Is That Arsenic In My Rice- New studies find high levels in rice products

I love rice- it's easily digested, one of the least allergenic foods that exist, and just plain yummy. I love the chewy, nutty flavor of brown rice, the aromatic taste of basmati, and there's nothing like a good, creamy rice pudding. And since some think that too much soy is not good for you, I have taken to using rice milk with my cereal. Now all that might change since we are now being told that rice has arsenic levels that, in some cases, exceeds what the FDA claims is okay for a quart of water. That's not good, since arsenic is a poison that in large quantities can kill (think that old dandy play "Arsenic and Old Lace"). It can also cause cancer, skin and nervous system problems, along with stomach troubles (including nausea, vomiting, pain, diarrhea), diabetes, anemia, high blood pressure, blood vessel damage among other things.

Oddly enough it occurs naturally in our soil, and although the FDA has standards for the amount of arsenic allowed in water, it does not set limits for food.

We are privy to this information after studies were conducted by Consumer Reports, the FDA and the state attorney for Illinois, Lisa Madigan.  All the studies found high levels in all the foods that were tested from children's rice cereal products to brown rice syrup to, yes, my rice milk.

Although some are saying we shouldn't worry yet about the amounts we eat (that's mostly the rice industry and the FDA) others are saying we need to limit the amounts we eat.  Lisa Madigan said:

“First and foremost, I want to warn parents that every rice cereal product we tested contained arsenic. These results are shocking because rice cereal is often a baby’s first solid food. “Parents and caregivers should moderate the amount of rice products they feed their children.”

And if you think buying organic will make a difference, think again.  Arsenic was found in both organic and non-organic products.

Consumer Reports has this advice about eating rice:

Test your water. If your home is not on a public water system, have your water tested for arsenic and lead.

Change the way you cook rice. Boiling rice with more water than you need and draining it afterward removes about 30% of the inorganic arsenic. Try using a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 6 cups of water.

Eat a varied diet. Some vegetables accumulate arsenic when grown in contaminated soil. To help, clean vegetables thoroughly, especially potato skins.Eat other grains. Wheat and oats have lower levels of arsenic than rice. For those who need to eat gluten-free, quinoa, millet, and amaranth may be better options.

For more information on the subject, and to find out which are the worst offenders read this Consumer Reports article. Some of the worst:

“Among all tested rice, the highest levels of inorganic arsenic per serving were found in some samples of Martin Long Grain Brown rice, followed by Della Basmati Brown, Carolina Whole Grain Brown, Jazzmen Louisiana Aromatic Brown, and Whole Foods’ 365 Everyday Value Long Grain Brown"

I actually eat cereal every other day, so I think I will also buy some soy milk and alternate using that with the rice milk.

I'm not a happy camper.

Constipation - Dealing With The Other 'C' Word Naturally

No-one likes to talk about a dysfunctional bowel especially constipation, the other 'C' word. In fact anything dealing with our internal plumbing is usually very embarrassing, after all, who wants to talk about poop. Although I have had short bouts of constipation during UC flareups, my problem has always been the opposite. Most people will have episodes of constipation during their lifetime, but I know many who have a chronic problem, and it's not fun. In fact it can be downright painful, especially if you get hemorrhoids from the straining.

SYMPTOMS:

If you have elimination problems for more than 3 months- hard stools, straining when you go, inability to completely evacuate, pain, bloating, swollen abdomen, and have less than two to three bowel movements per week, or any combination of those symptoms, you're constipated.

CAUSES:

There are many things that can cause constipation including:

-not drinking enough water
-not including enough high fiber in your diet
-vegging out in front of the TV instead of exercising
-traveling or some disruption in your routine
-aging
-too much dairy (which can also cause the runs for those who are lactose intolerant)
-certain medications (iron supplements, diuretics, pain and blood pressure meds, antacids among others)
-Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
-Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) like Ulcerative Colitis
-colon and rectum obstructions
-other disorders and diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Stroke, Lupus, Diabetes
-pregnancy
-using too many stool softeners (laxatives)
-not going when you have the urge
-depression
-eating disorders

and the list goes on.

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT:

There are many natural ways to treat constipation that attack the root problem, not just the symptom, and the main one is prevention.

A. Diet: 

Eat more fiber- whole grains, beans, lightly cooked veggies, wheat bran, ground or whole flax seeds.

But when searching for what foods to eat to prevent or help with constipation you're going to find differing opinions. Bananas, for example, can help with constipation or cause it in others. In some cases it can cause diarrhea.  Some swear by prunes, others, not so much. Oriental Medicine explains why certain foods can cause constipation for some but not for others. It all depends on what 'type' you are: 'hot' or 'cold'.  This website briefly details that, and also includes some interesting home remedies that might be helpful, including the following.

