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Any Thoughts On Arsenic In Rice?

dws

By dws
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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dws Contributor
dws
Posted

I've been eating mountains of rice since becoming gluten-free about 7 years ago. Anyone else concerned about what's been in the news lately about arsenic levels in rice? I started suffering the return of gut issues about 2 years after going gluten free and have been eating non-processed foods because I thought the problem might be cross-contamination. I have felt better, but not completely well. Still unexplained bouts with diarrhea. Nothing too major or long term, just the occasional blow out. Is it possible that a low level arsenic overconsumption could be causing gut symptoms. Nausea and diarrhea are symptoms of serious arsenic poisoning. I wonder if too much arsenic in food would cause gut symptoms without other symptoms showing up first. The web sites I checked all seem to concentrate on the symptoms of severe arsenic poisoning. Have any of you been looking into this issue? If rice consumption is a problem, it is a big concern for the gluten-free community.

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shadowicewolf Proficient
shadowicewolf
Posted

I was hoping to stick to organic when i do eat it, however, walmart didn't have any soooooooo >.>

At any rate, its already in our water. As long as its in moderation, i don't think it could hurt you. But still.

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

Organic won't matter if it's being grown in soil contaminated over 100 years ago which is what the problem is. The problem is specific to rice grown in areas where cotton was previously grown. Simply know where your rice is from and buy from a different area of the US or buy from out of country.

pricklypear1971 Community Regular
pricklypear1971
Posted

Or, since only certain brands/products have been found to have elevated levels, so far, just avoid them?

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Makes me happy I like and can eat corn/quinoa pasta....and am low/ish grain, though rice is probably one of my top grains.

And as far as arsenic in water, I do have an r/o system which helps remove arsenic and other things. So that helps.

  • 3 years later...
DandelionH Apprentice
DandelionH
Posted

Ah. Yay. Someone else has asked this!
I feel like as soon as I get comfortable with this diet and find my feet someone links me to stuff like this (was shown all the arsenic stuff yesterday and I remained surprisingly calm... until now, when out of curiousity I read the labels of things I no longer check because I know they're gluten-free and they ALL contain rice syrup etc. and I eat so much rice and...argh.)...
I don't think I can cope with removing or even lowering rice right now but I can't shut off the part of my brain that feels I might regret that when it turns out long term low levels do cause damage :( ...

I eat healthily on this gluten-free diet but I still feel 'less healthy' than I did with sourdough wheat etc. and that's my own personal neuroses that I've been battling in the form of embracing white rice and potatoes etc. which my body actually LOVES and helps keeps calories up. This rice scare is just another thing I could become paranoid about and I jumped online looking for someone to rationally tell me it doesn't matter but all the sites I've found seem to feel it does...

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Yep, a report on this was released by Consumer Reports a year or so ago.    Rice can contain arsenic but apples do too!  Big report on apple juice as well.   Moderation is key.  Try to buy rice grown in California.  It has less arsenic compared to the Southern U.S.  I am not sure about overseas.  I am sure their soil is pretty polluted too. 

Again, eat in moderation.  I don't even eat rice or any grains and I do well.  I don't because I have diabetes and even that old healthy brown rice (which has more arsenic than white) spikes my blood sugar.  But I do feed white rice to my family.  I rinse it three times like I have always done (it is a raw agricultural product after all).  I also expanded our diet to include lots of varieties of winter squash and sweet potatoes. 

Keep up your calories with more FAT!  It will keep you full.  I use plenty of avocados, olive oil and butter!  Those items do not raise my blood sugar and keep me from being hungry.  Fat has been given a bad rap.  Really, we eat way too many carbs in the form of sugar and starches.  Just my two cents! :D

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