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Home / Lifestyle

Broke student's instant noodle diet lands her in hospital

NZ Herald
23 Nov, 2018 12:43 AMQuick Read

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Rebecca, George and Mitch try to find out which is the best brand of hot instant noodles.

A university student's plan to save money by eating only instant noodles ended up backfiring after she was hospitalised three weeks into her unorthodox diet.

Hong Jia hoped that living on the cheap, easy-to-cook meal for a few weeks would allow her to save money for Singles Day — China's version of Black Friday, however she ended up having to spend all the cash she'd squirrelled away on medical bills instead.

Jia first made news headlines in China at the start of November, when it was revealed that she had been eating only instant noodles since October 15.

In a viral video, she said she had managed to save 749 yuan (NZ$159) by switching to the ultra-cheap diet, money that she planned to spend in a shopping spree on November 11th.

Unfortunately for Jia, the savings she'd made were wiped out after she came down with a high fever and was admitted to hospital.

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"The IV drips cost me more than 1,000 yuan (NZ$212) and medicine cost more than 100 yuan (NZ$21)," she told reporters.

The cause of her illness was still unclear, but Jia acknowledged that "eating only noodles" may have been a factor.

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