At last there is some acknowledgement of an issue that I have been ranting about for a long time!
Today I read an article in Nature World News that finally points to the fact that coeliacs are at risk of eating too much arsenic because of the amount of rice-based products they eat.
Research carried out in Spain entitled Arsenic Speciation in Rice-Based Food For Adults with Celiac Disease, looks at the occurrence of arsenic in gluten-free foods, intended for coeliac adult consumers.
The total arsenic and inorganic arsenic of the rice in these products meant that a health-risk to these consumers could not be excluded.
As was pointed out in the article in Nature World News, if you do not have to eat gluten-free food, don’t!
I have been worried about this for quite a while after it was advised that under 5’s should not be given rice milk as a milk substitute due to high levels of arsenic vs their body weight.
It seemed to stand to reason, therefore, that coeliacs, and coeliac children in particular (due to their small size) were also at risk of consuming too much rice since rice flour is pretty much the basis of all processed gluten-free products (bread, cakes, pasta…you name it, rice is generally in it).
I wrote about this here.
When I discussed this with my dietician she informed me that I had nothing to worry about and that there was no evidence to suggest that this was an issue…studies had only been done on rice milk!
Well, I have taken matters into my own hands and we have as little rice as possible in this house.
Obviously when I bake, the flour I use does contain rice, but I try to use some oats or ground almonds or something else as well to reduce the percentage of rice in home-baked products.
Update, July 2016 I have created and launched my own wholegrain gluten free and rice free flour blend. You can find details and how to buy it here.
The same goes for pasta, we now have buckwheat pasta and I am careful to avoid rice in its basic form since Roo gets it in almost all her meals.
I no longer get rice crispies for breakfast, preferring porridge, other flakes or my pancakes where possible.
But rice is impossible to avoid if you are a coeliac and it does worry me that more research is not being carried out.
I believe this new research is just scratching the surface.
I am sure that in future years we will discover that coeliac children are at high risk of arsenic poisoning.
Just another thing for us parents of coeliacs to worry about.
What do you think about this research?
Michelle Murray says
Thanks so much for this. Brother in law is coeliac so will pass this on x
The Free From Fairy says
Great…well, not great but glad you can let him know!
Nell@PigeonPairandMe says
I’ll definitely pass this on to my friend whose daughter’s coeliac. I wonder how the dangers of rice hold in countries where rice is a staple eg some Asian countries? Perhaps they treat the rice differently.
The Free From Fairy says
Hi Nell, thanks for your comment. I don’t think information is kept in those countries…people die but I doubt it is ever put down to arsenic…it can cause all manner of ills.
Sonia says
Hmmm well that is very interesting and quite disturbing. I had not heard of this before at all so really nned to go and read up about it now x
The Free From Fairy says
It is! When I read about arsenic in rice milk it made sense to me that it would be in all rice products so we started to cut down then. It is impossible to cut it all together though…it really is in everything a coeliac eats pretty much (apart from fruit and veg of course!!).
suzanne3childrenandit says
It worries me that this kind of research comes out AFTER people have already been eating so many rice-based products already. It’s very interesting research and you are right to be wary of anything which might be harmful. Thank you for sharing.
The Free From Fairy says
It is worrying, but then we eat all kinds of things we aren’t aware of! I guess we have to take it with a pinch of salt, but I wanted people who rely on gluten-free products to be aware since there are plenty of other gluten-free grains besides rice!
The Free From Fairy says
Research is always coming out about stuff we eat isn’t it?! I just think if you can cut down on rice-based products then why not, rather than risk the consequences that are not properly understood!
susan @happyhealthymumma says
Hi, well that’s food for thought! I was told by my son’s dietician that arsenic was only in the rice milk because it was needed in the process to make the ‘milk’ but it’s not in the rice itself. Maybe she just told me that to calm me down though haha. Also, my husband’s family are Thai/Chinese and their whole countries eat so much rice….including rice flour….and they have no problems or health concerns with arsenic. Even children consume loads of rice products over there. ..hmmm that’s something to ask my in-laws!! #tastytuesdays
The Free From Fairy says
Hi Susan, not enought is known about arsenic really, but it is known that it is in the groundwater and therefore absorbed by the rice as it grows in paddy’s. Therefore all rice has it in…but to varying degrees depending on where it is from. Lots of people point to the fact that people in the far east eat rice as a staple…but then when they do get illnesses there is no analysis done as to the cause. Since arsenic is thought to cause all manner of ills I don’t think it is acknowledged that some illnesses are caused by it…particularly in the developing world.
Herman @ Mighty Rice says
Hi, just wanted to let you know that there is rice out there with untraceable arsenic levels.
Our rice was just tested for Arsenic by Dartmouth in the US and the result was below the limit of detection (<2 ppb).
There are a few reasons why the arsenic level of our rice is undetectable. We are the sole rice grower in Mauritius and commenced farming in 2009 on land that has never grown rice in the past. It is believed many chemicals used in farms in the past contained arsenic which ended up in the ground water – this is especially the case with rice grown on the east coast of the US as they are grown on land that used to grow cotton.
We grow on dry land and are dependant on rainfall for irrigation. Flood irrigation, which is used for most of the world's rice increases the uptake of any arsenic in the soil.
Our rice variety is Non-GMO Project Verified and we cross pollinated different lines originally to find the lowest possible glycemic index. We achieved this however, without planning for it, some of our parental lines come from the village of Sylhet in Bangladesh. This area has been shown to contain rice varieties that naturally resist arsenic uptake.
We don't use chicken manure for fertiliser as unfortunately the poultry industry still uses a lot of arsenic to promote growth and to contain intestinal parasites. This is passed in faecal matter.
