Anonymous wrote:If that were true there would be a huge spike in cancer among Asians. Not at all true.

From what I understand, rice grown in the US is far more arsenic tainted than rice grown in Asia. And yes, brown rice has higher levels. From the Consumer Reports study:



Our study was a snapshot of the market, with many products purchased in the New York metropolitan area and online, to gauge the extent of arsenic’s presence in everyday foods. It can’t be used for overall conclusions about specific brands. Still, we found important trends:


•White rice grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas, which account for 76 percent of domestic rice, generally had higher levels of total arsenic and inorganic arsenic in our tests than rice samples from elsewhere.
•Within any single brand of rice we tested, the average total and inorganic arsenic levels were always higher for brown rice than for white.
•[b]People who ate rice had arsenic levels that were 44 percent greater than those who had not, according to our analysis of federal health data. And certain ethnic groups were more highly affected, including Mexicans, other Hispanics, and a broad category that includes Asians.

For more info on this study:
http://consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm

I eat it probably 5-6x/week. Yum!

I eat brown rice.

Pretty much only when I have sushi, so once/month or so.

I am not a big rice eater, but eat brown at home b/c it's healthier. I rinse and then cook it similar to pasta which hopefully reduces the arsenic found in it.

I vastly prefer white rice though.

Brown rice has a higher amount of arsenic than does white rice.

If that were true there would be a huge spike in cancer among Asians. Not at all true.

We eat it 3-4 times a week. dont rinse but my mother and grandmother always did. she died of cancer. we ate a lot of rice.

Nope. Not because of a supposed link to cancer or arsenic, but because its not particularly good for you. We eat brown.

Jasmine rice?

I eat Basmati rice generally.

White rice has less arsenic than brown rice. Definitely rinse and soak! I have never heard about a cancer connection. Where is that coming from?

We have it 3-4 times a week. DH cooks, does not rinse.

Yes, at least once a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:thought it was arsenic. Haven't heard anything about cancer. Yes - I still eat it but I soak it for 20 minutes or so before cooking.

Does that help?

not the PP poster, but yes. It's supposed to "wash off" a significant amount of the arsenic. I'm Asian, and we wash the rice thoroughly before soaking. We soak and drain the water before adding more water to cook it in the rice cooker.

OK, so I rinse the rice until the water runs sort of clear. Then I'm supposed to soak it and drain that water? I didn't know that. How long should it soak after rinsing, and what is the rice to water ratio for cooking after all that soaking? I assume it soaks up some of the water....

All the time. It is the only thing that goes with curries.