White rice has high GI and brown rice has high Arsenic. Should we stop eating rice?

Short Answer:

Avoid white rice due to its high glycemic index, which is detrimental to health. For brown rice, there are two practical ways to reduce its arsenic content:

1. Cook rice in at least 6:1 water to rice ratio, and drain the remaining water after the rice softens.
2. Buy brown rice that was grown without flooding the farms.
3. Do both 1 and 2.

Why does rice contain Arsenic?

This is due to rice plant's biology and the environment it's grown in. Arsenic is chemically similar to phosphorus and silicon, both essential for plant's growth. Unfortunately, under certain conditions the rice plant can't distinguish between these elements. This issue isn't unique to rice, but that's where rice's biology come into play: rice has special roots which lets it thrive in flooded environment.

Flooding rice fields is a natural and cost-effective way to control weeds, as most plants, including weeds can't survive in such conditions. However, this water-logging leads to a chemical reaction: redox reaction, where insoluble arsenic in the soil converts to a soluble form, which rice plants then absorb, mistaking it for silicon.

Just like for humans, Arsenic isn't beneficial to rice plants either. To protect themselves, rice plants trap arsenic inside other compounds through a process called chelation. However, when we cook rice, these traps break down, releasing arsenic, which our bodies can absorb, mistaking it for silicon.

What can be done?

When cooking rice in the standard 2:1 water-to-rice ratio, all the water is absorbed, and the rice softens. By using a 6:1 water-to-rice ratio, not all the water is absorbed. The remaining water, containing dissolved arsenic, can be drained, leaving you with cooked rice that has lower arsenic levels.

The higher the water-to-rice ratio, the more arsenic is dissolved in the water and can be drained away, reducing the arsenic content in the cooked rice. The downside? It takes longer to cook.

Research has shown that using a 6:1 water-to-rice ratio can halve the arsenic content.

A case for better grown rice

For thousands of years, some communities have grown rice in naturally rainfed, non-flooded fields. These communities still exist and provide rice that is rich in nutrients and has lower arsenic levels. Due to the intensive labor and hand-weeding required, this rice tends to be more expensive.

Here are some brands offering good quality, low-arsenic rice: (not an exhaustive list).

• Siddha Annam I know the founders personally and have visited their farms. Highly driven people doing awesome work!
• Lundberg
• Lotus Foods

With all this information, you are equipped with all the knowledge need to safely defuse rice and enjoy a tasty meal!

Stay healthful! See you on another Good Food blog.