Arsenic In Your Food

I am not an alarmist, but I do try to stick to healthy choices and when I read about foods that are potentially dangerous, I pay attention. We are a society that sensationalizes, so I am going to consider all of the facts before I make changes, but one thing I would do, if I had an infant, I would pay attention to this.

Consumer Reports published an article that found alarming levels of arsenic in rice, all rice. 

I think we, as adults can make choices, but our little ones cannot. I recall when my son was young, and like most kids, came home one day with head lice. I checked out the shampoo and found it to be a pesticide! I refused to put a deadly chemical on my child, so spent hours looking for an effective and natural product, which I found but I had to drive an hour over the mountains to get it.

It worked, he was treated and I felt great about my decision. A few days later, guess who had lice in her waist long hair? ME!!! I immediately got that pesticide and dosed myself LOL!!!

But that is different. I was an adult, my brain was (hopefully) fully developed, his was not yet. I have the same feelings about piercing a child, what right do I have to mutilate their body?

I eat brown rice, and I used to eat quite a bit of it. I now eat it maybe once a week, I tend to eat Hannah yams the most, and who knows, I may go back to rice when I feel like it, but this article about arsenic in rice, from Consumer Reports is making me think twice about it.

Read the article here.

Brown rice was found to have higher levels of arsenic than white, presumably due to the fact that white rice is "polished" or processed, so the outer hull is removed, and then so is some of the arsenic. So all the "fit" and healthy folks who are eating brown rice are actually poisoning themselves more than the lazy folks eating Uncle Ben's! 

So what happens when you have arsenic poising? Let's see what Wikipedia says! 

Seems all horrible illnesses start with diarrhea! 

I am not saying you should stop eating rice, only that if you have an infant, do rethink your choices, and then take a look at what you are eating, maybe make a few adjustments.

It's a good time to look at eating organic foods too, especially the top "dirty dozen" which has actually been expanded to include a "plus" category.

This list names the fruits and vegetables ranking highest in pesticide residue.

Cucumbers were added to the 2012 Dirty Dozen, while Kale and collard greens were moved from the list to join green beans in a new “Plus” category.

The category was created this year to highlight crops that did not meet traditional Dirty Dozen criteria but are still commonly contaminated with organophosphate insecticides, which are toxic to the nervous system.

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries
6. Imported nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce
10. Cucumbers
11. Domestic blueberries
12. Potatoes

And on the “Dirty Dozen Plus” list:
+ Green beans
+ Kale/collard greens

The fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticide residue make up a list of the “Clean 15″:

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Cabbage
6. Sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Mangoes
9. Eggplant
10. Kiwi
11. Domestic cantaloupe
12. Sweet potatoes
13. Grapefruit
14. Watermelon
15. Mushrooms