0:00

I can't keep this in anymore. I can't even

0:02

believe I'm saying this to be honest. You

0:04

know you can tell me anything. I'm capital

0:07

VFD42 capital Z lowercase m

0:09

underscore lowercase p capital L reverse slash apostrophe

0:11

lowercase rs. I know how you feel. Just

0:14

between us, I'm underscore

0:16

comma dash underscore dollar sign capital G lowercase

0:19

w comma forward slash dash dash reverse slash. No

0:22

way! I am so glad we had this conversation.

0:25

I know, me too.

0:26

Turn on total privacy with end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp.

0:29

Message privately.

0:36

Hello, I'm Monica Reinagel. Welcome

0:38

to the Nutrition Diva podcast, where

0:40

we take a closer look at nutrition trends

0:42

and headlines, explain what the latest research

0:44

means for you, and answer your dietary

0:47

questions. Speaking of which, Allie

0:50

wrote in this week, I was recently

0:52

telling a friend how much I preferred brown rice

0:54

over white rice, both for its taste

0:57

and nutritional value. And she told

0:59

me that she read somewhere that brown

1:01

rice is full of carcinogens. And

1:04

another friend told me he read

1:05

that brown rice has arsenic in it. Is

1:08

this true? Is white rice

1:10

better for you now? Okay,

1:13

let's all just take a deep breath. Yes,

1:16

brown rice may contain arsenic.

1:19

And yes, arsenic is classified

1:22

as a carcinogen.

1:24

That does not mean that eating brown rice

1:26

once or twice a week will give you cancer. So if,

1:29

like Allie, you much prefer

1:32

brown rice, there's no need to switch to white rice. On

1:35

the other hand, if you actually prefer

1:38

white rice, the nutritional differences may not be

1:40

as big as you think. Let's start with the whole

1:42

arsenic thing. In larger

1:46

amounts, of course, arsenic is a rather notorious poison. In

1:50

fact, slipping a dose of arsenic

1:52

into someone's cup of mead or grog

1:54

was a popular way of offing political

1:56

rivals back in the day of mead and

1:58

grog.

2:00

Now, these days we're not as worried about an accidental

2:03

or intentional overdose of arsenic.

2:06

Rather, we worry about chronic

2:08

exposure to levels that aren't

2:10

enough to make you feel sick right away, but over

2:12

time might cause serious health

2:15

problems. You might be surprised to

2:17

learn that almost all fruits and vegetables,

2:20

meat and fish, contain

2:22

trace amounts of arsenic, far too little

2:24

to be of any concern. In fact, I

2:26

was interested to learn that arsenic is actually

2:29

an essential trace element. Our

2:31

body needs these small amounts of

2:33

arsenic in order to stay healthy and function

2:35

properly. Up until lately, contaminated

2:38

well water was the primary concern,

2:41

and efforts have focused on rigorous testing

2:43

of water supplies to ensure that arsenic

2:46

levels don't exceed safe thresholds.

2:47

But certain

2:50

plants, including rice, have

2:52

a particular affinity for arsenic,

2:55

absorbing it and incorporating it more

2:57

readily into their cells. So

3:00

if these crops are grown in soil

3:02

or irrigated with water that

3:04

is rich in arsenic, and that can be

3:07

either because of natural deposits

3:10

or human activities like farming,

3:12

tanning, mining or coal burning,

3:15

they may contain significant amounts of

3:17

arsenic, which may be

3:19

further concentrated through processing.

3:22

Although some rice and rice-based foods have

3:24

been found to be high in arsenic, we

3:27

don't know that much about how arsenic

3:29

in foods might affect people over time

3:32

and what safe thresholds might

3:34

be. Simply evaluating foods

3:36

by the standards that were set for drinking water

3:39

could either over or underestimate

3:42

the dangers. And here's why. The

3:44

safe threshold for arsenic in drinking water

3:47

is 10 parts per billion.

