Is rice contaminated with arsenic?

[John Paul]

This is what i've heard and read on the internet but studying stuff like this isn't one of my strengths. Can anyone help me confirm if this is true or not?

[Vincent S]

 

[Vincent S]

- Rinse your rice well.   
- Add extra water when cooking, and throw away the excess water that removed some of the arsenic, by boiling it. 
- Buy rice that is organic. 
- Buy rice that are grown in better soil/land. (Some US rice farms have the most levels of arsenic)   
 

[John Paul]

Would oatmeal be a better choice in general than rice? what about quinoa or beans and chickpeas?

[Vincent S]

There are a lot of rice alternatives.  
Millet, Quinoa, Amaranth, Couscous, Barley, Wild Rice, Italian Red Rice, Thailand Black Rice, Lentils, Naked Oats, Buckwheat…

Edited January 24, 2022 by Vincent S

[Michael569]

One of our members @Average Investor made an interesting video just on this topic yesterday. Maybe check that out. 

 

 

[Average Investor]

@Michael569 Thanks!

 

Yeah, pesticides that are used in agriculture actually contain arsenic. Rice is really good at pulling that arsenic out of the soil and into it. That video covers a lot of tips on rice buying and how to actually remove it. 

I would recommend using for organic rice especially because of the pesticides are much higher quality and there is less of them. That rice will still draw arsenic out of the soil, but it will be a good bit less. The next issue is where the rice is actually coming from. If you are getting your rice from other countries that are using cheap labor, then they are going to cheap out in other areas as well. Even if those places are USDA certified it will still potentially contain a good amount of arsenic. I buy my rice from California from a manufacturer that actually posts up their testing's for arsenic and it is close to 50% of the average rice. 

Brown basmati rice will be the best for having the lowest amount of arsenic. That style of rice draws up the least from the soil, but it is still an issue. It is a bit softer sushi rice, but still contains a lot of the benefits of brown rice. I personally like it. 

You can also change up the kind of grains you use more often as well to avoid this. Quinoa is far superior nutrition wise. It is a seed technically, but goes in the grain class. This is one of the healthiest foods you can consume. Still it does contain toxins, but all food does. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Average Investor

[John Paul]

@Average Investor

 

Alright. I'm going to eat quinoa because you told me to.

[Average Investor]

@John Paul It pairs very nicely with lentils and chickpeas. Avocado is excellent with it as well. I am quite big on making tofu with it as well. I ate quinoa daily for about a year straight or so. I took a break, but I am trying to mix it back in.

Brown rice on the other hand tastes a lot better in my opinion. It depends on how you want to prepare it. 

For whatever reason I thought I did a write up on my quinoa dish here, but I think I forgot. I have not quite made it the same anymore. I might do some sort of healthy meal prep video on it soon. Would be for rice too. 

[mmKay]

@John Paul New research shows that soaking rice overnight reduces arsenic levels by 80%

+ it cooks faster.

I got this info from google so IDK how trustworthy it is. Anyways it's effortless so why not.

Also you may learn simply to detox heavy metals so you won't have to worry so much about stuff like this if you have a way to consistently dump the bad stuff

[John Paul]

@mmKay Yes i'm going to do heavy metal detox all of the time but nutrition/contamination in the first place is still critical bro.

 

@Average Investor

Tofu. Ew.

I love all of that other shit though. You never got into oatmeal?

[mmKay]

 

[Average Investor]

@John Paul Yes, I eat oatmeal daily. I get the thick cut oats and love it. I do pecans, blueberries, walnuts, Ceylon cinnamon, and maple syrup with it. 

Tofu is really all about how you prepare it. If you have a high quality block of tofu and a good quality air fryer it is amazing. I make mine with jalapeno hot sauce that I air fry onto it.