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Arsenic is being found in rice - another good reason to go low carb.

CNN Article on Arsenic in Rice

They say not to eat rice more than twice a week.

I hate this study! One of my favorite foods is rice. I eat brown rice - which they say contains higher levals of arsenic. They also say that a serving is 1/4 cup. I eat way more than that in a serving.

So, I will be changing my eating habits.

I get Basmati rice from India. It tastes better, is readily available, is pure and is cheaper.

This was a disheartening study. I do enjoy Basmati rice also, but it's a white rice so I already eat that in moderation. This stinks for me because I am highly gluten intolerant which means wheat is a big no-no so I often use rice flour combined with bean flours as a substitute. I am a die-hard vegetarian and will not ever become a meat eater, so it's getting harder and harder for me to find healthy ways to feed my body anymore. This news was very disheartening to me to say the least. It's difficult to cut carbs while eating a vegetarian diet and now rice has to go too? lol I'm going to be down to tree bark and lettuce soon .

Christin,

I feel the same way. I too am gluten intolerant. I do eat meat. When I heard this on the news I cringed. I have been eating lots of rice for years. Wonder what arsenic does to a person?

Maybe we need to start a gourmet line of tree bark. Or rice eaters anonymous. lol

Dear Lynne -

Brown rice does have more arsenic, but it is also better for you. Remember that 1/4 cup raw is about 1 cup cooked. Do you eat more than a cup cooked rice at a time? If so yes you probably should cut that back And then only eat it twice a week at most, sort of like tuna fish.

Here's my article on it -

Arsenic in Rice

Dear AncientFlaxman -

Organic rice absolutely has arsenic in it. It's not "pure". Some of the highest offenders here are from India. The issue is that soil has arsenic in it naturally. And rice, naturally, pulls that arsenic into its system. Rice, the way it's built, stores arsenic. So it's not about pollutants. It's about the way rice works in its normal daily state.

Dear Christin -

It's all about balance. Tuna fish is good in small doses but too much gets you mercury issues. Brown rice is good in small doses but too much gets you arsenic issues. So you balance out all your options across a week which is good in a variety of ways

Dear Sandra -

Arsenic is extremely toxic. There was a famous movie "Arsenic and Old Lace" about people being poisoned with arsenic. Arsenic isn't even found in pressure treated lumber any more because it was so toxic. So it's definitely something to avoid. It leads to organ failure and cancer.

So I would cut back to 2 servings or less a week.

Lisa,

Thank you for the advice. Do you have any suggestions as to what foods to replace the other meals of rice? I must admit with being gluten intolerant I ended up eating a lot of rice.