1. What is Cassava?
Cassava is a root vegetable widely cultivated in tropical regions such as Africa, Asia, and South America. Like sweet potatoes, its starchy tuberous root is used for food. It is a very important crop that serves as a staple food for hundreds of millions of people worldwide because it grows well even in poor soil.
2. Cassava, the ‘Lump of Starch’
– High Carbohydrate Content: The cassava root’s main component is carbohydrate, especially starch. 100g of raw cassava contains about 38g of carbohydrates, which is much higher than sweet potatoes (about 20g) or potatoes (about 17g).
– Tapioca Starch: The starch extracted from the cassava root and dried into a powder is ‘tapioca starch.’
– Bubble Tea Pearls: The chewy ‘tapioca pearls’ we eat in bubble tea are made by kneading this tapioca starch into balls and boiling them.
3. Effect on Blood Sugar
Tapioca starch extracted from cassava is a pure, refined carbohydrate with almost no dietary fiber or other nutrients. Therefore, bubble tea made with tapioca pearls, or bread and snacks made with tapioca starch, can raise blood sugar very quickly and steeply. In particular, bubble tea is a ‘liquid sugar bomb’ containing a massive amount of sugar from the syrup and milk in addition to the carbohydrates from the tapioca pearls, and must be avoided by people with diabetes.
Summary: Cassava, the raw material for tapioca pearls, is a representative starchy crop with a higher carbohydrate content than even sweet potatoes or potatoes. The tapioca starch extracted from it can cause a sharp rise in blood sugar and should be consumed with caution.
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