• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Healthy Home Economist

The Healthy Home Economist

embrace your right to a lifetime of health

Get Plus
  • Home
  • About
  • My Books
  • Shopping List
  • Archives
  • Log in
  • Get Plus
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Get Plus
  • Log in
  • Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Archives
  • My Books
  • Shopping List
  • Recipes
  • Healthy Living
  • Natural Remedies
  • Green Living
  • Videos
  • Natural Remedies
  • Health
  • Green Living
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Green Living / How to Parboil Rice to Remove Arsenic

How to Parboil Rice to Remove Arsenic

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Parboiling with Absorption Method
  • Soaking Rice vs Parboiling

parboiled rice on the stovetop

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population. Alarmingly, arsenic is a widespread contaminant in rice crops that is getting increased attention as a risk factor in the development of cancer.

Studies in recent years have focused on testing various cooking techniques as a way to reduce levels of this heavy metal in brown and white rice. Parboiling and then refreshing the water before cooking is the most recent method yielding encouraging results.

Parboiling with Absorption Method

What is parboiling? This cooking technique involves boiling food briefly as the first step in cooking.

When parboiling rice, scientists from the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment suggest a variation called “parboiling with absorption method” or PBA as the best approach for lowering arsenic levels. (1)

This method also enhances beneficial levels of resistant starch.

To implement PBA in your home kitchen, simply cook brown or white rice in pre-boiled water for five minutes. In other words, bring the water to a boil before adding the rice.

Then, drain the rice and refresh it with cool water. The last step is to simmer the rice on a lower heat until all the water is absorbed.

Dr. Manoj Menon and his team of researchers found that parboiling in this manner removes over 50% of the arsenic in brown rice and 74% in white rice. In addition, micronutrient levels remain unchanged. (2)

Soaking Rice vs Parboiling

While implementation of the parboiling with absorption method is certainly fast and convenient, it is important to realize that soaking rice before cooking is a superior method to remove the most arsenic possible.

To accomplish this, researchers recommend mixing five parts water to one part rice and soaking for several hours. Then, the soaking liquid is discarded and the rice is rinsed thoroughly. Finally, rice is cooked as usual in fresh water. These steps combine to reduce arsenic levels by 80%. (3)

The safety of using rice water for gastroenteritis is significantly enhanced by taking this precautionary step as well.

In sum, it is best to employ an extended soak and rinse before cooking to ensure the safest pot of rice possible. This technique also produces the additional benefit of highly digestible rice for maximum mineral absorption.

However, it’s good to know that a quick, five minute parboil followed by cooking the rice in fresh water will produce nearly the same results on busy days.

pot of parboiling rice on the stove

References

(1) Improved rice cooking approach to maximize arsenic removal while preserving nutrient elements

(2) New way of cooking rice removes arsenic and retains mineral nutrients, study shows

(3) Should I worry about arsenic in my rice?

FacebookPinEmailPrint
Category: Green Living
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

You May Also Like

My Favorite Organic Fertilizer

fluoride toothpaste on children's toothbrush

Harvard: Fluoride During Childhood Can Lower IQ and Delay Neurological Development

woman holding toxic tampon and pad

Safe Alternatives to Toxic Feminine Hygiene Products

#1 Item to Stock Up on NOW (why is no one talking about this?)

best organic produce

Where is the Best Place to Buy Organic Produce?

tiny black ants on sugar cubes wood background

How to Remove Sugar Ants from Your Home Fast!

Is Your Home Making You Sick?

Get a free chapter of my book Living Green in an Artificial World + my newsletter and learn how to start creating a living environment that supports and enhances health!

We send no more than one email per week. You will never be spammed or your email sold, ever.
Loading

Reader Interactions

Comments (26)

  1. Misunk

    Jul 10, 2022 at 8:52 am

    Rice is a precious thing that I think we should cherish. It is an essential food source in the world, especially in developed countries.

    Reply
  2. Monica Stapleton

    Jun 2, 2022 at 1:37 pm

    Hi Sarah, Love your information. Thanks for all the hard work you do. I think this is the source for coconut oil added to rice to increase resistant starch.

    https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2015/march/new-low-calorie-rice-could-help-cut-rising-obesity-rates.html

    Reply
  3. Monica Stapleton

    Jun 2, 2022 at 1:06 pm

    Here’s some research showing that adding fats to rice while cooking lowers the glycemic index.
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813020340289

    Reply
  4. Lisa

    Jun 2, 2022 at 12:22 pm

    So how does this affect cooking time?

    Reply
  5. Hen

    Apr 10, 2021 at 10:28 am

    This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  6. Sammy

    Dec 21, 2020 at 5:10 am

    Well, I’ve never tried to parboil rice in my life, only soak it before cooking. If arsenic matters, I think I need to do some research before trying a new method. Thank you, Sarah!

    Reply
  7. daniel

    Dec 20, 2020 at 5:24 am

    Hi,
    thanks fpr ti helpful article.
    So after soaking or parboiling for 5 minutes, we can cook the rice more safely.
    Which method of cooking afterwards is refered to?
    1. like pasta, where you take more water than is needed, and discard it after the rice is ready?
    2. like in a electric rice cooker, where only so much water is added and heated, that it will be completey soaked in by the rice at the final stage?
    Thanks
    Daniel

    Reply
  8. Thomas Ubl

    Dec 14, 2020 at 7:36 am

    Seems like alot of work to get a resistant starch when compared to other, ready to eat sources. However, I was told that after the parboil to treat rice with coconut oil and refrigerate for 2 days. The coconut oil is suppose to further the resistance or carries some other beneficial properties. Is that true?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Dec 14, 2020 at 8:44 am

      I haven’t seen any research that supports this.

    • Angela

      Mar 22, 2021 at 5:58 pm

      I have read articles with research on fully cooking rice and then cooling it completely to activate the resistant starch. Although, I think if you reheat it, it breaks it down again.

« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Sidebar

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

5 Secrets to a Strong Immune System

Loading

The Healthy Home Economist

Since 2002, Sarah has been a Health and Nutrition Educator dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. Read More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Check Out My Books

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

5 Secrets to a Strong Immune System

Loading

Contact the Healthy Home Economist. The information on this website has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease. By accessing or using this website, you agree to abide by the Terms of Service, Full Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Affiliate Disclosure, and Comment Policy.

Copyright © 2009–2023 · The Healthy Home Economist · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!