Can bubble tea give you high blood pressure? Let’s look into this to see the truth about whether it can or cannot. In order to see if bubble tea does, we will look at each main component in bubble tea.
It should be noted that not every bubble tea is the same. Some bubble tea can increase blood pressure, while other drinks can reduce it. This is why it is better to look at each component of the drink to see which ones might be (if any) the cause of increasing blood pressure. It wouldn’t be a fair assessment to just label all bubble tea drinks as “high blood pressure” for instance, since almost every bubble tea is different.
There are individuals that are purposely trying to find everything bad about something at its worst state just for hype and fame. Unfortunately some of them do it with bubble tea too, because it is something that many new people aren’t familiar with. Fortunately these same individuals doing this don’t really know about bubble tea themselves; and that there are thousands of ways that it can be made.
Almost no individual drinks the exact same bubble tea. Changes are made in bubble tea drinks more frequently than the customer’s drinks at Starbucks. Bubble tea has way more variations than most types of beverages.
Boba
The most commonly used boba in bubble tea is the tapioca pearls. These tapioca pearls are often made and soaked in sugars after they are cooked. Many individuals actually claim that they cannot taste the tapioca pearls when they eat them with the sugar. This leads to more sugar being added to the tapioca pearls.
This means that consuming tapioca pearls that are sweet can lead to an increase in blood pressure. Sugar is known to possibly increase the heart rate, which increases blood pressure.
However not every bubble tea is made with tapioca pearls; and not all tapioca pearls in bubble tea drinks have high amounts of sugar. There are actually healthy tapioca pearls that can be made, and are used, that will do the opposite and reduce an individuals high blood pressure instead. This all depends on the individuals making the tapioca pearls on whether they will have high amounts of sugar or not.
Tapioca pearls can also be made without any sugars at all of course. If they don’t have sugars, then the sugar cannot effect an individuals blood pressure, because it is not in the tapioca pearls.
Tapioca pearls are also made from starch most of the time. There is no evidence to prove that starch raises or lowers blood pressure.
There are also other boba toppings in bubble tea that can be used instead of tapioca pearls. The other boba types (popping pearls, boba jellies, and crystal boba) are made from plants and fruits. Some of types are also made from a combination of plants and fruits. Overall, they have been seen as a healthier choice than tapioca pearls by providing more nutrients. Some of them can also help reduce blood pressure, and usually always contain less sugars than sweetened tapioca pearls.
If any of these toppings are used as a substitute for tapioca pearls, then any argument about the sweetened tapioca pearls increasing blood pressure, goes out the window. Instead the individual has to evaluate the substitute topping being used. These toppings are pretty commonly substituted for tapioca pearls in bubble tea.
Milk Tea
Milk tea is actually a different beverage than the bubble tea, but it can include boba in it. Milk tea is nothing more than a combination of milk and tea. So the only things here that can be evaluated to see if they increase blood pressure or not are the milk and the tea.
Tea has been tested to show that it can reduce blood pressure. Milk is also good for individuals with high blood pressure. It has magnesium and potassium, which help to reduce blood pressure. In fact, low levels of magnesium is said to increase the risk of high blood pressure.
With all this said, milk and tea (which is commonly in bubble tea drinks) is a great source for reducing high blood pressure; not increasing it. As stated with the bubble tea, avoid the high amounts of sugars and bubble tea is fine.
What Bubble Tea Drinks Can Cause High Blood Pressure?
Bubble tea drinks that can cause high blood pressure are boba drinks that have been excessively sweetened. If you have a sweet tooth and drink bubble tea for its sweetness rather than its flavor, it is probably best for you to avoid bubble tea or seek out healthy options for drinking bubble tea. Try choosing healthier bubble tea drinks that have flavor, but do not need as much sugar for the flavor.
There are a large variety of bubble tea flavors to choose from, and they can all be made at home to control the ingredients and the amount of sugar in each one.
Other bubble tea drinks to avoid are high calorie boba drinks. High blood pressure is said to be linked to weight gain. Being overweight is said to put an individual at risk of having high blood pressure. Bubble tea doesn’t necessarily cause weight gain, but eating or drinking too much of anything with calories in it will.
Bubble tea drinks from boba shops will contain more sugars and potentially more calories. Try to order boba drinks with less sugar or no sugars if you think that it will increase your blood pressure.
Usually from the first sip of a drink, you can tell if it has been loaded with high blood pressure. It will be super sweet, which means that it will contain more calories because of the sugars. More calories means weight gain if an individuals diet (eating habits) remain the same.
Try to order or make bubble tea drinks that are more flavorful rather than sweet. Kick the sugar and extra calorie habits, don’t blame the bubble tea. Overall a bubble tea with minimal sugar doesn’t increase the risk of high blood pressure, and may most likely reduce it depending on one’s diet.
