Boba tea is made of tea, so it has to be good for our health, right? Tea is supposed to help in digestion, and many believe that it’s actually great for the heart as it can lower blood pressure and cholesterol. But wait a minute, these two are not exactly the same. Boba tea is made of a little bit of tea, some milk, tapioca pearls, and a heaping spoonful of sugar.

Instead of drinking boba or bubble tea, you should instead invest in a citrus juicer so that you can make healthy and natural drinks. Boba tea’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. This popular Taiwanese-based milk tea is now all over the country with many kiosks and counters scattered all over big cities such as New York.

The Case Against the Tapioca Pearls

If you’re consuming boba tea on a daily basis, you should seriously consider how bad your diet is. Tapioca pearls are made of starch extracted from the cassava root. To cook them, they are boiled in water that is saturated with sugar. Studies have shown that each one of these balls can have as much as five to 14 calories. A quarter of a cup of these pearls in your drink can add over 160 calories to a tea that’s already marinating in sugar and sweetened milk.

No Nutritional Value

The carbs found in boba tea are not the kind with antioxidants, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, which are found in complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and starch. Tapioca pearls are all carbs, which means that they are more like desserts than actual tea drinks. Although the tea itself is healthy and low-calorie, the concoction of sugar, milk, syrup, and tapioca pearls makes this one of the unhealthiest drinks that have ever come out of a kitchen.

Pearls Are Cancer-causing?

In 2012, some researchers from Germany mistakenly identified traces of the chemical styrene and acetophenone as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), which have a history of association of liver cancer. This caused some strong adverse reactions against the bubble tea. However, the University of California Berkeley disproved these claims and said that styrene and acetophenone are actually compounds identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as food flavourings.

Tone It Down

One glass of bubble tea here and there will not have severe effects on your health, but remember not to consume it daily. If you absolutely have to, choose an unsweetened version or the lowest level of sugar that the shop allows. You can also ask for regular milk instead of condensed milk and opt for fewer pearls or no pearls at all. That will take away around 100 to 200 calories from the drink.

Check the menu boards to know the calorie count and pick the less indulgent ones. You should also stick to the smallest size instead of going down the route of the venti size.

Drinking boba tea regularly is an unhealthy habit, one that you must cut off and regulate. You should choose healthier options such as fruit shakes, freshly squeezed fruits, and even to some extent, coffee. Just remember to look at the labels since some shops sweeten their drinks to make more sales.