Recently, tanghulu, a traditional Chinese snack coated with fruit sugar syrup, has become a craze. This has become a trend due to ASMR of people who run YouTube channels. It began to be widely used as a material for ASMR videos due to tanghulu’s unique hard and crispy texture and sound. Starting with this, it was spread to short platforms like TikTok, Youtube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. Also, since tanghulu can be made easily, producers are taking advantage of the current trend. With Tanghulu becoming a general trend snack, various health problems are emerging.

 The biggest health problem that tanghulu can cause is the risk of excessive sugar intake. WHO recommends that the daily intake of adult monosaccharides is about 50g. The sugar content per Tanghulu skewer is about 10~25g. Eating two tanghulu means consuming the daily limit of recommended monosaccharides. In other words, it means that the sugar content is very high. Also, if we eat tanghulu too often, we suddenly eat a large amount of sugar, and our body secretes excessive insulin to lower blood sugar. If this continuous excessive insulin secretion happens, it increases the risk of diabetes due to insulin resistance. In addition, excessive sugar intake can be associated with obesity and cardiovascular disease, so we should be careful about it. Next, tanghulu causes tooth decay and damage. The Korean Dental Association said tanghulu is a highcalorie, low-nutrition food with fructose contained in fruits as well as disaccharides such as sugar and starch syrup. Frequent high-sugar food consumption increases the production of decaying bacteria, and provides an advantageous environment for the bacteria to survive in the mouth. At this time, the food that causes bacteria is retained for a long time and tooth decay occurs due to the acid that is exhaled. As tanghulu‘s surface is coated with sugar, it is sticky and sticks to teeth, making it highly likely to cause tooth decay. Also, they warned that hard pieces of sugar are the main cause of dental laceration. In addition, hard and sticky sugar syrup can cause jaw joint damage and tooth fracture. Moreover, there are cases that the prosthetic teeth and implants may fall out due to excessively sticky sugar syrup, and there are frequent cracks in the teeth trying to bite it. Also, there are many cases where a sharp piece of sugar cuts the tongue or gum. Therefore, we should pay attention to these various health problems and eat tanghulu properly. Recently, the Korean Dental Association announced the guidelines about tanghulu intake to report its risks. Here is how to consume tanghulu safely.

How to eat Tanghulu properly

1. Appropriate intake

 - When we eat tanghulu excessively, the blood sugar level increases and the risk of diabetes increases, so we should maintain appropriate intake. 

2. Brushing our teeth after eating 

- After eating tanghulu, we should brush our teeth with a toothbrush carefully, to remove sugar which will reduce the risk of tooth decay. If possible, it’s good to brush your teeth right after eating tanghulu. 

3. Drinking tea hot 

- To prevent sugar from sticking to our teeth, it is helpful to drink hot tea. 

4. Eating with various food 

- When we eat tanghulu, it is good to eat with other healthy foods like vegetables to maintain our nutrition balance. 

 Tanghulu is made from various fruits and it can be enjoyed as a food trend if we maintain appropriate intake. However, it contains too much sugar, so we need to watch our intake and be aware of problems like tooth decay. It is important to pay attention to our health and enjoy tanghulu properly.

79th Reporter • CHO SEO YUN • jeoyum@gmail.com