“By attacking rice, we may be inadvertently missing health benefits.
For instance, U.S. data on cancer risk in Asian-Americans showed a lower cancer risk compared with other ethnic groups and Asian-Americans eat much more rice than the rest of the population. Worrying about these small levels of arsenic rather than worrying about getting a good diet is a wrong-headed strategy, because the real worry is that we’re not adequately nourished. All foods contain arsenic. So, if you eliminate arsenic from your diet, you will decrease your risk of any kind of adverse effect from arsenic, and you’ll die of starvation.” — from foodinsight.org
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Julie Jones, PhD, LN, CNS
Professor Emerita
Foods and Nutrition
St. Catherine University
There are no documented cases of rice causing adverse health effects. In fact the opposite is true, many populations that consume up to five times more rice than Americans have lower disease rates and healthy diets overall. The health benefits of rice should not be overlooked. It plays an important role in maintaining a healthy, nutritious and wholesome diet.”
It provides crucial nutrients, vitamins and minerals that help protect against disease and ensure healthy growth during pregnancy and childhood. As a mother, I feel safe feeding mysons food that includes rice or organic brown rice syrup. And as a doctor, I would recommend other parents feel comfortable feeding their children the same.”
It is found naturally in the earth’s crust, in our water, in the air we breathe and in many of the foods we consume. The level of arsenic typically found in food is largely considered tobe benign, since background levels in food have not caused reported health effects, including cancer. Further, there is overwhelming food safety, nutritional, scientific and medical evidence that supports that diets rich in fruits, vegetables and grains are tremendously beneficial to the health of consumers.”