Celiac.com 06/27/2020 - A new book on gluten and health called The Gluten Effect by doctors Vikki and Richard Petersen, has just hit the market.  The Gluten Effect is an excellent primer for those who want to learn the basics of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, otherwise known as the ‘gluten syndrome’.  Doctors Petersen offer excellent graphics, a detailed explanation of regulatory T cells, and a good description of the dynamics of oral tolerance for the lay reader.  

The doctors Petersen surprised me with some startling statistics.  For instance, I was not aware that 80% of lymphoma patients are gluten sensitive.  This is an enormously important assertion and I will be reading their source materials diligently and reporting further on this finding in the summer issue of ScottFree newsletter.  

On the other hand, I was not surprised to learn that 69% of Americans have digestive problems.  Extensive and expensive advertising for a wide range of over-the-counter and prescription medications to relieve heartburn, indigestion, constipation, and diarrhea leave little doubt that there is a huge market for these products.  This specific frequency of digestive problems offers a sharp, contrasting backdrop against which we can evaluate estimates of the prevalence of gluten sensitivity and its celiac disease subset.  

I was also pleased to read these authors’ discussion of the current allopathic focus on “objective” laboratory results while almost ignoring symptoms during the diagnostic process.  Then they examine the prevalent practice of treating symptoms.  They offer an excellent metaphor that illustrates their position:  A patient’s foot is painfully pinned by a large boulder.  They ask if it makes more sense to administer pain medications or to remove the boulder.  The self-evident answer is a powerful critique of much current medical practice.  Doctors Petersen offer a number of such illustrative examples, making their arguments considerably more powerful and persuasive.  They go on to question the common allopathic practice of chronically suppressing the immune system with drugs, especially systemic steroids.  They acknowledge the therapeutic importance of such drugs while raising some very valid concerns about the sometimes inappropriate use of these chemical agents.  

They also offer a good discussion of current antibody tests of serum, feces, and saliva, along with a brief discussion of scopes and biopsies.  This survey of current tests and diagnostic procedures, along with an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each, is particularly empowering to those who are exploring the possibility that gluten may be a contributing factor in their health concerns.  

They go on to limit their own prospective reading audience saying that those who have a diagnosis of celiac disease from their doctors are unlikely to be reading their book.  I couldn’t disagree more.  It is a book that offers insight into the disease process, awareness of connections with other forms of autoimmunity, and important suggestions for maintaining and improving one’s health in the context of all forms of gluten sensitivity.  I was particularly pleased to see their assertion that 16% of those with autoimmune hepatitis are gluten sensitive.  This is a connection that has long been recognized in the medical literature, but is usually ignored or neglected in medical practice.  

Obesity, in association with gluten, is another frequently neglected area that the Petersens cover in some depth.  As some readers will know, my mother experienced effortless but substantial weight loss after beginning a gluten-free diet for her gluten sensitivity and arthritis.  The Petersens also discuss and explain some connections between gluten sensitivity and heart disease, dementia, hormonal imbalances, osteoporosis, autism, ADD/ADHD, memory loss, depression, skin disorders, and IBS.  Almost every important point they make is supported by carefully selected case histories that both illustrate the impact of a gluten-free diet, and the limitations to quality-of-life for those who continue to follow a regular diet.  
 
Their detailed discussion of bone density in relation to gluten sensitivity was also most gratifying to read.  Although they recommend magnesium supplementation, they do not discuss its value for re-mineralizing bones.  However, they report a very high rate of gluten sensitivity among those with early osteoporosis and even report childhood calcium deficiency and reduced bone density among children with celiac disease.  

The doctors Petersen also offer some detailed instructions and guidance regarding a gluten-free lifestyle and their advice comes from living our lifestyle.  This is a rarity among practitioners and the invaluable insights gained from this practical experience show through in their comprehensive chapter on this issue.  

