Author: Maryam Ayres
Time for reading: ~3
minutes
Last Updated:
February 13, 2026
Learn more information about well water. In this article we'll discuss well water.
What a horrible irony for the fitness aware, who're looking to avoid dairy, devour plenty of complete meals, plenty of brown rice—so much in order that they will not simplest go through a few theoretical accelerated lifetime cancer threat, but clearly suffer arsenic poisoning.
“diarrhea, headache, insomnia, loss of urge for food, atypical flavor, and impaired quick-time period reminiscence and concentration.” So, we, as docs, should keep an eye out for it within folks who devour masses of rice day within and time out.
In their 2012 arsenic-in-rice exposé, Consumer Reports recommended adults eat no extra than a median of two servings of rice per week, or three servings per week of rice cereal or rice pasta—though in their later analysis, it gave the look of rice cereal and rice pasta had more; so, they dropped their advice to like two servings a week.And, that’s if you’re now not getting arsenic from different rice assets.
So, they got here up with this sort of point machine, so human beings may want to add up all their rice merchandise for the week, and make sure they’re staying below seven factors every week, on common. So, if your only source of rice is just rice, then they suggest no more than one or two servings, after which name it a week.But, I advocate 21 servings of whole grains a week in my Daily Dozen.
Well, get to know quinoa, or buckwheat, or millet, or oatmeal, or barley, or any of the other dozen or so common non-rice whole grains accessible.The FDA recently tested a few dozen quinoa samples, and most had arsenic levels under the level of detection, or simply hint quantities, such as the crimson quinoas which might be my family’s favored, which i was glad about—even though there have been nonetheless some that had been up round like half that of rice.
But popular, quinoa averaged ten instances less arsenic than rice (the toxic arsenic). So, in place of two servings every week, following the Consumer Reports recommendation, you can have 20.So, that’s strategy #1:
We can avoid “processed…ingredients sweetened with brown rice syrup.” Anything else we are able to do at the dining room table at the same time as looking forward to “[f]ederal corporations [to] set up [some] regulatory limits”?
What If You Eat A Lot Of Fiber-Containing Foods With Your Rice?
Might That Help Bind Some Of The Arsenic?
Apparently, now not.
But the presence of fats did appear to have an effect—however within the incorrect route, increasing estimates of arsenic absorption, in all likelihood because of the greater bile we launch when we consume fatty foods. We recognise that the tannic acid within espresso, and specifically tea, can lessen iron absorption, that's why I recommend to now not drink tea with meals.But hello, might it additionally lower arsenic absorption?
Yes, through possibly 40 plus percentage.But, they used megadoses:
17 cups of tea worth, or that found in 34 cups of coffee; so, it isn’t definitely practical.
What Do The Experts Suggest?
Another wonky, questioning outdoor the ricebox, idea includes an algae located within the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, with an enzyme that may volatize arsenic into a gasoline.
Aha!