One cup of pearl fruit shake cup is equal to one bowl of rice

If you want to control your weight, stay away from hand-shaken drinks! According to the "Commercially Available Hand-Shaken Cup Calorie Comparison Table" provided by the Taipei City Health Bureau, especially drinks with added pearls, fruits, and smoothies, the calories often exceed 280 calories, which means that drinking one cup is equivalent to the calories in a bowl of rice.

Especially hand-shaken drinks with added pearls, fruits and smoothies, the calories often exceed 280 calories, and drinking one cup is equivalent to the calories in a bowl of rice. (Photography by Huang Zhiwen)

Nutritionist Zhang Silan of Neihu Cathay Clinic said that the calories in hand-shaken cups come from added fructose. Although many people ask for less sugar, some businesses' "slightly sweet" drinks are as sweet as four sugar cubes, which is actually sweeter than expected.

Another source of calories is the contents. The most common misconception is that pearls and coconut flakes are like konjac, and people think that they are low in calories and less burdensome to eat. However, these contents are often cooked with sugar, and round items such as pearls are made with sweet potato flour, which is a starch. Therefore, if you eat too much, the calories are no different from eating a meal.

Fruit drinks are also high in calories. Nutritionist Zhang Silan pointed out that the original sin is not that fruits are high in calories, but that fruits taste sour, so businesses will add some sugar to make them taste better. Therefore, some businesses sell fruit and pearl drinks that can even reach 517 calories at normal sweetness, which is equivalent to the calories in 1.8 bowls of rice.

Smoothie drinks are also quite sweet, mainly because smoothies are often paired with many sweet foods, such as ice cream smoothies, which are easy to drink but also accumulate calories quickly.

So is drinking tea safer? Nutritionist Zhang Silan said that tea drinks are indeed lower in calories, but the industry still adds fructose to enhance the taste, and drinking too much can still make you fat. She suggested that for those who want to control their weight, the best drink is water, and it is better to avoid hand-shaken drinks.