Rice Is Nice — Except for the Arsenic
Benefits of Eating Brown Rice
Brown rice is a wonder food. People who consume brown rice at least one time per week lower their risk of developing pre-cancerous colon polyps by 40%. Women who eat brown rice at least two times per week had lower risks of both premenopausal breast cancer and overall breast cancer.
New mothers who ate brown rice reported lower levels of fatigue, tension, anger, and depression after giving birth than mothers eating white rice.
Other research shows that people regularly eating brown rice enjoy better sleep and feel less depressed, perhaps because rice bran contains generous amounts of magnesium.
BUT
Unfortunately, brown rice has one drawback — it does tend to be high in arsenic.
Before you panic, it is important to know two things:
1. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element and it is all but impossible to eat anything that does not contain arsenic.
2. Our bodies are adapted to handle small amounts of this element, which is everywhere.
It is also good to know that arsenic is water-soluble and therefore more likely to be found in food originating in water — like fish ad rice — which is grown in rice paddies. Furthermore, organic arsenic, in which the arsenic atom is bound with carbon atoms and other elements is generally harmless. Inorganic arsenic is the problem.
Alas, the bran — the part that makes brown rice so nutritious and healthful — contains the highest level of arsenic in the rice grain.
Removing Most Arsenic from Brown Rice
There are two ways to minimize the amount of arsenic in brown rice.
1. Avoid rice that has been raised in cotton-growing states. In the old days, cotton farmers often sprayed their crops with arsenic-containing pesticides. The pesticide remained in the field even years after cotton had been grown there. Since organic certification requires that no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers be used for three years, the organic label does not tell you anything about the arsenic content. Avoid rice grown in Louisiana and Texas and choose rice that has been grown in California or the Dakotas. Rice grown in Thailand or India tends to have less arsenic as well.
2. Cook brown rice using the parboiling with absorption (PBA) method, developed by English researchers at the University of Sheffield. This method removes about 54% of the arsenic but preserves most of the nutrients. It is superior to other methods for removing arsenic, which usually called for cooking rice like spaghetti — in a large amount of water for 50 minutes and then draining the water. This method led to a great decrease in trace minerals and other beneficial nutrients. To use the PBA method:
a. Boil 4 times as much water as the amount of rice you plan to cook. For example, if you want to cook 1 cup of rice, boil 4 cups of water.
b. ONLY water and nothing else should be in the pot.
c. After the water has been brought to a rolling boil, add the rice. Boil the rice for 5 minutes.
d. Once the rice has boiled for 5 minutes, drain off all the water. Now, fill the pot with twice as much water as rice. Bring to a boil then lower the flame and cook until tender, which is usually about 50 minutes.
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