Rice is the mainstay in the diet of much of the world, and much of the rice is contaminated with Arsenic. Arsenic, when ingested over long periods of time, can increase the risk of many degenerative diseases from high blood pressure and heart disease to cancer.
Within the U.S. alone, a large part of the population, including vegetarians and those who are gluten free, consume large quantities of rice on a weekly basis.
Rice grown in contaminated water readily absorbs arsenic. We must be concerned about this. It’s not just the rice we use as a side dish that’s the problem.
Rice with high levels of arsenic is used in rice-based products that are widely used by the general population, and babies and small children are of greatest concern.
According to Atli Arnarson, PhD, from AuthorityNutrition.com:
“Rice accumulates more arsenic than other food crops. In fact, it is the single biggest food source of inorganic arsenic, which is the more toxic form (7, 8, 9, 10).
High levels of inorganic arsenic have been detected in many rice-based products, such as:
Rice milk (11).
Rice bran (12, 13).
Rice-based breakfast cereals (13).
Rice cereal (baby rice) (14, 15).
Rice crackers (13).
Brown rice syrup (16).
Cereal bars containing rice and/or brown rice syrup.”
So what do we do? How can we reduce our exposure to arsenic in rice?
Dr. Arnarson goes on to give us the answers we need:
“The arsenic content of rice can be reduced by washing and cooking the rice with clean water that is low in arsenic.
This is effective for both white and brown rice, potentially reducing the arsenic content by up to 57% (45, 46, 47).
However, if the cooking water is high in arsenic, it may have the opposite effect and raise the arsenic content significantly (24, 45, 48).
The following tips should help reduce the arsenic content of your rice:
Use plenty of water when cooking.
Wash the rice before cooking. This method may remove 10–28% of the arsenic (45, 47).
Brown rice contains higher amounts of arsenic than white rice. If you eat large amounts of rice, the white variety may be a better choice (12, 49, 50).
Choose aromatic rice, such as basmati or jasmine (51).
Choose rice from the Himalayan region, including North India, North Pakistan and Nepal (7).
If possible, avoid rice that is grown during the dry season. The use of arsenic-contaminated water is more common during that time (7, 23).”
I for one am very grateful to learn about the dangers of arsenic in the rice I feed my family. Thank you to Dr. Atli Arnarson, PhD for providing such thorough information.
Should you wish to read about this topic in depth I’ve provided a link for you below.
unitedvoice.com
Arsenic Levels Rising in Rice
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