WHAT IS TAPIOCA AND WHAT ARE ITS AMAZING BENEFITS?
What Is Tapioca And What Are Its Amazing Benefits?
You’ve heard of tapioca pudding, right? But did you know that tapioca itself comes with some awesome benefits? In this article, Beauty and Tips gives you the lowdown on what it’s all about.
Tapioca is delicious. For many people, that’s all they need.
“JUST GIMME MY TAPIOCA PUDDING, I DON’T CARE WHAT IT CAN DO FOR MY CIRCULATION OMG.”
But anyone who cares about health and nutrition will want to learn a bit more about this wonderful starch.
Taken from the cassava plant, tapioca is generally used in the famous pudding. But it’s added to other snacks and candies, too. Native to Brazil, the cassava plant is also known as manihot, yuca and manioc.
Manihot pudding, anyone?
Tapioca is rich in carbohydrates (it’s a starch, after all), and tastes sweet as heck. But it needs to be cooked thoroughly before eating.
And if you want a brief history lesson, European’s would never have tried tapioca pudding if the Spanish and Portuguese explorers hadn’t brought it home from their expeditions to South America in the fourteenth centuries. And once it had arrived in Europe and got everyone’s tastebuds excited, it was quickly exported to Asia, Africa and the West Indies.
But what are its health benefits? Let’s find out!
Tapioca Promotes Health
It sounds unusual for a pudding to promote heart health. But that’s what tapioca does.
Tapioca isn’t swimming in fibre. But the small quantities it contains can cut down high cholesterol levels, especially if you combine it with other foods that are rich in fibre, such as oatmeal, grains and the right fruit.
Once you can get your bad cholesterol levels down to a respectable level, you reduce your risk of developing heart disease. You also cut your risk of both stroke and a heart attack, which is of course fab news.
It’s also worth mentioning that, besides fibre, tapioca has some iron content. Iron is an essential mineral that helps your blood transport oxygen around your body with greater efficiency. The more oxygen you have, the fitter you feel – and are.
Tapioca Is Good For Your Brain
It seems strange to say that a pudding is good for your brain. Imagine ordering tapioca pudding at a cafe and telling people you eat it because it’s “good for my brain”? There’d definitely be laughter!
But jokes aside, tapioca does promote neurological health.
It’s able to do this because it contains lots of vitamin K, which is essential for sound mental health.
Even better, vitamin K has been shown to minimise the risk of you developing Alzheimer’s disease, a disease which can occur after a period of mental stagnation of a lack of activity in your neural pathways. Vitamin K keeps these pathways engaged.
Tapioca Is Good For Cell Growth (Ideal For Pregnant Woman)
We all need grow new cells, and we all need folic acid to promote cell growth. But it’s vital that pregnant women get as much folic acid as possible, because proper cell growth minimises the risk of birth defects.
And we’re talking major defects here. See, folic acid is essential for the proper development of the foetus’ spine and brain.
Women who are pregnant, or who are in childbearing years, are advised to consume as much folic acid as possible. You can buy folic acid supplements (lots of women do), or you can get your folic acid content from food sources – such as tapioca.
Bottom line? Eat as much tapioca pudding as you want!
(Okay, don’t take us literally)
Tapioca Gives You Energy
Literally need more energy? Tired of feeling … tired?!
Raisins, peanuts, bananas … all these help. But so does tapioca pudding!
Tapioca is rich in carbs, which are a fab source of energy. It also doesn’t contain saturated fats or negative cholesterol, which means it keeps you feeling energised without causing weight gain. Yay!
Try it in the morning to kick start your day and see what happens.
Tapioca Strengthens Your Bones
For whatever reason, osteoporosis still isn’t on the mainstream agenda. If you asked a group of friends what osteoporosis is, they probably wouldn’t be able to define it.
“Is it a computer virus?”
Osteoporosis is the thinning of the bones. It can lead to easy fracture and breakage, and it can greatly reduce the quality of your life.
Around 44 million American adults are said to be at threat of developing it, and it wouldn’t be any surprise if more than 50% of them weren’t even aware of it. It’s just not something that’s widely talked about.
But osteoporosis is rubbish, and it can be avoided by eating better. And calcium is your key nutrient here.
Many people drink milk to consume calcium. But if milk really was such a good source of calcium, why are so many American’s calcium deficient? 75% in fact! That’s an incredible number, and what it suggests is that milk is not the wondrous source of calcium we all think it is.
There are other – better – sources. Including tapioca. Per 100grams, calcium contains 71 mg. That’s pretty darn good, and is yet another reason to eat more pudding.
YUM.
It’s Gluten Free
Yay!
Okay, this is a big one for a lot of people who can’t eat gluten. Tapioca is so amazing that it’s also free from gluten. How awesome is that?! So much win right here.
If you have celiac disease, or just want to avoid gluten, tapioca can be added to your grocery list. You can make the pudding with gluten-free thickeners and flours without any problem. It will still taste great!
Tapioca Boosts Circulation
Why do you need to care about blood circulation? Because without efficient circulation, you could end up with anemia. This occurs whenever your body doesn’t get enough iron and can’t transport oxygen around your bloodstream with its usual haste. You start to feel tired, weak and exhausted. It’s not nice.
Because tapioca contains iron, it can boost your circulation, thereby saving you from fatigue and weakness.
It also improves the functioning of your organs.
Stay happy and healthy!
from Beauty And Tips Magazine
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