Drink 2 cups of warm water, followed by a 10-minute walk, about 20 - 30 minutes before breakfast everyday. [I drink a full glass of water first thing in the a.m. with my morning supplements, and off I go]

Maintain the same bathroom schedule everyday, 20 minutes before breakfast (even if you can't have a bowel movement, still go through the actions).

Eat an ounce of walnuts before bedtime every night.

Use a juicer to juice a large potato. Mix the potato juice with 1 teaspoon of honey and drink 20 minutes before breakfast.

Lubricate your intestines by eating walnuts, sesame seeds and/or peanuts.

He also includes instructions on an abdominal massage that seems to relieve constipation.

Stay away from high fats in your diet including dairy and meat.

Remember add those high fiber foods slowly, since it can also cause gas and bloating.  And drink plenty of water. Stay away from too much caffeine, it can dehydrate the body, and thus harden your stool.

B. Exercise: 

Make sure you get enough exercise. Walk, swim, whatever gets your body moving will help with digestion and ultimately how you move your bowels.

C. Go, When You Gotta Go:

If you have the urge to go, make sure you head to the bathroom. Isn't it better to get that icky ca ca out of your system, than letting it just sit inside your body? 

OTHER NATURAL REMEDIES:

- magnesium - a deficiency can cause constipation, on the other hand, too much can cause the runs.
- Probiotics, they're great for most digestive disorders, but start off with a lower billion count, because it can cause gas and bloating if you don't start slowly.
-herbs and herbal teas, like 'smooth move', rhubarb, senna and aloe are also beneficial. Here's a list of other helpful herbs.
-ripe kiwi fruits-  some people swear by this.


Other sources: About.com/altmed

Why We Could All Take a Hint From the Diabetic Diet

Diabetes is one of the worst health crisis facing the US and it is in direct correlation with the high levels of obesity in this country. However, you don't have to be one of the millions of people carrying around a glucose sensor to benefit from the strict diet that most diabetics follow. In fact, the diabetic diet comes with many great health benefits that can help keep you out of the hospital and it is fairly easy to follow.

Easy on the Fat

Those suffering from diabetes are at a higher risk of heart disease, a health condition which fatty foods are also likely to promote. So to avoid increasing their risk, diabetics often cut a majority of fats out of their diets. To reduce the amount of fat you consume in your own diet, limit your meats to lean cuts or fish and try to use butter substitutes instead of the real deal.

Watch Your Salt

While we all know that salt makes a great dish tastier, it also increases the likelihood of hypertension and high blood pressure, two conditions that diabetics are also prone to. To reduce the amount of salt in your own diet, simply eat fresher and keep the table salt, well, off the table. Choose to eat fresh veggies instead of canned vegetables, and if you have to buy frozen, be sure to read up on the sodium before you make the purchase as many frozen items come riddled with preservatives.

Monitor Carbs

The jury is still out on carbs for many of those trying to maintain a healthy diet. Some believe they should be avoided at all costs, while others believe that they are needed in order to get adequate fiber in their diets. A great way to look at carbs is through a diabetic's eyes. Because carbs are so quickly used for energy, a diabetic must pick and choose which ones to eat wisely – often opting for complex carbs. These carbs keep you fuller longer by keeping your sugar levels from spiking, and tend to be higher in fiber which is also vital to a healthy metabolism.

While diabetes should never be taken lightly, there is something to be learned from the diet of those who have this devastating disease. The diet promotes healthy and light eating – one in which the person utilizing it has to eat to get their body to perform at optimum levels. Perhaps if we all focused more on eating for optimum performance we wouldn't have so many folks out there struggling with their health.

Guest Post by writer and blogger Alex Summers

Which Fruits and Veggies Have The Most and Least Amount of Pesticides?

Fruits and veggies should be the mainstay of any healthy diet, but the pesticides can be a turn-off to many, and with good reason since pesticides are toxic. Obviously organic is the best way to go to ensure a pesticide-free fruit or vegetable, but it can be expensive and isn't always an option. But at least now there's a list of the fruits and vegetables that contain the most and the least amounts of pesticide, so we can make better choices.

Do you know which is the worst offender, as far as pesticides go?

According to Environmental Working Group (EWG), ironically, it's that fruit we're supposed to eat once a day to keep the doctor away- yes, the almighty 'forbidden fruit' apple has the greatest amount of pesticide residue even after washing and peeling it. So if you have the choice, you should opt for organic apples, if at all possible.

After apples comes celery (which I'm not fond of), but some of my favorite fruits and veggies made EWG's dirty dozen list:

3. strawberries
4. peaches
5. spinach
6. nectarines-imported
7. grapes-imported
8. sweet bellpeppers (meh)
9. potatoes
10. blueberries-domestic
11. lettuce (what's salad without lettuce?)
12. kale/collard greens

Peaches, strawberries and blueberries? Say it isn't so! The three fruits that top my cereal, on my cereal mornings. Am not happy about this at all.

