Calories in Tapioca

As you must be already aware of, tapioca is a product of the woody shrub known as cassava, and is known to be a popular ingredient in various cuisines all over the world. With the help of a complex process, the roots of the cassava plant are processed to obtain this starchy product called tapioca.

This product is either reformed in paste, powder, flakes or pearl form. It is important to know that the cassava shrub, a native to the South American region, is placed in the third position among the largest sources of carbohydrates in the world.

Also, Nigeria tops the list of the highest cassava-producers in the world. Experts recommend against consuming the roots and leaves of the cassava plant in raw form, because of their toxicity. And because of this, the extraction of the root to produce tapioca, is complex and is not something to be performed at home.

The calorie count of this product may vary according to the form in which it is consumed. For instance, if we consider calories in tapioca pearls and that in tapioca pudding, then the values according to different serving sizes, would be:

Following information on the nutrition of tapioca, for a serving size of 100 grams.

• Total Fat - 0 g
• Cholesterol - 0 mg
• Sodium - 477 mg
• Total carbohydrate - 94 g
• Dietary fiber - 0 g
• Sugars - 65 g
• Protein - 0 g
• Calcium - 4.0 mg
• Iron - 0.1 mg
• Magnesium - 2.0 mg
• Phosphorous - 4.0 mg
• Zinc - 0.1 mg
• Potassium - 5.0 mg
• Selenium - 0.9 mcg

• People generally use tapioca powder in the preparation of jellies and pudding. Even the flakes can be used for the same.
• Tapioca pearls are the ones that are more commonly used for increasing the viscosity of different dishes.

• As it can be inferred from the table above, this product is low on adding nutrition to the body. This is mainly because of its lack in some important vitamins and minerals required by the body for its daily functioning. However, it is beneficial for people who are advised to increase their body weight.

• This starchy is easily digestible, and does not raise the cholesterol levels in the body.
• Due to its neutral taste, it is considered as an ideal thickener for both sweet and savory foods.

• Tapioca's use is not only limited to foods, but it is also involved in washing and processing of cloth materials. A popular use, for instance, is using it to stiffen cloths. This is achieved by the starchy content of the substance.
• In the manufacturing of pharmaceutical tablets, it is used as a binding material, and as a thickener in natural paints.

• Although, tapioca is low on its nutritional aspect, when combined with other nutritious foods, it becomes a healthy addition to the diet. As it is bland in nature, it can be used with fruits, jellies, puddings, low calorie soups, etc., thus, its nutritional value increases dramatically.

• The roots of the cassava shrub contains certain substances that can be used to manufacture renewable, and recyclable plastic bags, which are biodegradable too.

To conclude, tapioca is not recommended for people who are advised to follow a weight loss plan. Also, a large portion of the calories of this product comes from sugars thus, may not be a suitable choice for diabetics.

And as said, despite its low nutrition profile, adding it to other nutritive sources, can actually improve the quality of some types of restrictive diets.