Risks of Eating Tapioca

The soft, chewy tapioca balls in popular Asian drinks, Boba Tea or Tapioca Tea, sold at tapioca tea houses in most major Asian communities in the United States, are formations of starch produced in the roots of the cassava plant. You can easily spot the dark-brownish balls sitting on the bottom of the cup. Although tapioca is generally safe to eat if processed properly, you ought to know the potential risks of ingesting it.

Cyanide Poisoning

Cassava contains linamarin, a chemical that can convert into the deadly chemical toxin, cyanide. To effectively decrease linamarin, proper processing of the cassava is key. Tapioca that has undergone commercialized processing, which involves peeling of skin and high-heat drying, contains little to no linamarin. Tapioca that has not undergone the correct processing can induce cyanide poisoning, which can make you feel dizzy, confused, agitated and cause an aching head. More serious effects include falling into a coma, convulsions, leg paralysis, and decreased vision and hearing acuity. Additionally, chronic exposure to small doses of cyanide poisoning can cause your thyroid gland to expand, and damage the nerves that control your coordination and balance. The risk of cyanide poisoning increases if your regular diet contains little to no protein, as you need proper amino acids to detoxify the poison.

Allergy

Some people can develop an allergic reaction to tapioca, with serious effects in those who have an allergy to the natural rubber, latex. Spanish researchers, Dr. Marcel Ibero and colleagues named chitinase as the possible allergen in cassava ingredients, in the 2007 edition of "Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology."

Poor Nutrition

Tapioca has limited nutrients, unless fortified. In 100 g of tapioca, there is 88 g of carbohydrate, 0.19 g of protein, 0.02 g of fat, 1 mg of magnesium, 1.58 mg of iron and 0.1 mg of manganese. Tapioca contains nearly zero vitamins and amino acids. If your diet consists of mainly tapioca, you could develop malnutrition, which can lead to an array of diseases, from blindness to tuberculosis.

Weight Gain

Tapioca is high in calories. Each 100 g has 358 calories. Although tapioca can make you feel full fast, it generally does not satisfy a person's appetite, leading to snacking to fulfill cravings, which will pack on the calories.