Arsenic and Brown Rice?

"Scooter" my nutty kitty

There have been stories in the news about brown rice and brown rice products containing arsenic.

First, some doctors say brown rice has "gluten", albeit a different type...and you may heal faster without any gluten types at all. I try to limit brown rice and other grains in my diet these days...

Second when I went to macrobiotics cooking classes and learned about macrobiotic cooking, we were taught to THOROUGHLY rinse the rice before soaking/sprouting (just like you would soak beans overnight, you should also soak your grains) and then cooking. Many macrobiotic teachers would have elaboate rice washing techniques. Stir a certain direction, use your hand to stir/rinse the rice, and always rinse til the water runs clear....sounds like someone already knew about the arsenic and  any other contaminants as well.

Watch for processed food products that contain brown rice because you don't know if the companies rinse their rice before using, or if in cases like brown rice syrup if there was arsenic in the rice it would be naturally concentrated in the product as the syrup is cooked down.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-rinse-and-cook-brown-rice-236301/ Rinsing rice

http://www.livestrong.com/article/324467-how-to-germinate-rice-for-increased-nutrition/ Sprouting rice

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/44007 Arsenic and brown rice