There’s been a bit of a stir lately. OCU report. And it’s not strange. Any article in which the word “Arsenic“It will be interesting. It attracts attention in detective novels: this is how the crime begins, you have to find the source. The strange thing is to mix toxic fictional metal with pure rice, which is one of the most eaten foods by mankind.
of father He analyzed the rice we eat in the supermarket and found a large amount of arsenic, not excessively high – that is, within EU standards, but arsenic, above all. They talk about not panicking but about being careful.
He Arsenic It is a carcinogenic, liver damaging and neurotoxic heavy metal. It is considered one of the WHO Ten most toxic substances For public health, because it pollutes the water and can later be used for drinking or irrigating crops. The problem is that arsenic accumulates in the body.
Its contamination in rice is not new, as it occurs naturally and artificially through the irrigation system due to human contamination. To the extent shown in the report, O.C.U Damage to health Among the people who have a diet rich in this grain.
As arsenic tends to accumulate, it increases consumption after ingestion. The dose brings the poison. In the same OCU, they point out that rice is a Essential food And instead of avoiding that, it is important to consider this risk. Something similar to what happens with mercury from large fish like tuna or swordfish.
The problem of arsenic is not limited to rice, it is found in other grains and even in tap water. But we will talk if we base ourselves on the current EU standards to abuse our rice Eat a lot of rice cakes A week, for example, or a very large amount of brown rice. “The margin of safe consumption is high,” they say at OCU. The most restrictive reference value of the EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) is a maximum of 0.3 μg of arsenic per kilogram of body weight per day.
But to calculate the effect, body weight must be taken into account. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention Children, teenagers, and people with small voices. “A 6-month-old baby weighing 8 kg may exceed the safe limit if he consumes instant rice porridge twice a day,” says the OCU.
136 different samples of rice and rice products were analyzed. According to his information Combined rice And the pancakes of this grain will have a large amount of toxic substances. In small amounts, it is found in small-grain white rice and brown rice breakfast cereals. Varieties with less arsenic would be pre-cooked rice and bastami or long varieties. Vapor is in between. I don’t know if he found arsenic in rice drinks or in children’s potties, but he found it in porridge. You can also find it in rice noodles and breakfast cereals, although in smaller quantities than in pancakes.
As a result, Consumers Union has called for increased controls to better detect the amount of arsenic that is sneaking into our markets. Because arsenic can reach us in different ways, these safe amounts of rice It can be misleading.: The contents of rice can be stored with what is eaten in other ways.
Rice is contaminated in the soil, naturally (organic arsenic). If pollution occurs in the affected soil due to natural flooding of rivers or due to the use of fertilizers, the amount will increase. Depending on the origin, the grain may be more contaminated than other places, so it is better to eat it. Spanish rice Or grown up in the EU market, because their level of security is higher.
Everything depends on the amount of rice or arsenic we use. Most experts think that these sizes belong to the Spanish market They are not scarySince the average Spaniards do not eat this cereal in excess (as in other parts of the world, few people eat two bowls of rice a day).
However, in certain segments of the population this should be taken into account, as in Celilaxreplacing gluten-containing grains with rice; Or as we said before you drinkDue to their small body size, and after weaning, they usually have a porridge-based diet.
According to specialists, the best thing is to change rice for barley or oat derivatives in small cases, thus avoiding the risk of neurological diseases due to the presence of abnormal arsenic accumulation. For this reason, the most sensitive sectors of the population are advised not to eat Combined rice (As iron is found in the skin and the germ, it is not refined).
However, we have the paradox that brown rice is very healthy. Because it preserves its properties, fiber content better and raises blood sugar levels less than refined rice. It’s easy A method to reduce the amount of arsenic And what can we do at home? It basically involves curing the rice before cooking. In order for the water to take part of the metal, you have to water it. Wash it well and cook it in boiling water for several minutes. Then remove the liquid, strain and prepare it in the usual way. In this way we reduce the presence of arsenic in all rice.
In fact, the crux of the matter is not whether or not to eat rice, but instead. Balanced diet. By feeding ourselves as many healthy foods as possible. Not to stuff ourselves with pancakes or anything else. In this way, make sure that there is no excess and that the necessary nutrients are building your body. Then you can tolerate excess arsenic or other metals while enjoying paella.