Unfortunately, very early in the introduction, the authors provide an outdated statistic claiming a 1 in 250 incidence of celiac disease in the US.  They cite a 1999 publication by S.  Helms rather than providing the newer information from the following year, published by Fasano et.  al.  that suggests a US incidence of 1 in 133.  Please do not let this unfortunate choice dissuade you from reading this very valuable book.  Later in the book, they cite a U.S.  incidence of celiac disease of more than 2%, based on Dr. A.Vodjani’s work, thus offering something of a balanced view on this issue.

In closing, I would like to point out that there are several issues raised by the Petersens where I disagree with their stated or implied biases.  For instance, they depict immune reactions against gluten as suggestive of a defective immune system while I see the adoption of cereal grain consumption as the underlying problem.  In my view, gluten grains are simply not a healthful food.  We certainly did not evolve eating grains.  The vast majority of the world’s population has not had sufficient time to adapt genetically to this food that is better suited for ruminants.  Most human exposure to these foods ranges from less than 20 generations.  Many people of European descent have had much longer exposure to these grains, but even that is quite variable and is often depicted as a contentious claim.  However, there can be little doubt that it is only with the advent of modern technology and economies of scale that grains have formed such an enormous portion of human diets.   

In all, The Gluten Effect is a valuable contribution to the gluten-free community, offering new information on a solid platform of insight and understanding of gluten-induced illness and the gluten-free lifestyle.  While each of us has differing tastes in writing styles, The Gluten Effect is rife with awkwardness and contains a substantial number of mechanical errors.  I found those errors to be a jarring distraction from an otherwise impressive book.  Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book to everyone with gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, or chronic health problems.  It offers valuable insights and important strategies for recovering and/or maintaining good health.

Celiac.com 06/18/2020 - Think about some of the foods that we are told are healthy for us, like those high in fiber (almonds, walnuts, figs, dates, raisins, sesame seeds), fresh berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries), other fresh fruit (apples, pears, oranges, kiwi, bananas, cherries, melons), dairy products (1% or 2% milk, low fat cheese), and probiotics (yogurt).  Each of these ingredients is a prime candidate for use in desserts.

Most of us love desserts.  The major offender in anything sweet is sugar.  Some people opt to use artificial sugars to avoid the calories of cane or beet sugar, while others vehemently avoid the artificial sweeteners because of their health risks.  One teaspoon of granulated sugar has just 16 calories and 4.2 grams of carbohydrates.  If you make a dessert that uses 1/2 cup sugar for a 9-inch square pan (which will yield 9 servings), each serving will have 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar.  If some of the sugar is replaced with honey, molasses, maple syrup, and/or dried fruits for sweetening, the amount of refined sugar is reduced even more.

The second ingredient that concerns the health-conscious is the amount of butter or shortening used in a recipe.  While butter is a natural ingredient and is healthier for you than shortening,   it certainly isn’t the healthiest product you can consume.  Up to half of the butter used in some recipes can be replaced with unsweetened applesauce.  Certain oils are healthier for you than butter.  Often light olive oil can be used instead of butter, especially when making pie crusts, cakes, and soft cookies.  (Use 3/4 cup oil for each 1 cup of butter listed in a recipe.)

Baked goods often call for the use of whole eggs.  The latest report on the nutritional value of egg yolks is that the entire egg should be eaten—not just the whites.  The cholesterol in egg yolks is beneficial cholesterol.  According to cholesterol-and-health.com, “Like most cholesterol-rich foods, they [egg yolks] are jam-packed full of important nutrients, especially the fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids.  In fact, the slew of nutrients in an egg yolk are so comprehensive that a few eggs a day would offer better insurance for good health than a multi-vitamin.  Most importantly, the yolk contains most of the nutrients in an egg.  Egg whites, on the other hand, contain far fewer nutrients.”

Finally, consider cinnamon.  This humble spice can easily be incorporated into almost any dessert and the health benefits are numerous.  Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.  Cinnamon tends to regulate blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.  It can often stop medication-resistant yeast infections.  In a study published by researchers at the U.S.  Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells.  It has an anti-clotting effect on the blood.  In a study at Copenhagen University, patients given half a teaspoon of cinnamon combined with one tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast had significant relief from arthritis pain after one week.  When this spice is added to food, it inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage.  Researchers at Kansas State University found that cinnamon fights the E.  coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.  And it is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.

So maybe all desserts aren’t necessarily bad for us.  Here are some healthier options for satisfying your sweet tooth:

Fold together Greek yogurt (which is loaded with probiotics) and all-fruit preserves, then top it off with a bit of gluten-free granola that has a sprinkling of cinnamon.  If you have some yogurt left over, use it as part of the liquid called for in a cake or coffeecake recipe.  If you have granola left over, make a fruit crisp (apple, pear, peach, or a combination) using orange juice concentrate or apricot nectar for the sweetener and adding a little vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch; then sprinkle the top of the pie with the granola before baking.

Make sweet potato pudding using 1% low fat milk or a crustless pumpkin pie made with evaporated skim milk… and yes, add some cinnamon to the mixture.  Granola or chopped pecans can be sprinkled on top of either of these desserts for added flair and fiber.  Fold raisins into brown rice pudding made with 2% milk and sprinkle the top generously with cinnamon for a healthier version of an all-time favorite dessert.

Here are some ideas for serving fresh fruits when they are in season:  Honey-basted broiled mango spears, balsamic vinegar spiked strawberries, broiled orange slices topped with warm raspberries, parfaits of fresh raspberries and pineapple chunks layered with non-fat peach yogurt and topped with toasted coconut, hot tea and honey poured over Clementine orange segments and topped with cinnamon or cardamom.  Melon and fruit kabobs brushed with honey then sprinkled with cinnamon or dried mint and grilled are always delicious.

Baked apples stuffed with raisins, chopped dates, chopped walnuts and sprinkled with cinnamon is a healthy dessert—or make it with pears stuffed with cranberries and walnuts and basted with pomegranate juice.

If you bake or buy gluten-free bread made with wholesome, nutritious, fibrous flours, then make a bread pudding with low fat milk and add sliced fruit (apples, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, or bananas) and add a handful of chopped walnuts.

If you want to eat healthier, you don’t need to sacrifice eating dessert.  There are plenty of desserts that are good for you!

Fruit and Nut Delights (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup toasted almonds
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried apples
• ½ cup dried figs
• ½ cup pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• Crushed whole grain gluten-free cereal

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, whip together all of the ingredients except the cereal until it forms a paste.  Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, and then roll in the crushed cereal to coat.

Celiac.com 06/06/2020 - Patients with depression are told they have a chemical imbalance.  If someone else in their family is also depressed, the “gene card” is played.  “Your depression is genetic”, they are told.

I have been in practice for over 20 years and I find the above data to be false.  Consistently we find patients who are suffering from depression and anxiety to be gluten sensitive.

How could a food cause depression?  Let’s take a look:

After the digestive tract, the system most commonly affected by gluten is the nervous system.  It is thought that depression can be caused by gluten in one of two ways, inflammation and protein absorption.   

The first is through the inflammatory changes caused by gluten.  A gluten sensitive individual’s immune system responds to the protein gliadin.  Unfortunately, that protein is structurally similar to body proteins, including those of the brain and nerve cells.  A cross reaction can occur when the immune system “confuses” body proteins with gliadin proteins.  This is called cellular mimicry and the result is inflammation where the body is attacking its own tissues.  When inflammation happens in the brain and nervous system, a variety of symptoms can occur, including depression.  Research shows that patients with symptoms involving the nervous system suffer from digestive problems only 13% of the time.  This is significant because mainstream medicine equates gluten sensitivity almost exclusively with digestive complaints.

In a study examining blood flow in the brain, 15 patients with untreated celiac disease were compared to 15 patients treated with a gluten-free diet for one year.  The findings were amazing.  In the untreated group, 73% had abnormalities in brain circulation by testing while only 7% in the treated group showed any abnormalities.  The patients with the brain circulation problems were frequently suffering from anxiety and depression as well.

In addition to circulation problems, other research looks at the association between gluten sensitivity and its interference with protein absorption.  Specifically the amino acid tryptophan can be deficient.  Tryptophan is a protein in the brain responsible for a feeling of well-being and relaxation.  A deficiency can be correlated to feelings of depression and anxiety.

Our society is too willing to accept “chemical imbalance” as an explanation for their symptoms.  Instead of getting to the root cause of the condition, we simply swallow a pill—a pill that in the case of anti-depressants has very dangerous and sometimes lethal side effects.

The frequency with which we are able to successfully taper patients off their anti-depressants is considered “unbelievable” by many mainstream doctors, yet we do it regularly.  How is that possible?  We actually diagnose the root cause of the depression.  Frequently the culprit is gluten.

Celiac.com 06/05/2020 - Bored in a doctor’s waiting room, my husband started picking through the usual magazines.  The choices were slim and the chance of reading anything useful even slimmer.  He didn’t need to know how to eliminate cellulite in 7 days or the best recipe for chicken tetrazzini.  He wasn’t interested in whether Jennifer Aniston was over Brad Pitt.  One magazine looked somewhat respectable, maybe even educational.  He flipped through and stopped at an article.

And that’s when it happened.  My medical mystery began to unravel.

Twenty years of fluctuating symptoms and ill health, unexplained (or misdiagnosed) by five internists, five psychiatrists, five psychologists, four rheumatologists, four primary care physicians, two gastroenterologists, two gynecologists, two nurse practitioners, two neurologists, two family doctors, one allergist, one immunologist, four MRIs, three biopsies, three ultrasounds, two surgeries, two CT Scans, one endoscopy, one EMG, one EEG, one EKG, and too many blood tests to count, and my husband of great brilliance but no medical training suggested what no one else had.

The article was about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.  He said it sounded like me.  I knew a bit about celiac disease, and I had shopped in health food stores since my teens, passing by gluten-free items for years.  Sure, wheat might be bad for some folks, but surely not for me.  I was a “health food nut.” I ate my whole grains by the handful: whole wheat pasta, whole wheat cookies, whole wheat bread, whole wheat cereal.  The more fiber, the better.  Next to me, rabbits looked fiber-deficient.  Besides, I had chronic constipation (except for the month-long stretches of diarrhea), so I needed all that fiber.  Whole wheat was a “health food.” Spelt, triticale, kamut, barley, steel cut oats—bring ’em on!

Despite my “healthy” diet, each year brought worsening health.  (One doctor told me to expect it, as I had recently turned 30.) Fatigue and flu-like pain were the symptoms that bothered me most, not to discount the years of major depression.  Night sweats and abnormal menstrual periods certainly seemed like hormonal problems, but the doctors had no answers.  Nerve pain was not fun, but I got used to the stinging, burning shocks that would attack my legs randomly.  If people were around, I would play it off as a bug bite or mosquito.  They bought it.

My stomach problems would show up for about a year at a time and then stop on their own.  The prescription drugs I was given for acid reflux and slow motility had some effect, but they didn’t address the feeling that a bony alien was pushing its way through my stomach and intestines, scratching its way through with jagged nails on its hands and feet.  The meds also didn’t address the pain that spiked when I would yawn or inhale and that radiated into my right shoulder.

When the involuntary twitches and jerks in my legs, arms, and back began, I feared multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease.  Maybe even Huntington’s disease.  Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.  The jerks happened when I was still.  My legs would fly up off the recliner foot-rest, or my upper back would arch and toss me forward over my desk and keyboard.  Disturbing stuff.  It became more frequent over time and more severe in intensity.  I wondered if an exorcism was in my future.  

My body seemed to have a “tag team” approach to fighting whatever was making me sick.  I remember one spring when the fatigue and muscle aches latched on.  No other symptoms—just tremendous fatigue and muscle aches.  About two months later, both lifted quite noticeably over a 24-hour period.  I woke up the following morning pain free and with a decent amount of energy.

I also woke up with large red welts on my neck.  As my fingers tried to get a sense of their shape and reach, they began to itch.  And swell.  Badly.  I started my shower and hoped they would fade, but the hot water made them itch more, grow larger, and spread.  A few days later, they covered my torso, buttocks, and thighs.  At their peak, they found their way to my chin, lips, and eyelids.  They itched worse than chicken pox and weren’t much prettier.  The hives continued for several months, weakly responding to medication.  At their end, they were written off by my doctor as idiopathic urticaria—hives for an unknown reason.  I was happy to see them go.

A couple days later, sans hives, I found myself standing at my boss’s office door, whispering the reason why I needed to go home.  I didn’t feel sick, and I didn’t look sick, but she agreed that ten episodes of diarrhea before noon was good enough reason to leave.  The pattern continued for 6 weeks.  I wasn’t surprised that it ended when the fatigue started up again.

After my husband told me about the article on celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, I started my research.  Sure enough, it did sound like me.  The symptoms on most of the celiac disease websites matched my own, with one exception—the involuntary jerks or “myoclonus.” This was the symptom that concerned me the most.  It wasn’t as debilitating as the fatigue and flu-like pain but was equally worrisome and much scarier.  I kept researching.  If gluten was the culprit, not only would I have an explanation for the jerks, but I could be as good as cured—of all of it.

With a few more days of research in a scientific journal database (I wanted hard evidence) I found the connection I sought.  Gluten had been found to be the cause of several neurological disorders, including myoclonus, and many other neurological disorders were proven to respond to a gluten-free diet.

I announced to my husband that I would go gluten-free for a year.  Some symptoms and disorders, the research said, could take 6 months to a year to reverse.  Myoclonus might not reverse ever.  I scheduled an appointment with my doctor and requested the celiac disease panel of blood tests.  Regardless of the results, I would go gluten-free for a year, but I wanted to be tested for celiac disease first.  My husband and I had watched the diagnoses and suspected diagnoses come and go over the years.  This one we felt good about.  

I kept eating my gluten-laden “health foods” until the day of the blood test.  I wanted to make sure those antibodies showed themselves to whoever was looking for them.  It was the most giddy I’ve been for a blood test.  I drove home from the lab with a large bruised lump in the crook of my left arm—a symbol, a battle scar from a long fight.

That evening, I began a strict gluten-free diet.  My cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer had undergone a transformation—my bathroom drawers, too.  I had contacted lipstick makers and toothpaste companies.  I was ready to be gluten-free.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the dramatic change that started in a matter of days.  My stomach problems were the first to respond.  My intestines were quiet—simply quiet.  For anyone who has struggled with gastrointestinal issues, a sense of quiet and calm in one’s torso is a blessed thing.  By the end of the week, the jerks had stopped.  And within one week, to my happy amazement, the fatigue was gone.  Gone.  I love saying it.  The fatigue was (and still is) gone.

Two weeks later, free of fatigue, muscle pain, muscle weakness, night sweats, brain fog, confusion, depression, diarrhea, stomach pain, constipation, involuntary muscle jerks, stuttering, shortness of breath, dizziness, irritability, nerve pain, hives, intestinal distress, acid reflux, and bloating, I returned to my doctor to learn the results of the test.  Before she could tell me the results, I described my remarkable recovery, beaming.  She seemed happy for me and reached for her laptop, showing me the lab results.  The lab ran the first part of the test, which was negative, and because it was negative, the other parts of the test weren’t necessary, she explained.  So the lab techs stopped there.  At the bottom of the page was a section for my doctor’s comments.  She had written “No gluten intolerance.” She went on to say that my reaction to the gluten-free diet might be from removing the carbohydrates, sugars, and starches that came with those foods.  I smiled.  I hadn’t done the math, but I was reasonably sure there were carbs, sugars, and starches in my brown rice pasta, gluten-free brownies, gluten-free cookies, gluten-free cereal, brown-rice tortillas, potato-flour bread, and so on.  It was clear that she was speaking from the standpoint of traditional western medicine.  There was no point arguing.  She could see my improvement for herself, and I could only hope she would remember it if other patients asked whether a gluten-free diet could help them.

For so many years, I held out for a diagnosis, desperate to find the cause of my ill health so that I could properly address it.  Even if the news was devastating, at least I would know what was going on in my body and what I was facing.  At least I would know that I was not going crazy and that it was not my imagination that something was, indeed, wrong with me.  For years, I experienced the emotional crash when test after test came back negative.  “You’re fine!” the doctors would say, as if that was supposed to make me fine and wipe away my symptoms.  

I now see that the test results were needless and the celiac disease panel a mere formality.  My dramatic and profound response to the gluten-free diet is hard evidence that I am gluten intolerant.

I had been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, major depression, bipolar depression, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and idiopathic urticaria.  I have been tested for and suspected of having Sjogren’s syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, hypothyroidism, myasthenia gravis, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and HIV.  These are the ones I can remember, anyway.  I still have some tender points in my muscles that are typical of fibromyalgia, but as long as no one pushes on these points—like a rheumatologist during an exam—I am asymptomatic for fibromyalgia.

I would bet I am not so unique and that others can relate to my experiences.  Whether the medical community responds to the lifelong research that many of us have done, using ourselves as guinea pigs, is not known.  The more important lesson is that for anyone who still suffers from undiagnosed symptoms, regardless of what he or she has been told by doctors and regardless of what the lab results say, adhering to a gluten-free diet may be the answer.  Husband 1, Doctors zip.

Celiac.com 05/23/2020 - Although large doses of arsenic are deadly, many of us are consuming small quantities of this poison on a daily basis.  It comes to us in our drinking water and in some of our foods, especially rice.  Small doses of arsenic are considered harmless.  It is a natural substance, traces of which are found in most soils.  However, chronic intake or larger doses of arsenic cause an increased risk of cancers of the liver, skin, lung, and bladder.  Still larger doses are well documented to result in multi-system organ failure and death.  Unfortunately, this ubiquitous substance seems to have an affinity for rice, especially in the bran.  Rice is a common substitute, among gluten sensitive individuals, for gluten-containing flours.  Since we are more likely to eat more rice than the national average, we may also ingest more of this toxic and dangerous chemical.  Thus, it may be prudent to learn more about the carcinogenic properties of arsenic and just how large the arsenic content of rice really is.  

Reznikova and her associates have postulated a theory explaining how arsenic causes skin cancer (1).  Meanwhile, Lorraine Heller, reporting for Nutraingredients.com, states that there are no safe levels of arsenic when it comes to cancer risk.  She quotes Professor A.  Meharg as saying that ingestion of even the tiniest quantities of arsenic “will have an associated cancer risk” (2).  One reporter for the “Mail Online” has asserted that “Arsenic is believed to be particularly associated with a higher risk of bladder and lung cancer” (3).  Liao and associates have reported data suggesting a linear relationship between internal cancers and arsenic exposure (4) while Chen, et.  al.  indicated that patients with arsenic related cancers have decreased survival rates (5).  Further, Lubin et.  al.  report that workers who breathe airborne arsenic from the air in copper smelters have a dose-dependent,  increasing  risk of developing lung cancer  (6).  

Animal studies conducted by Lantz et.  al.  also indicate that exposure to arsenic in utero and infancy, in addition to causing an elevated risk of lung cancer, also induces permanent damage to pulmonary structure and function (7).  Cox has even suggested that the removal of arsenic from tobacco may reduce or eliminate the increased risk of some types of lung cancer related to smoking (8).  

Rice grown in paddies is more likely to contain higher concentrations of arsenic if it is available in irrigation or ground water (9).  While industrial effluent is one important contributor to arsenic concentrations (10) professor Meharg has also pointed out that cotton production in the past often relied heavily on arsenic pesticides.  Residues of these pesticides are now being assimilated by rice crops being grown in former cotton fields (3).  This may explain why researchers are finding disturbing arsenic concentrations in rice grown in parts of Arkansas, Louisana, and Mississippi.  These regions are producing rice that has arsenic concentrations that are three to five times the concentrations in rice grown in California (3).  

Brown or whole grain rice is particularly problematic.  The bran of rice is not only where most of the arsenic is concentrated (11) this bran also contains anti-nutrients that interfere with mineral absorption.  (I won’t pursue this latter issue any further, as I have raised this concern in previous articles.)    

Of particular concern is the traditional recommendation that infants be started on solid food in the form of rice pablum.  Professor Meharg pointed to several groups that consume relatively large quantities of rice, including infants and individuals eating a gluten-free diet (12).  Meharg points out that “The majority of babyfood has relatively high levels of arsenic—the top end of the range”.  He goes on to say that given their body weight, children are eating relatively larger quantities of arsenic in rice, rice pudding, rice crackers, and powdered rice” (12).  Rice bran is of particular concern because this is where the arsenic is more concentrated (13).  

Given the potential for arsenic-induced, permanent lung damage, increased risks for a variety of internal and skin cancers, and a general reduction of life expectancy, we need to pay attention to several facets of rice cultivation, particularly as there are farming methods and fertilizers that can reduce the uptake of arsenic by rice.  We need to be aware that consumption of rice in large quantities, over long periods, may be damaging to our health.  We also need to start children on solid foods that are less likely to have a poisonous impact.  In addition to its highly glycemic nature, rice is far from an ideal infant food because of the phytates it contains.  The arsenic is assimilated by rice whenever rice is cultivated in areas with elevated levels of arsenic in the water and/or soil, in the absence of special farming techniques or special fertilizers.  I recommend that we all be conservative in our consumption of rice, avoid rice bran or brown rice, and completely ignore the “superfood” claims for rice bran.  It is particularly important that rice not be fed, in significant quantity, to infants.   

Sources:

1. Reznikova TV, Phillips MA, Rice RH.Arsenite suppresses Notch1 signaling in human keratinocytes.  J Invest Dermatol.  2009 Jan;129(1):155-61.  Epub 2008 Jul 17.
2. Heller L, Rice bran contains high arsenic levels.  www.nutraingredients.com Aug 26, 2008
3. Rice tainted by arsenic ‘raises cancer risk’ Mail Online www.dailymail.co.uk March 23, 2007
4. Liao CM, Shen HH, Chen CL, Hsu LI, Lin TL, Chen SC, Chen CJ.  Risk assessment of arsenic-induced internal cancer at long-term low dose exposure.  J Hazard Mater.  2008 Nov 5.
5. Chen CH, Chiou HY, Hsueh YM, Chen CJ, Yu HJ, Pu YS.  Clinicopathological Characteristics and Survival Outcome of Arsenic Related Bladder Cancer in Taiwan.  J Urol.  2008 Dec 11.  
6. Lubin JH, Moore LE, Fraumeni JF Jr, Cantor KP.  Respiratory cancer and inhaled inorganic arsenic in copper smelters workers: a linear relationship with cumulative exposure that increases with concentration.  Environ Health Perspect.  2008 Dec;116(12):1661-5.  
7. Lantz RC, Chau B, Sarihan P, Witten ML, Pivniouk VI, Chen GJ.  In utero and postnatal exposure to arsenic alters pulmonary structure and function.  Toxicol Appl Pharmacol.  2008 Nov 27.  
8. Cox LA.  Could Removing Arsenic from Tobacco Smoke Significantly Reduce Smoker Risks of Lung Cancer? Jr.Risk Anal.  2008 Nov 5.
9. Bogdan K, Schenk MK.  Arsenic in rice (Oryza sativa L.) related to dynamics of arsenic and silicic acid in paddy soils.  Environ Sci Technol.  2008 Nov 1;42(21):7885-90.
10. Mandal BK, Suzuki KT.  Talanta.  Arsenic round the world: a review.  2002 Aug 16;58(1):201-35.
11. Brahic C, Superfood rice bran contains arsenic.  www.newscientist.com Aug.  22, 2008
12. Clover C, ‘Dangerous’ levels of arsenic in 10pc of rice.  www.telegraph.co.uk Aug 29, 2007
13. Sun GX, Williams PN, Carey AM, Zhu YG, Deacon C, Raab A, Feldmann J, Islam RM, Meharg AA.  Inorganic arsenic in rice bran and its products are an order of magnitude higher than in bulk grain.  Environ Sci Technol.  2008 Oct 1;42(19):7542-6.
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