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We heard about this a year ago and cut almost 95% of the rice in our diet. Now we have a rice dish about once a month or less. There were even warnings that sma
by nicksergeant 14y ago
We heard about this a year ago and cut almost 95% of the rice in our diet. Now we have a rice dish about once a month or less. There were even warnings that small children should avoid rice completely.
Unfortunately you just need to be proactive about what you put in your mouth, and don't assume that since you live in a "developed" country that everything sold is safe to eat.
Don't even get me started on the FDA's stance of "all chemicals used in consumer goods are considered safe until proven otherwise" stuff.
- nicksergeant 14y agoSorry, not FDA, I meant EPA.
- rdouble 14y agoCouldn't you just buy rice grown in the USA?
- nicksergeant 14y agoNo, even US-grown rice suffers the same problem (not as the article, though). Basically rice in the southern US is grown in fields that used to be used for cotton, and the use of arsenic as a pesticide was allowed back then. Fast forward and they're using the same fields to grow rice, and the metals are still in the soil... I'll try and dig up some sources when I'm not mobile.
- rdouble 14y agoI found some sources on my own. Interesting. It looks like California rice is the safest, and white rice is better than brown.
- blinkingled 14y agoCare to list your sources? Thanks!
- rdouble 14y agoI just googled "rice arsenic" and read the first page of results.
- tome 14y agoWhite is better than brown? Isn't white just brown with the brown removed?
- stan_rogers 14y agoYes, but it's a lot easier to buy the rice as white rice than it is to remove the part of the plant that is harbouring the toxin at home. Even in plants, different tissues do different things.
- stonemetal 14y agoDepends on what you mean by with the brown removed It isn't bleached white. It is like they sold white and brown potatoes at the store, where a white potato was a pealed brown potato. Just as with potatoes, apples and others, the nutrients as well as the harmful stuff tends to collect in the skin.
- Stwerp 14y agoThat's not across the board, though. My family grows rice in northeastern arkansas in fields that have not been treated as such. Still spray for bugs though.
- johnward 14y agoI eat a couple cups of brown rice a day. Now arsenic and lead. I need to find a new carb source. Hopefully oatmeal is still ok.