Originally published December 29 2014
Unsafe arsenic levels in rice and poultry - How to avoid it
by Michael Edwards
(NaturalNews) Lately there has been a lot of publicity about unsafe arsenic levels in rice and poultry due to a report from Consumer Reports. This is very disconcerting to hear, especially if you have only heard of arsenic as a poison. It's actually a metal, frequently found in our food and our water in both inorganic and organic forms. But arsenic, especially inorganic arsenic, is a carcinogen that increases the risk of bladder, lung, and skin cancer. It also has been linked to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and in utero exposure may damage the baby's immune system.
Arsenic is found in dirt and water, but of course mankind has added to the problem through arsenic-based insecticides and factory farming methods. Factory farms have been feeding arsenic based food additives to poultry, though the FDA recently revoked three of these. They warn, however, that the supplies on hand for many of these operations will last a year, giving us another reason to eat organic chicken.
High arsenic levels in rice are attributed to the irrigation water and the dirt in which it is grown. Consumer Reports' 2012 investigation, combined with the FDA study in 2013, and the latest 2014 investigation by Consumer Reports covers the level of arsenic in 697 rice samples and 114 samples of other grains.
Consumer Reports states, "White basmati rice from California, India, and Pakistan, and sushi rice from the U.S. on average has half of the inorganic-arsenic amount of most other types of rice."
But other states in the U.S. did not fare as well. "All types of rice (except sushi and quick cooking) with a label indicating that it's from Arkansas, Louisiana, or Texas or just from the U.S. had the highest levels of inorganic arsenic in our tests," they report.
Arsenic levels are higher in brown rice (80% on average) because the arsenic accumulates in the outer layers (the bran and the germ), which are removed when rice is milled to make white rice.
Consumer Reports recommends the following: "Brown basmati from California, India, or Pakistan is the best choice; it has about a third less inorganic arsenic than other brown rices."
Due to these findings, Consumer Reports and the FDA recommend eating a wide variety of grains rather than designing a diet with rice as the main staple. High levels of arsenic were found in processed rice products such as rice cakes, cracker, pasta, and dairy alternative products. They suggest small children should not be fed rice milk. Consumer reports recommends limiting rice intake using a point system. See the link below for details.
You can reduce the amount of arsenic in your rice by thoroughly rinsing it before cooking it and by cooking it in large amounts of water (6 cups of water to one cup of rice) - the traditional Asian way of cooking rice. This method does, however, decrease the nutritional value as the rice loses vitamins and other nutrients in the water. Rinsing and cooking with extra water are said to reduce the arsenic content by 30%.
While arsenic in food is a concern, it gives us one more reason to focus on the best possible diet, which is 80% raw produce, eaten with naturally chelating foods such as garlic and cilantro. Eating this way helps us remove heavy metals from our bodies on a daily basis through the foods we eat.
As Mike Adams and his laboratory work has shown us, it's wise to avoid food that's grown or processed in China where arsenic and other contamination is very high due to the contaminated, polluted soil. We also need to do our research, even when the foods are grown in the U.S. or other countries.
To learn more about a healthy diet read What Really Is a Healthy Diet. See the first two sources for heavy metal detoxification.If you are a big rice eater or you have been eating conventional poultry, you regularly drink beer or wine, you eat dark meat fish, or regularly eat Brussels sprouts, this is a good time to flush out that arsenic with this Cheap and Easy Detox Diet Plan. See the first two sources for heavy metal detoxification.
Sources:
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.consumerreports.org
http://www.rodalenews.com
About the author:
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
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