Vicki Montague says
Thanks for informing us of your rice. Is it available to buy in the UK? It doesn’t really help in terms of cutting rice out of a gluten-free diet though since most rice consumed is in products made from rice!
Herman @ Mighty Rice says
Hi Vicki, we are working to get it into the UK now. We’ve been exporting to the US as the issue of elevated levels of arsenic in rice has been in the spotlight there since 2012. We reasoned if we were the only rice brand running around the UK telling everyone we had no arsenic, everyone would assume we were the only rice with arsenic.
I agree with you entirely that most of the rice consumed in a gluten free diet is through products with rice as an ingredient. We are actively contacting gluten free food manufacturers to gauge interest in using our rice in their product – ingredient branding so to speak. A consumer should be able to know the origin of the rice used in the manufacturing process.
Vicki Montague says
That is great news! Please contact Doves Farm since they produce great flour blends but I have no idea where the rice comes from and therefore if it is safe or not. It is on my list of things…to contact them and ask. So I will pass your details on!
Vikki Cook says
This is something that never even occurred to me before – and I’m generally rather a hypochondriac! But it does make a lot of sense really. Most gluten free flour is made up of at least some rice flour. If you eat a lot of rice anyway – veg and rice, stir fried rice, rice crispies, etc, and in view of the fact that arsenic builds up in the body, it’s a frightening thought. Oh well, I needed a little extra incentive to cut down on the carbs! Just hope they do more thorough research on it.
The Free From Fairy says
Hi Vikki. Thanks for your comment. I am glad I haven’t totally scared you. That wasn’t my intention…I just wanted to raise awareness of an issue that I think coeliacs should be aware of! It is easy to cut down on rice consumption if you are aware, but if you are not aware then you could end up with other problems I guess! Anyway, as you say, hopefully more research will be done…and the government will set some safe limits. There is no need for everything to be so rice based in gluten-free food. There are plenty of other gluten-free grains!
KateT says
My initial question would be what are the dangers of exposure to low-dose arsenic? The 1st article I click on ( https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/122-a130/) makes worrying connections with diabetes and cancer. My diet is based a lot on processed GF foods so I guess I have no idea how much rice I am consuming. The children eat rice flour products, rice cakes, rice crispies, help! I guess the ‘all things in moderation’ guidelines should apply here as there is little else we can do?
Kate
The Free From Fairy says
Hi Kate, I don’t mean to alarm you or anyone else by writing about this but I do think that it is something that we should all be aware of. We are all exposed to arsenic to a certain degree since it is in the soil and in drinking water. However, my concern is about those who diets are very rice-rich due to avoiding gluten. It is certainly all things in moderation…I am not suggesting you cut out rice all together, but to perhaps be more aware and to make different choices about what you eat. As I said in the post, we now rarely eat rice as rice. I use quinoa, potatoes or corn-based (polenta) things instead. We also rarely have rice crispies and now have buckwheat pasta rather than rice pasta. My daughter rarely has rice-cakes now. You cannot cut it out of your diet but just be more conscious of what you eat…
E Long says
Hi,
I have just picked up this thread as my five year old was diagnosed as Coeliac a year ago. A lot of her produce contains rice and I too am worried. I have applied the same rules as yourself, I no longer give her rice as a carb as its in so many of her meals anyway and I try to choose biscuits etc made from tapioca etc. I also find she likes Barkat pasta which is made of corn flour. Im feeling a little overwhelmed by it at the moment. I just want to make the right choices for her.
Vicki Montague says
Hi there. It is very overwhelming isn’t it? But you are doing a fabulous job and the fact that you know about the arsenic issue is great…most people don’t. If you are interested, I have developed a rice-free wholesome (70% wholegrain) flour blend that I use in all my baking now so that when Roo gets the little bit of rice in bought products I don’t have to worry. You can find out more on my ‘flour’ page by looking along the menu below my logo. Let me know if I can help with anything…
Eve Long says
Thank you so much. I’ll buy some now. I ran into the problem that even making our own cakes the Doves flour is a rice blend. I think it’s because rice is a really cheap bulking agent?
Her pasta is corn based and I try to choose options that don’t contain rice just so that as you say it doesn’t matter so much about the things she likes that do have it.
It would be so easy for every single meal to contain rice flour?
Vicki Montague says
Hi Eve, it is so nice to ‘meet’ someone like me! Roo was having rice at every meal before I realised…it is so easy to do! When you buy the flour you will get two recipes sent with it. However you can use it instead of Doves flour in everything I have tried. It doesn’t contain raising agent or xanthan gum so you can choose to add them depending on your requirements. I tend to use psyllium husk powder rather than xanthan these days because it is good for the tummy and does a great job of binding gluten free bakes. There is a recipe for baguettes on my site that uses my flour which is our all time fav! I also have a pastry ebook you can download at the moment for 99p (see ebook tab) and am working on a bread one…as well as a self raising flour! Both I hope to have available in the autumn.
Eve Long says
Thank you so much for your reply. I look forward to your other flours as well.
When was your daughter diagnosed? Can you believe my other daughter has a nut allergy and my son a milk protein allergy! How is that even possible all under one roof?!
I keep hoping it was some kind of mistake with Genevieve and being Coeliac. Then she will very accidentally have some gluten, she ate the wrong cupcake at a party some weeks ago and was doubled over in pain before we even worked out she had eaten the wrong one! So I guess I should accept it completely!
X
Vicki Montague says
Eve, it is tough to accept but once you do you’ll find you can do dairy and nut free too and everyone will be well :). My daughter had a CMPA and egg allergy before being diagnosed coeliac just before her third birthday. Have a look through my recipes…I’m sure you will find lots that you can cook for everyone to enjoy. Take care!