3:50

But that's calculated based on how

3:52

much water you're likely to drink day in

3:54

and day out. So it wouldn't make

3:56

sense to apply the same threshold to

3:58

a food that you might

3:59

might eat only once or twice

4:02

a week or even less frequently.

4:03

On the other hand, the safe threshold for

4:06

water assumes that drinking

4:08

water is the only significant source

4:11

of arsenic exposure. If

4:13

we are exposed to arsenic from a number

4:15

of different sources, then we need to take our

4:17

likely exposure from all of those sources

4:19

into account when establishing

4:22

safe thresholds for each individual source.

4:25

Residents are scrambling to get

4:28

a handle on all of these issues so

4:30

that they can put new guidelines or regulations

4:33

into place.

4:35

The state of California, whose environmental

4:37

safety standards are usually extremely

4:40

conservative, considers a daily intake

4:42

of up to 10 micrograms per

4:45

day to pose little risk over

4:47

an entire lifetime of exposure.

4:50

The EPA's recommendation is a bit higher.

4:53

Either way, however, a daily serving

4:55

of most rice products would not exceed

4:58

those limits.

4:59

So I don't think you need to eliminate brown

5:01

rice from your diet, but I do

5:03

have a few tips that will help you minimize

5:06

your risk and hopefully your worry

5:08

about excessive arsenic exposure. Number

5:11

one, rinsing rice thoroughly before

5:13

you cook it can reduce arsenic levels

5:16

by up to a third. I like to put the rice

5:18

in a large bowl, fill it up with water, and swish

5:20

it around vigorously, and the water usually gets

5:23

cloudy. This is mostly starch

5:25

that's being released from the grain into the water,

5:28

but that can also improve the texture of the cooked

5:30

rice.

5:31

After agitating it for 30 to 60 seconds,

5:34

drain the rice in a sieve and rinse it with

5:37

more clear running water.

5:39

Tip number two, cooking

5:41

rice more like pasta

5:43

can reduce levels by another third,

5:46

assuming, of course, that the water you're using to

5:49

cook it in isn't high in arsenic. So

5:51

instead of adding just enough water that

5:54

all of it is absorbed during the cooking process,

5:57

the way most of us were taught to make rice,

6:00

You can boil the rice in a larger pot

6:02

of water until it's tender and then drain

6:04

it the way you would with pasta. Tip

6:07

number three, the biggest concerns

6:09

about arsenic in rice

6:11

apply to cultures that eat rice

6:13

with every meal. So

6:16

if rice is a really big part of your diet,

6:18

you might want to consider mixing it up a bit.

6:21

Arsenic tends to concentrate in the outer hull

6:23

or the bran of the grain, which

6:25

is polished away to make white rice. For

6:28

that reason, white rice has

6:30

significantly less arsenic than brown rice.

6:32

But if you want to stick with whole grains, consider

6:36

just rotating in some alternatives,

6:38

such as amaranth, teff,

6:41

farro, or quinoa.

6:44

Likewise, if you avoid dairy products,

6:47

try not to rely exclusively on

6:50

rice alternatives for those. Try hemp,

6:52

almond, soy, oat, or

6:55

coconut milk. Tip

6:57

number four is to watch out for brown

6:59

rice syrup. It takes

7:02

a lot of brown rice to make

7:04

just a little bit of brown rice syrup.

7:06

And as a result, while the amount of arsenic

7:08

in a serving of brown rice isn't a big deal,

7:11

the amount in a tablespoon of brown rice

7:13

syrup may be enough to cause

7:16

concern. Ironically, brown

7:18

rice is used in a lot of processed

7:20

products that are aimed at the health-conscious

7:22

consumer. Everything from non-dairy

7:25

milk, yogurt, and cheese,

7:26

to wheat-free bread,

7:29

pasta, and cereal, to

7:31

energy bars and drinks.

