Rice is one of the most common foods in the world and it’s incredibly simple to cook, too. Just boil water and dump in some rice, right?
Well, after reading this, you’ll never cook rice the same way again—because it turns out, cooking rice like this is harmful to your health.
Rice provides nourishment to billions of people around the world every day. And while this staple food is generally healthy, the pesticides used in growing rice often include arsenic.
Scientists debate the levels at which arsenic is safe, longtime exposure to this toxin is known to contribute to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other health problems, writes The Telegraph.
When researcher Andy Meharg from Queens University in Belfast visited the BBC program “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” he tested three methods of cooking rice to see how they affected arsenic levels in rice.
First, Andy cooked rice using the traditional method using one part rice to three parts water.
Then, Andy used a ratio of one part rice to five parts water and poured off the excess water. This cut the amount of arsenic almost in half.
Finally, Andy soaked the rice overnight and washed it the next day. This time, the arsenic was reduced by 80 percent.
For those of us who eat rice, this is a wake-up call! I personally had no idea that there was arsenic in rice and that there was a better way to cook it. But now, I’ll follow Andy’s recipe and protect my family’s health over the long run.
How to cook rice:
- Measure out the amount of dry rice you’d like to cook.
- Soak overnight.
- Rinse the rice until the water is completely clean.
- Drain well.
- Place five parts water to one part rice in a sauce pan and add a pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low and cover.
- Cook on the lowest possible temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- Use a fork to fluff the cooked rice.
Please share this recipe with others so they can learn how to cook rice properly and protect their health.
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