So, the tapioca pearls in bubble tea are generally safe to drink. But there are a few reasons to enjoy this sweetened beverage in moderation. Drinking too much of it may increase your chances of developing diet-related diseases and leave you constipated.
Unfortunately, boba itself provides very few health benefits, though its calories and carbohydrates can provide you with a boost in energy. In most cases, boba tea contains high levels of sugar, which is linked to long-term health conditions like diabetes and obesity.
The minerals in tapioca can provide important health benefits. For example, calcium is important for keeping your bones strong and preventing the development of osteoporosis. Tapioca also contains iron, an essential mineral we need to help transport oxygen throughout the body. Tapioca contains no saturated fat.
These pearls are otherwise known as the characteristic “bubbles” that make up your favourite bubbly beverage, bubble tea. So, in other words, tapioca is what gives your boba bubbles their signature sweetness and distinct flavour that we all know and love!
Zero-calorie bubble tea does exist, but the healthiest bubble tea is a matcha bubble tea. "Here we can also create a close-to-zero-calorie drink: pure ice tea with zero sugar and chia seeds. "But if you want a nutritious rather than zero-calorie drink though, I'd go for a matcha bubble tea.
But how fattening is bubble tea, and can you drink it without feeling guilty? A typical 500ml milk tea with tapioca pearls consists of 325 calories. Most places now offer a larger 700ml as the regular size, which has 455 calories. A healthy snack has 150 to 300 calories.
Limit yourself to 1 or 2 bubble teas in a week. You can share with a friend instead of buying 1 each, to split the calories and save money too. Plain teas such as green tea, oolong tea and black tea are available from many bubble tea outlets – and these have zero calories.
Doctors say it's the boba that landed a 14-year-old girl in the hospital. A CT scan found more than 100 balls in her stomach. Doctors say a large amount of Tapioca starch can be difficult to digest.
You should always chew your boba pearls when drinking your bubble tea. Chewing your boba pearls is the best way to help your body digest them and unlock the delicious flavors of the boba pearls. Swallowing too many boba pearls whole may cause an upset stomach.
It contains cyanide which may lead to acute toxicity or chronically may be an aetiological factor in tropical nutritional amblyopia, tropical neuropathy, endemic goitre, cretinism and tropical diabetes. It may also have carcinogenic potential.
Livestrong explains that the beverage is not only unhealthy but also lacks proper nutrients. Even the healthiest version of it carries 150 calories for one serving. Because of this, the healthy living website recommends having the beverage occasionally.
Bubble tea is served in transparent cups with a fat straw so that - as you sip - the tapioca balls (also known as “pearls” or “boba”) come shooting up it and can be chewed as you swallow down the delicious liquid.
What are tapioca pearls? Tapioca pearls are made from a mixture of tapioca starch and water. The "dough" is rolled into small spherical balls. Raw tapioca pearls are white and opaque, but turn translucent when cooked.
You might want to put down that bubble tea -- or at least slow down to a reasonable amount. Those delicious, chewy balls found in the popular Taiwanese tea drink are not as easily digestible as you may think.
"One to two cups a day should be fine, but you shouldn't consume anything in excess," advised Dr. Kushnir. "If you're drinking five or six cups a day, and you're noticing a change in your bowels, it could be a sign that you need to cut back or drink more water."
Someone drinking too much boba and getting a big blockage is kind of extreme.” But, the sugar in bubble tea could contribute to constipation by making someone more dehydrated. “If you are drinking something with sugar it is probably not hydrating,” he said.
Sure, it has caffeine (sometimes), but the sugar content and empty calories make it a poor replacement for coffee or plain old tea. Bottom line: Feel free to enjoy boba tea in moderation, but definitely keep in mind that it does not meet the health criteria for a healthy, daily pick-me-up.
"There has also been a recent report of a teenager consuming large amount of tapioca pearls which led to abdominal pain and constipation. As the epidemic of obesity increases, consuming this drink on a daily basis is not a healthy choice."
A 500ml cup of bubble tea contains as little as 8.5 teaspoons of sugar to as much as 20.5 teaspoons of sugar, at 100 per cent sweetness. Your average bubble tea intake over 3 times a week, given that you don't consume any other sweetened food or drink, may fall within daily free sugar recommendations.
If you're following a 2,000-calorie diet, a 16-ounce (475-mL) bubble tea would be about 76% of your daily sugar allowance ( 11 ). Boba tea is very high in sugar, with around 38 grams in a single 16-ounce (475-mL) serving. Drinking sugary beverages frequently may increase your risk of several illnesses.
A typical boba drink uses between 25 and 75 of these tapioca pearls, so that means that just the tapioca in your drink can easily add up to hundreds of calories. And that's without the tea blend! So, your boba drink will probably contain 400 - 1000 calories, depending on the size and the ingredients.
The bottom line. Tapioca is high in carbs and calories, so it is not a traditionally healthful food. However, it can help a person meet the recommended daily allowance of several important nutrients. It can also be a tasty, nutritious food choice for people who need to gain weight.
Tapioca pearls, which are usually made from starch, contained high levels of carbohydrates and was found to have about 78 Calories and 7 grams of sugar in total while jelly was found to have about 212 Calories and 12 grams of sugar in total.
And limit your treat to once a week. “Too much bubble milk tea can also cause unnecessary weight gain. Ask for less or no sugar, and less or no pearls,” said Reutens.