Are You Cooking Rice The Right Way? Find Out If You Are At Risks Of Arsenic Poisoning Here!

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Rice is perhaps, the easiest food to cook. However, scientists warned about not using enough water with it as it may put anyone at risk of having heart conditions and cancer. In order to prevent possible chemical poisoning, it is suggested to cook the rice while using excess water.

Meanwhile, contamination experts advise soaking the grains overnight as it can help decrease the level of industrial toxins by almost 80 percent. Arsenic, a chemical that is extremely toxic for humans, are usually found in the rice due to industrial contaminants and pesticides. These were usually used while it is still planted and can survive despite the rice being placed in flooded paddy fields.

According to Daily Mail Online, Queens University Belfast's rice contamination expert Professor Andy Meharg has cooked rice in three various ways to find out about its chemical levels. For the first one, he has used two parts of water and one part of rice and let the water steam through cooking. Next, he increased the ratio up to five parts and found out that the arsenic levels were cut into half. The final method includes soaking the rice overnight, causing the rice to reduce its toxic levels by about 80 percent.

Professor Meharg's experiment clearly suggests that the way rice is cooked helps in decreasing the exposure of human to toxins present in the rice, as reported by NDTV. Unknown to many, rice contains ten times more arsenic than other foods and those who consumes a lot of this are at risk of being exposed to large concentrations.

The exposure can cause severe health problems like heart disease, developmental problems, diabetes, and damage to the nervous system. It also puts one at risk of developing bladder and lung cancers. Professor Meharg has suggested before to cook the rice in coffee percolator as it stops arsenic to bind with the rice. The device lets the steaming hot water to flow through the rice, washing away any dangerous contaminants.