EWG also has a list of the 15 cleanest- or the ones with the least amount of pesticides. They suggest not eliminating fruits and veggies altogether, but encourage people to choose the recommended 5 servings from the Clean 15, if you can't go organic. Thankfully there are some good ones to choose from including onions, mangoes, watermelon and sweet potatoes. 

You can find the full list of 53 fruits and veggies here.

Prevention Magazines 7 Foods To Avoid and Why

Ideally, we should all eat unrefined,  unprocessed,  organic, fresh whole foods for optimal health. But that's not always possible. The cost, with the economy the way it is in this day and age, can be prohibitive,, and sometimes it's just easier to cook with canned instead of fresh.

But there are certain food items that are more harmful than others, and it's those products that we should either avoid altogether and replace with organic and/or fresh choices, or at the least with safer alternatives.

Prevention Magazine has created a list of the 7 foods that certain people in the know are telling us to avoid using at all costs.

Take the endocrinologist at the University of Missouri,  Fredrick Vom Saal, who researches the adverse effects of  bisphenol-A (better known as BPA), the chemical that is contained in some plastic bottles and the resin lining on those cans of tomatoes or tomato sauce.  Apparently the acid in the tomatoes causes that BPA (synthetic estrogen) to leach into the food, which can then cause an assortment of unwanted health issues:

from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

The recommended alternative is fresh, or you can find tomatoes/sauce in those sealed cartons like Pomi, or you can try bottled.

Then there's the cattle farmer, Joel Salatin, from Polyface Farms who tells people to stay away from corn-fed beef and switch to grass-fed. Corn and soybeans are fed to cows for expediency, it makes them fatter quicker, and it's cheaper for the consumer. But with that lower cost is a cost to your health:

A recent comprehensive study conducted by the USDA and researchers from Clemson University found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. "We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores, and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure," says Salatin.

They recommend buying grass-fed beef, I recommend going vegetarian.And that quick and easy popcorn you nuke in your microwave before snuggling up to watch "Sleepless In Seattle". Nope.  Toxicologist, Olga Naidenko who is a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group, says there's a nasty chemical in the lining of the microwaveable popcorn bag which can also cause some not so nice health problems.

Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize--and migrate into your popcorn. "They stay in your body for years and accumulate there," says Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals.

They recommend popping fresh popcorn in a skillet with butter as a flavoring, I would recommend just using one of those air poppers, which would be a healthier, fat-free alternative.

And what about spuds?  According to organic farm director, Jeffrey Moyer, one of the head honchos of the National Organic Standards Board, he won't touch a potato that isn't organic. Why, you might wonder, since we peel those suckers and we don't eat them raw.  Well, those lowly taters are subjected to an onslaught of chemicals that are absorbed into the skin:

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes--the nation's most popular vegetable--they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. "Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won't," says Moyer, who is also farm director of the Rodale Institute (also owned by Rodale Inc., the publisher of Prevention). "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."

Actually I have had non-organic potatoes sprout, but they recommend only buying organic. 

Salmon is supposed to incredibly healthy for you, chock-full of Omega3 Fatty Acids, but Dr. David Carpenter, a fisheries expert at the University of Albany, refuses to eat farm-raised salmon.

Nature didn't intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe, which can be found on American menus.

They are also given pesticides and antibiotics, which in turn you ingest.

They recommend choosing wild-caught Alaska salmon, not the fresh Atlantic. I recommend going veggie.

Cancer researcher Rick North, refuses to drink milk with rBGH (bovine growth hormones). Cattle farmers love it, because it increases milk production, but those hormones are getting into your system too.

But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. "When the government approved rBGH, it was thought that IGF-1 from milk would be broken down in the human digestive tract," says North. As it turns out, the casein in milk protects most of it, according to several independent studies. "There's not 100 percent proof that this is increasing cancer in humans," admits North. "However, it's banned in most industrialized countries.

Pus, yummy. They recommend buying organic milk, or rBGH-free milk. I say switch to rice milk, one of the least allergenic foods around. Or if you aren't allergic to nuts, try almond milk.

And last but not least, the food that we were told if we ate one a day it would keep the doctor away, is no longer so revered. That, of course, was pre-pesticide days. But the lovely apple has been in the news lately, starting with Dr. Oz's claims of the dangers of arsenic in apple juice.  Mark Kastel, an organic foods expert will only eat organic apples. Apparently, the apple of all fall fruits would win the "most doused in pesticides constest."

They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. As such, apples don't develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. The industry maintains that these residues are not harmful. But Kastel counters that it's just common sense to minimize exposure by avoiding the most doused produce, like apples. "Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers," he says. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with Parkinson's disease.

So there you have it. The 7 foods, food products to avoid:

1. Canned Tomatoes
2. Corn-fed Beef
3. Microwaveable Popcorn
4. Nonorganic Potatoes
5. Farm-raised Salmon
6. Milk with Hormones (rBGH)
7. Nonorganic Apples

Source: Fox News