Excerpts from Kim's email regarding my excess consumption of bubble tea:

Hey Hoch,
Did you ever think that you might be getting too much starch from all the tapioca balls in bubble tea? Not having gone to Med school, I wonder what the scientific ramifications are of an excess of bubble tea starch. [...] Okay, wanted to say "HI" and give you my random thought regarding starch. i should really do some work.
talk to ya later!
Kim

Well, since Kim, and I'm sure many of you reading this are wondering the same thing, let me just use this as a teaching opportunity:

Dietary carbohydrates provide a major component of the daily caloric requirements accounting for >50% of calories in a typical US diet. Their complete oxidation to CO2 and H2O yields 4 kcal/g. When there are insufficient amounts of carbohydrates in the diet, such as on a high protein diet (attention those of you on the Atkin's diet), glucose is produced endogenously from amino acids (and that means potential loss of muscle tissue as well as pushing your system into more of a ketogenic state, not good). Dietary polysaccharides are consumed mostly as starch, the storage form for carbohydrates in plants (e.g., potatoes, rice, corn, bubble tea).

So, Kim, thank you sooo much for your concern! I appreciate you thinking about me today. I'm quite touched actually. I'll hopefully chat with you soon! Care to join me for some bubble tea or dark chocolate in the near future?