7:33

So if you eat a lot of those, just

7:35

take a look at the ingredient list. Just

7:37

to make sure that you're not eating 12 different

7:39

things a day that all have rice

7:42

as the main ingredient. And in particular,

7:45

keep an eye on how much brown rice

7:47

syrup

7:48

you're consuming. And

7:50

tip number five, I think the place

7:52

that we need to exercise the most caution

7:55

is with what we're feeding our kids. Children

7:58

tend to be more sensitive.

7:59

to chemical exposure because they're

8:02

still developing and also because they have

8:04

much smaller bodies.

8:06

And in addition, they often have less varied

8:08

diets than adults.

8:10

So any given food may represent

8:12

a fairly large proportion of their diet.

8:15

Perhaps the most alarming recent finding

8:18

was high levels of arsenic in baby

8:20

formulas sweetened with organic

8:23

brown rice syrup. And babies

8:25

usually consume formula as their primary

8:28

or only food. So

8:30

in 2020, the FDA issued a guidance

8:32

stating that the level of arsenic in infant

8:35

rice cereal should not exceed 100 parts

8:38

per billion in order to protect

8:40

this vulnerable population. And

8:43

according to FDA testing, the majority

8:45

of infant rice cereal currently

8:48

on the market either meets or

8:50

is close to those limits. Obviously,

8:53

this is a story that's still unfolding.

8:55

And for those who want to learn more and stay up

8:58

to date as more information comes

9:00

to light, there are great resources

9:02

available through Dartmouth University. And I'll

9:04

include a link to those in the show notes.

9:09

I have a great idea for dinner tonight.

9:11

How about a chicken cheddar

9:13

broccoli rice bowl, which you could

9:15

whip up in just 30 minutes with

9:18

the help of a Knorr cheddar broccoli rice side.

9:20

Who needs fast food when Knorr has these

9:23

delicious and nutritious recipes that

9:25

you can make at home in under 30 minutes.

9:28

Make your own taste combo. Show

9:30

us how you create delicious, nutritious

9:33

meals at home with Knorr using

9:35

hashtag Knorr versus combo

9:38

on social. Visit KnorrTasteCombos.com

9:42

to find other easy to make at home recipes

9:44

from Knorr.

9:47

I can't keep this in anymore. I can't even

9:49

believe I'm saying this to be honest. You know,

9:52

you can tell me anything. I'm capital

9:54

VFD for two capital Z lowercase M

9:56

underscore lowercase P capital L reverse slash apostrophe

9:59

lowercase rs.

9:59

I know how you feel. Just between

10:02

us, I am underscore comma

10:04

dash underscore dollar sign capital G lowercase

10:06

W comma forward slash dash dash reverse slash

10:09

No way. I am so glad we had

10:11

this conversation. I know me too.

10:13

Turn on total privacy with end to end encryption.

10:16

WhatsApp message privately.

10:19

So much for the toxicity concerns

10:21

relating to brown rice. But now let's get a reality

10:24

check on the nutritional attributes.

10:26

Whole

10:28

grains like brown rice are

10:30

generally higher in fiber and

10:33

certain other nutrients than their refined counterparts.

10:36

But the nutritional differences between brown

10:39

rice and white rice are

10:41

not as dramatic as many people

10:43

think. Both have about

10:45

the same number of calories around 200 calories

10:49

for one cup of cooked rice. Both

10:52

Brown and white rice are decent

10:54

sources of thiamin and niacin.

10:57

White rice is often enriched with iron

10:59

and folate, although brown rice rarely

11:02

is.

11:02

Brown rice, on the other hand, has more

11:05

magnesium and selenium. Perhaps

11:07

the biggest difference is that brown rice has more

11:09

fiber with four grams per cup

11:12

versus just one gram for white rice.

11:14

That said,

11:16

neither white nor brown rice is

11:19

a super nutrient dense food and

11:21

nutrient density refers to how much nutritional

11:24

value is provided per calorie.

