This week I finally did some research into arsenic in rice.
Sometimes I wonder if I can ever do anything right.
If it isn’t the children chastising me for something, then it is my mean internal voice.
Or another article I read that tells me I shouldn’t be feeding my children something, or taking my children somewhere…or perhaps even bothering to breathe.
Most of the time I let all of this wash over me like a giant tidal wave.
I dive under my metaphorical fluffy duvet and only coming out again when the coast is clear.
Today, however my duvet isn’t working.
I have known for a while about there being arsenic in rice but have somehow managed to shrug it off and not turn to google to find out more.
I am not sure what was different about yesterday but I decided to type those dreaded words into the search box.
What I discovered about arsenic in rice…
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is found in the environment (water, soil etc).
The amount of arsenic in rice varies from one part of the world to the next.
Rice absorbs more arsenic from the environment than any other crop, depending on how it is grown and where.
The arsenic found in rice is the more toxic form, called inorganic arsenic.
Organic rice still contains arsenic because the arsenic is present in the soil and water that rice grows in.
Arsenic has the potential to increase the risk of illnesses in humans, including cancer.
If you are following a gluten free diet you are likely to be eating a lot of rice.
Not just as rice but in the form of rice flour which is in most processed baked goods.
Where was I going wrong?
In my misguided belief that I was doing the best for my kids, I have been feeding them brown rather than white rice.
I discovered that there is twice as much arsenic in brown rice.
Not only have I been doing that a couple of times a week but I have been baking goods with flour made almost entirely out of rice (often brown again).
I’ve been feeding my daughter rice cakes for lunch (brown rice again so doubly bad).
Giving them rice crispies or some other rice-based cereal (most are when you are gluten-free).
And of course, feeding them brown rice pasta (again in my misguided belief that brown rice pasta must be better so that my little coeliac gets her fibre intake – tricky for coeliacs).
All in all I have been well and truly poisoning them.
I spend the majority of my time thinking about food or making it.
Developing exciting new things for my children to try.
Considering how I can make it more healthy and full of important nutrients.
Concocting something from scratch to mimic a gluten and dairy-containing favourite.
I avoid giving my kids processed foods and things with too many preservatives or strange ingredients.
But to what end?
Providing my daughter with a gluten-free diet for her coeliac disease may avoid her from getting certain types of cancer and osteoporosis in the long term but what I am exposing her to instead?
Cancer, developmental problems, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes is what the WHO says long term exposure to arsenic can cause.
Which ever way you look at it we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
How can you reduce your exposure to arsenic on a gluten free diet?
I’ve written an article about how to deal with this issue on a gluten free diet for Metro. You can read that here.
I’ve also written and article on my website that you can read here. In it I outline how to eat a healthier gluten free diet.
Finally if you’d like to reduce your intake of rice then I’ve developed my own unique rice free wholegrain gluten free flour blend.
It is made from a blend of teff, buckwheat, sorghum, potato and tapioca flours and works in all cooking and baking.
You can buy it from my gluten free flour shop.
Some links for further reading about arsenic in rice:
The University of Manchester – Health risks from arsenic in rice exposed
Food Standards Agency – Arsenic in Rice
European Food Safety Authority – Scientific Opinion on Arsenic in Food
BBC – Should I Worry About Arsenic in My Rice?
The Week – Dangerous Levels of Arsenic Found In Baby Rice Products
freefromfairy says
Thank you so much for all of your help! I really really appreciate it. My daughter cannot tolerate gluten-free oats but I will see how she gets on with quinoa porridge! It is time I put in a huge order for some alternative flours and make my own mixes without rice…just more expense that I was hoping to put off but obviously cannot do any longer!
Margie says
Wondering about making vegan, GF muffins for breakfast, or to take in their lunch, as a healthy alternative.
I know quinoa flour is very expensive (I’m surprised that no stores sell it where you live), but a bag of quinoa seeds does go quite far in a stir fry, for example, with celery, garlic, black beans etc, or can be eaten as a kind of porridge with raisins, walnuts (do you have access to gluten free oatmeal?), dried cranberries etc.
However, I realize small children may not like any of what I just suggested…have you heard of the website ohsheglows? She has wonderful gluten free, vegan recipes for every occasion and meal. I’m sure you’ll be able to find some ideas from her recipes under the gluten-free tab.
Here’s one of her pancake recipes that I copied and pasted from her website. Good luck.
I agree health professionals know very little about GF nutrition (about all nutrition actually!)
Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, oil-free, soy-free, sugar-free
This
dense and filling savoury chickpea pancake is packed with protein and
fibre. Feel free to change up the mix-ins and toppings based on what you
have in your fridge. To prevent it from sticking to the skillet, be
sure to spray the skillet liberally with olive oil before pouring on the
batter. Also, I suggest chopping the veggies finely so they cook
faster.
Yield
1 large or 2 smaller
Prep Time
10 Minutes
Cook time
10 Minutes
Ingredients:
1 green onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo flour or besan)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water
For serving: salsa, avocado, hummus, cashew cream (optional)
Directions:
Prepare the vegetables and set aside. Preheat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
In a small bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, baking powder, and optional red pepper flakes.
Add the water and whisk well until no clumps remain. I like to whisk
it for a good 15 seconds to create lots of air bubbles in the batter.
Stir in the chopped vegetables.
When the skillet is pre-heated (a drop of water should sizzle on the
pan), spray it liberally with olive oil or other non stick cooking
spray.
Pour on all of the batter (if making 1 large pancake) and quickly
spread it out all over the pan. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side
(timing will depend on how hot your pan is), until you can easily slide a
pancake flipper/spatula under the pancake and it’s firm enough not to
break when flipping. Flip pancake carefully and cook for another 5
minutes, until lightly golden. Be sure to cook for enough time as this
pancake takes much longer to cook compared to regular pancakes.
Serve on a large plate and top with your desired toppings. Leftovers
can be wrapped up and placed in the fridge. Reheat on a skillet until
warmed throughout.
freefromfairy says
Thanks for your reply. Even if I restrict our rice intake as rice to once a week there are all the other things made from it. Quinoa flour is not cheap and has to be bought online. As far as I know it is not available or prescription? Then there is the breakfast issue. I limit my kids to 1 bowl of cereal and make pancakes, but most cereals contain rice. I will start ordering buckwheat pasta on prescription now…and try to reduce her consumption of rice cakes, although that is what she loves for lunch…and the alternatives such as bread ( probably made from rice flour) or corncakes are high in salt!! I really dont know what I should be doing…and there is certainly no support from healthcare professionals!