Tapioca is cultivated from a native South American plant called cassava. It is used as a food thickener, and since its flavor is basically bland, it combines well with any type of food it is put with. Tapioca is low on nutritional value, but it can add some vital minerals to your meal.
Vitamins
Tapioca is short on vitamin content, however, according to NutritionData, a website that imparts nutritional information from the USDA, it does contains some B vitamins. Folate (vitamin B9) is the highest concentrated B vitamin, with 1 cup of tapioca, containing 6.1 mcg, or 2 percent of the daily value (DV). Folate is an important vitamin, but according to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements, it is especially vital for pregnant women or those who may become pregnant, as it is important in the formation of new cells and in preventing birth defects. That is not 1 cup of tapioca "pudding," but 1 cup of pure tapioca, so the pudding, or another tapioca dish, will have less than that. Along with folate, 1 cup of tapioca contains a trace of pantothenic acid, choline and vitamin B6.
Minerals
Tapioca makes up for its lack of vitamin content by providing several minerals, the most prevalent of which is iron. One cup of tapioca contains 2.4 mg of iron, which is 13 percent of the DV. Calcium is available at 30.4 mg, which is 3 percent of the DV. Other important minerals, in lesser amounts, in tapioca are magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.
Essential Fatty Acids
While the amount may be small, tapioca is a source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, fatty acids cannot be synthesized within the human body, which is why they must be consumed from dietary sources. One cup of tapioca contains 1.5 mg of omega-3 acids, and 3 mg of omega-6 fatty acids. Tapioca does not contain any other fat.
If you are watching your calorie intake, you may want to avoid tapioca products. One cup contains a whopping 544 calories, and 135 g of carbohydrates.
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