11:27

And although the added fiber means that the starches

11:29

in brown rice are more slowly converted to blood sugar,

11:32

both white and brown rice have a

11:34

moderate glycemic impact in

11:37

terms of the effect on your blood sugar. The

11:39

portion size plays a far

11:41

bigger role than whether you choose white

11:43

or brown rice. But here's another

11:46

comparison that might surprise you. A medium

11:48

baked potato with the skin has

11:51

just as much fiber, more vitamin

11:53

C, B6, folate, and

11:56

iron

11:57

as a cup of brown rice. It also has fewer calories

11:59

and calories.

11:59

carbohydrates, and to significantly

12:02

lower glycemic impact.

12:04

Make it a sweet potato, and now you're

12:06

really talking superfood, loaded

12:08

with vitamin A and C, plus fiber,

12:10

minerals, and just half the calories

12:12

and carbohydrates of brown rice.

12:15

I'm not saying you should stop eating

12:17

rice. It's awfully hard to make a sushi roll

12:19

with a baked potato. But

12:21

with starchy foods like pasta,

12:24

potatoes, and grains,

12:26

even whole grains,

12:28

it's important to watch those portion sizes and

12:31

leave plenty of room on the plate for other

12:33

nutritious foods like colorful vegetables.

12:36

And one final concern from

12:38

a listener who writes,

12:40

for years I've diligently chosen

12:43

brown rice over white, believing it

12:45

to be better because of its high

12:47

fiber and nutrient content. But

12:49

lately, I've been hearing a lot about the

12:51

anti-nutrient qualities of brown rice, something

12:53

about the phytic acid in it interfering

12:56

with nutrient uptake. What's your take?

13:00

It is true that brown rice contains phytic

13:02

acid, which can interfere with the

13:04

absorption of certain minerals. As I talked about

13:06

in my episode on phytic acid in grains,

13:09

this is really unlikely to lead to

13:11

nutrient deficiencies unless you're eating

13:14

very large amounts of brown rice at

13:16

every meal.

13:17

And given the concerns with arsenic, that's probably

13:20

not a great idea anyway.

13:22

Furthermore, and probably more

13:24

importantly, cooking deactivates

13:27

much of the phytic acid. So my

13:29

take is that this really is

13:32

not something that you need to worry about. This

13:34

is Monica Rheinagel, the Nutrition Diva. If

13:37

you have a nutrition question you'd like me to answer, you

13:39

can email me at nutrition at quickanddirtytips.com.

13:42

You can also leave me a voicemail at 443-961-6206. And

13:49

if your question is more on the subject of

13:51

habits and behavior change, please check

13:53

out my other podcast, The Change

13:55

Academy, where we talk about how to convert

13:58

our good intentions into sustainable. sustainable, healthy

14:01

habits. You'll find that wherever you

14:03

listen. Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty

14:05

Tips podcast supported by a fantastic

14:07

team, which includes our director of podcasts,

14:10

Adam Cecil,

14:11

audio engineer, Nathan Semes, Davina

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Tomlin, who runs our marketing and publicity,

14:16

Holly Hutchings, who is our digital operations

14:18

specialist, and Morgan Christensen, our

14:21

podcast operations and advertising

14:23

specialist. Thanks so much for listening.

14:32

I can't keep this in anymore. I can't even

14:34

believe I'm saying this, to be honest. You know

14:37

you can tell me anything. I'm capital

14:39

VFD42 capital Z lowercase m

14:41

underscore lowercase P capital L reverse slash apostrophe

14:44

lowercase r s. I know how you feel

14:46

just between us. I am underscore

14:49

comma dash underscore dollar sign capital G lowercase

14:51

w comma forward slash dash dash reverse slash.

14:54

No way. I am so glad we

14:56

had this conversation. I know me to

14:58

turn

14:58

on total privacy with end to end encryption

15:01

WhatsApp

15:01

message privately.