Increased toxic substance in rice that can cause cancer

Increased toxic substance in rice that can cause cancer

Rice is the staple food of billions of people around the world, and some people consume it even more than wheat and corn, but a new study has revealed that due to climate change, the amount of dangerous toxic substance arsenic in rice may increase.

If you are a fan of biryani or pulao and eat rice at least two or three times a week, then this article is for you.

Scientists have revealed a new study regarding rice: As carbon emissions and global temperatures continue to rise, so too may the amount of toxic substance arsenic in rice.

The presence of arsenic in rice has long been a problem and is found in almost all types of rice.

Although the amount of arsenic in rice grains can be much lower or even many times higher than the limits set by regulatory agencies, even very small amounts of arsenic in a food or drinking water can cause cancer and other diseases, including diabetes.

Researchers around the world are working on ways to reduce the amount of arsenic in rice, but there are also many ways to cook rice, from which this harmful substance can be removed.

But a new study has revealed that this problem may be even bigger due to climate change.

The researchers grew 28 different varieties of rice in four different locations in China over a period of 10 years. They found that the amount of arsenic in rice also increased with increasing carbon dioxide and temperature in the atmosphere.

The researchers estimated that such an increase in arsenic levels in rice could increase cancer cases by about 20 million in China alone.

Although the researchers focused their experiments on sites in China, they say that such effects are likely to be seen in rice grown in Europe and the United States, as inorganic arsenic is common in rice grown around the world.

This also means that arsenic is present in groundwater in many regions. For example, 2.1 million people in the United States are drinking water with dangerous levels of arsenic, while about 140 million people worldwide drink water with arsenic levels higher than WHO recommended guidelines.

And besides drinking water, rice is the main source of arsenic worldwide.

What worries health experts is that the more research is done on arsenic, the more its harmful effects on humans will become apparent.

“A new review by the US Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has shown that arsenic is much more potent as a carcinogen than we previously believed,” says Kevin Nechman, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

There is now evidence that arsenic not only increases the risk of skin cancer but also lung and bladder cancer. In addition to cancer, inorganic arsenic also increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

High arsenic intake by pregnant women also increases the risk of fetal or infant death, and may also increase the risk that the baby will have a low birth weight.

The risks are different for each person. For example, an EPA review found that daily exposure to 0.13 micrograms of arsenic per kilogram of human body weight, or 7.8 micrograms of arsenic per day for a 60-kg person, increases the risk of bladder cancer by about three percent and the risk of diabetes by about one percent.

So, besides reducing carbon emissions and rising temperatures, what else can we do to avoid the dangers of arsenic?

"We can't just stop eating rice," says Professor Nechman. "It's not possible." "Furthermore, rice is a very important food for people living in poverty, because some of them get all their calories from rice, but we need to do something different to address this problem."

Researchers are also experimenting with the level of water needed to grow rice and how it is used.

For example, instead of constantly watering a rice field, a portion of the water is used, then the water is drained and re-irrigated. This method apparently reduces arsenic levels, but it increases cadmium, which is a much greater risk.

Cadmium has negative effects on the human body and can cause breast, lung and kidney cancer, as well as liver disease.

The researchers say there is also interest in breeding rice varieties that absorb less inorganic arsenic. Since some rice varieties accumulate less arsenic, there is also interest in cultivating them.

Another solution could be to add sulfur to the water, which can absorb electrons, such as arsenic. Another way could be to add certain types of fertilizers to the rice crop.

Another way could be to grow rice in rainwater, or in a place where the water is low in arsenic.

Rice from East Africa, which is grown with rainwater, is particularly low in arsenic, while rice from the United States, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia has higher levels of arsenic.

The US Food and Drug Administration does not currently monitor the level of arsenic in rice, but it has set a limit of 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of rice for children. In 2023, the European Union set a limit of 0.2 milligrams of arsenic per kilogram in rice, while China has proposed a similar limit.

But these recommendations do not take into account the fact that some communities eat much more rice than others.

If you want to eat rice and also want to avoid arsenic on an individual level, you can do so by changing the way you cook rice.

The UK’s Food Standards Agency recommends that rice be washed before cooking. Then, the rice should be boiled in six times the amount of water it will use when cooking, and then the water should be drained.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the UK also recently discovered a way to cook rice that can remove 50 percent of the arsenic from brown rice and 74 percent from white rice.

They recommend boiling the rice in pre-boiling water for five minutes and then draining the water. Then add fresh water to the rice and cook it on low heat until it absorbs all the water.

In addition, there are some types of rice that contain less arsenic, such as basmati rice.

Rice from the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia contains more arsenic, while rice from East Asia contains less arsenic.