed decisions, and not consume such products no matter how interesting it seem,”

The campaign encourages manufacturer of food and beverages to limit its sugar content to no more than 5g (1 teaspoon) of sugar per 100ml.

The original article can be found here. You can also find this interesting and helpful infographic about bubble milk tea by Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara.