stripe Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I'll rinse and buy Californian white rice until arsenic is legislated out of the rice cooker, but I will not make soupy rice porridge that needs to be drained all the while trying to usurp every control on my highly beloved Zo. Agree ... definitely not all Asians cook rice in the pasta manner. If you boil it and drain it, it definitely doesn't have to become soupy. This is how Persian rice is made (first boiled and drained, then cooked again) to maintain separate grains. However I don't bother to make rice this way. I think it would be worth it to buy rice from those parts of the world (outside the US) that has lower arsenic levels, because the draining only cut 30%. I honestly don't know that many rice eaters who don't rinse their rice, though I know that method is promoted because there are companies that spray vitamins on white rice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I live in South Louisiana where a lot of rice is grown. We eat it 3-4 meals a week. The new report does not scare me. Watch this news release in relation to that report. http://www.katc.com/news/experts-say-study-finding-high-levels-of-arsenic-in-rice-is-nothing-new/#!prettyPhoto/0/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Sigh. Why does it seem like nothing in life can be simple? Rice? Augh. One more thing to think about. :iagree: I'm ready to throw in the food towel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I live in South Louisiana where a lot of rice is grown. We eat it 3-4 meals a week. The new report does not scare me. Watch this news release in relation to that report.http://www.katc.com/news/experts-say-study-finding-high-levels-of-arsenic-in-rice-is-nothing-new/#!prettyPhoto/0/ First of all, I love the URL with "pretty photo" in it, Secondly, I love the way people talk. For the man quoted in the article ("We don't want our diet down here to be 100% rice") and also the comment from Corey Romero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I read an article about this earlier today. What next?? :iagree: I'm ready to throw in the food towel. I think I'm ready to go all takeout pizza, all the time. With a side of chocolate cake. I'm not sure it's any worse for me at this point than all the food that's supposed to be good for me. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 *bursts into tears* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) But the problem is that for those of us who are gluten-free and have food allergies, our diet IS primarily rice. We use rice flour in all our baking, drink rice milk, and eat rice pasta. That's a lot of rice! I can possibly switch ds to hemp milk (the only other milk alternative he is not allergic to) but do we have to give up pasta altogether? I guess I could buy some quinoa/corn noodles but they cost and arm and a leg for just one package! It's just crazy. We're already limited by food allergies we can't control; now we also have to be limited by the ridiculous contamination of the few food products we can eat!!:glare: Edited September 21, 2012 by FairProspects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I think I'm ready to go all takeout pizza, all the time. With a side of chocolate cake. I'm not sure it's any worse for me at this point than all the food that's supposed to be good for me. :tongue_smilie: Mmmm, chocolate cake :drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 look on the bright side, a small dose of arsenic is meant to be really good at removing sunspots. I knew an elderly lady that read somewhere about a tribe of people who ate the kernel of Apricots, and they had no sunspots. She had lots of sunspots so she thought she would give it a go. She also had Apricot trees. She saved all teh Kernels and ate a few every day. She slowly got sicker and sicker. She went to the DR. to find out what was wrong, and after some tests the Dr. told her that someone was poisoning her. She had high Arsenic levels. That is when she worked out that it was the Apricot Kernels. the native tribe only ate them when they were in season, for a few weeks of the year. She was leased that the Dr. worked out what was going on before she had a fatal dose, and she was even more pleased that she didn't have a single sunspot, and didn't develop any more in the next 10 years of her life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I think it's most troubling for domestic rice, though, which I rarely eat, but disturbing nonetheless. My husband laughed at the idea of two 1/4 c servings of rice a week. The whole thing is disturbing and Americans need to demand better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Just another example how the human race is killing itself. The earth is so polluted (due to humans) that nothing is going to be "safe" anymore and won't be for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Just another example how the human race is killing itself. The earth is so polluted (due to humans) that nothing is going to be "safe" anymore and won't be for a long time. High arsenic levels aren't necessarily due to pollution, though this does seem to be a major contributing factor of the problem in the rice from the southern US. It's my understanding that this isn't new information (only the latest study), but rather part of an effort by the Consumer's Union (?) to prod the FDA into establishing a limit for the acceptable amount of inorganic arsenic in foods, something the agency has been dragging its feet on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I believe it's soaked and drained a couple times, then cooked more like a pasta. Some elderly Asian man told me that recently in response to the arsenic question, but maybe that was only his way... :iagree: My brother served a mission in Japan. His rice method, learned there, is rinse it at least twice and then put it in a rice cooker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 :iagree: My brother served a mission in Japan. His rice method, learned there, is rinse it at least twice and then put it in a rice cooker. The rice cooker cooks through absorption, though, not like pasta (where you cook in a big pot of water and then drain). However, the bags on American white, enriched rice says not to rinse in order to preserve the vitamins they've sprayed on the outside. I don't see a huge effort on the part of the FDA to be concerned with food safety, honestly. Things like recalling ground beef two months after it's been sold doesn't strike me as very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I guess we're all going to die from arsenic poisoning then. Oh, well. I've been eating rice all of my life. We didn't have potatoes for sides growing up; it was always rice. We lived in Louisiana, too. On the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I thought this has always been. My MIL is Asian, and when I married dh a long time ago she gave me a rice cooker and showed me how to rinse the rice (specifically told me it was to rinse off "poison") and measure out the water. I've always done it her way. That said, I have some tiny sunspots...maybe I'll start eating more rice.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Unless you drain your rice after cooking the same way you drain spaghetti, you're not cooking it the way described in the article as "Asian." I use a rice cooker too. I don't drain. Therefore whatever toxins are getting cooked in, not going down the drain. Since the article said Latinos and Asian people have higher arsenic levels due to their rice consumption, I am not sure why emulating their supposed cooking style is supposed to be helpful, but whatever. Didn't they used to have cocaine in calming syrup for babies? Or was that opium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirth Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Didn't they used to have cocaine in calming syrup for babies? Or was that opium? Laudenum was used for babies. It was maybe 10% opium, the rest alcohol. Definitely the rice-arsenic connection has been around for several years. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1892142/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) Well, those of us with food allergies are screwed. Rice is one of the only grains nobody is allergic to around here. What other kind of milk can ds possibly drink? He is allergic to dairy and tree nuts. I agree! My son is allergic to dairy, gluten and nuts and I don't want him drinking a ton of soy milk. I buy about 12 large containers of rice milk a month, thinking I'm doing the right thing to make sure my son gets the calcium he needs, and now I find out I'm poisoning him. I do remember a similar warning about chicken consumption not that long ago. And the article that was linked also talks about fruits and vegetables being high on the arsenic list. I'm not sure there really are any "safe foods" any more. Lisa Edited September 21, 2012 by LisaTheresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2Es Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I guess we'll switch to more organics? I don't know what else to do. Has anyone read the studies? Please tell me all this is overblown. The information I read about it was about the arsenic in the brown rice syrup used to sweeten organic brands of baby formula. So it's not an organic vs. conventional farming issue. The arsenic is in the ground already. Some of the arsenic is from previous pesticide use, but arsenic is also a naturally-occurring element and it "just exists" in some soils (ditto for lead). My family avoids grains as a general rule, and I'm not that concerned about the occasional serving of rice (or anything else, for that matter). But I do remember at the time I was using brown rice syrup as an alternative sweetener in our tea, which we drink a lot of, and I tossed it out because I have plenty of other options for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I read about that in a Dr. Oz column, so this is old news to me. It was disturbing because we are all about brown rice. I gave DD rice milk, rice cream, snacks with rice syrup, so it was a real bummer. So, more oats for DD. The good doctor recommended wild rice, which is very expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Well scary as it is, so far it seems there is actually apparently little or no evidence that it really causes a problem. So I suggest focusing more on things that really are problems, like tobacco abuse, drunk driving, or what have you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 The Asians do the 6 parts water/1 part rice and then drain off the excess water which cuts the inorganic arsenic by 30% per the consumers article. And that's just one more reason why we only eat basmati rice-both brown and white-that is imported from Thailand. No, it's not the cheapest, but it's good. We have one brand that I buy exclusively and I drive 20 minutes to go to the Asian food store just to buy it. We eat rice 3-4 times a week, if not more. We buy Basmati too, from Trader Joe's. I'll have to check the label and see if they say where it's from...they often don't tell. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Well scary as it is, so far it seems there is actually apparently little or no evidence that it really causes a problem. So I suggest focusing more on things that really are problems, like tobacco abuse, drunk driving, or what have you. Inorganic arsenic compounds such as arsenic oxides are known carcinogens and are poisons. It's not something we want too be shoveling in (relatively) concentrated form into babies. We still eat rice: I rinse, and I've begun to soak my brown rice and dump the soaking water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 We buy Basmati too, from Trader Joe's. I'll have to check the label and see if they say where it's from...they often don't tell. :glare: Rice sold at Indian stores tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I rinse, and I've begun to soak my brown rice and dump the soaking water. This is a very good idea. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 This is a very good idea. Thanks! It's easy with a rice cooker because you still fill it up to the same line for cooking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope in God Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 There are heavy metals in a lot of foods. I don't think exposure is avoidable but if you take a couple Chlorella tablets a day (or a week- no need to be too neurotic about it) you will flush your system of arsenic, cadmium, lead etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 :iagree::iagree::iagree: I'm getting quite stinking pissed about it all. :iagree: I want plain, old, good food back. Food that isn't tainted with herbicides, pesticides, or genetically modified. Well scary as it is, so far it seems there is actually apparently little or no evidence that it really causes a problem. So I suggest focusing more on things that really are problems, like tobacco abuse, drunk driving, or what have you. Really? You don't think the ever present health problems and cancers aren't proof enough that our food is really messed up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 That's pretty awesome. :D I guess we're all going to die from arsenic poisoning then. Oh, well. I've been eating rice all of my life. We didn't have potatoes for sides growing up; it was always rice. We lived in Louisiana, too. On the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 You know, I only got to page 7 of this thread and just have to pipe in to voice my complete annoyance of the constantly repeating "The way Asians do it" because Asia is HUGE and encompasses many different countries. Not all peoples from Asia cook their rice like pasta...I doubt even the majority do it that way! I lived in Japan and South Korea for about 20 years and have seen how they cook short-grained "sticky" or sushi rice. We ate rice 3x day, 7 days per week. In Japan and S. Korea, the majority of the population have rice cookers and the ratio is about 1" of rice to 1" of water above the rice. They rinse and scrub the grains, rinse and rinse until the water runs clear and then just cook it until it's fluffy with the ratio of about 1:2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 How about stuff like Cocoa pebbles cereal? My husband bought me a box and I've been eating way too many bowls of it, lol. Could the arsenic affect my 6 month old nursling? I hate all the food scares. There has been SO many lately! But the problem is that for those of us who are gluten-free and have food allergies, our diet IS primarily rice. We use rice flour in all our baking, drink rice milk, and eat rice pasta. That's a lot of rice! I can possibly switch ds to hemp milk (the only other milk alternative he is not allergic to) but do we have to give up pasta altogether? I guess I could buy some quinoa/corn noodles but they cost and arm and a leg for just one package! It's just crazy. We're already limited by food allergies we can't control; now we also have to be limited by the ridiculous contamination of the few food products we can eat!!:glare: Sam Mills makes great corn pasta and it is cheap! I can find it on sale for $1.99 at Krogers and it costs $2 something regularly. I've gotten it cheaper on Amazon during a sale and it is pretty decently priced there even when not on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 How about stuff like Cocoa pebbles cereal? Definitely a better choice than boring old rice! ;) By the way, Amira, the parboiled rice came out nicely! Thanks for the encouragement to open the bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I think a lot of this stuff is overblown and at this point I don't think it really means anything. No problems have been found with eating rice so I am not worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) Sigh. Why does it seem like nothing in life can be simple? Rice? Augh. One more thing to think about. Yes, this. :( On the upside, it seems to me like we can now readily admit that all of our food is toxic and going to kill us. That actually makes MY life easier. I'm starting to not care what I eat after being careful for years. Apparently it's ALL GOING TO KILL ME ANYWAY. Sigh. Edited October 3, 2012 by BlsdMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Sam Mills makes great corn pasta and it is cheap! I can find it on sale for $1.99 at Krogers and it costs $2 something regularly. I've gotten it cheaper on Amazon during a sale and it is pretty decently priced there even when not on sale. You'd probably prefer I not tell you about GMOs, round-up ready, and all the problems with corn based foods at this point, right? ;) (Said tongue in cheek though it is true.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Definitely a better choice than boring old rice! ;) By the way, Amira, the parboiled rice came out nicely! Thanks for the encouragement to open the bag. I'm glad. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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