Inorganic arsenic is toxic, and the "black foot disease" incident is unprecedented.
China people's understanding of arsenic seems a bit strange. There are two kinds of arsenic. One is organic arsenic, which is non-toxic and often exists in marine products; One is inorganic arsenic, which is toxic. Excessive intake may cause acute and chronic arsenic poisoning. Dr. Yan Zonghai, director of the Clinical Toxicology Department of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that in the late 1960s, southerners drank underground well water with high inorganic arsenic concentration, which triggered the "Blackfoot Disease" incident, and the symptoms such as terminal paralysis, cyanosis and intermittent claudication were all caused by toxic inorganic arsenic.
Besides Blackfoot, film music sometimes staged traditional costume dramas, in which arsenic was used to poison people. As a result, after taking it, Qikong will soon bleed or even die. Arsenic is the most toxic inorganic arsenic, which is an acute arsenic poisoning.
Dr. Yan Zonghai said that according to the announcement of the World Health Organization, inorganic arsenic is a first-class carcinogen, which is equivalent to dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls. Excessive intake may lead to the risk of lung cancer, liver cancer and bladder cancer. Chronic arsenic poisoning will not only cause skin diseases such as "Blackfoot Disease", but also damage liver and kidney.
Research: When cooking with this method, the content of inorganic arsenic in rice is still high.
As for Professor ProAndy Meharg of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the research on inorganic arsenic residues in rice in the laboratory focuses on chronic arsenic poisoning.
In order to understand that cooking methods may also affect the risk of eating inorganic arsenic residues, Professor Hagel compared three cooking methods in the BBC TV program "Believe me, I am a doctor":
The first type: 2 cups of water 1 cup of rice, leave the water and rice in the pot or electric pot and cook until all the water is dry.
The second type: 5 cups of boiled water 1 cup of rice. After the rice is cooked, pour out the excess water.
The third method: soak 1 cup of rice in water overnight, pour out the water the next day, and then cook in the second method.
The results showed that the residue of arsenic in rice cooked by the first method was the most, and the residue of arsenic in rice cooked by the second method was reduced to 43%. The arsenic residue in rice cooked by the last method was reduced to 18%. Professor Mahag finally suggested soaking rice in water overnight, then pouring out the water, washing it with water, and boiling it in 5 cups of water 1 cup of rice.
Yan Zonghai suggested that housewives should wash rice at least three times.
Dr. Yan Zonghai said that inorganic arsenic is water soluble. If you soak in tap water for one night, pour out the soaked water, wash the rice and cook it in a pot. It's like washing fruits and vegetables with tap water for at least 5 minutes before eating them, so that water-soluble trace pesticides can be washed away. In the case of cooking, soaking for one night and then dumping it is different from washing rice many times. Housewives are advised to wash rice at least three times, and then cook white rice in a pot.
According to the standard, the normal blood arsenic concentration of normal people is less than 20 ug/L; The urine arsenic concentration of normal people is 100 ug/g creatine (creatinine), which may be harmful to health. If people are worried about the symptoms of excessive intake of inorganic arsenic and chronic arsenic poisoning, they may wish to go to the toxicology department of the hospital for blood or urine tests and use inductively coupled Pla * * * a mass. Spectroscopy; ICP-MS) can be used to test the results.
It is worth noting that the domestic metal detection standards for edible rice only stipulate lead, cadmium and mercury, and there is no arsenic. Therefore, Dr. Yan Zonghai also called on relevant units to open arsenic detection so that people can eat with peace of mind.
Inorganic arsenic is water soluble. If you soak in tap water for one night, pour out the soaked water and wash the rice in the pot to cook, which can reduce the residue. Dr. Yan Zonghai said that housewives are advised to wash rice at least three times, and then cook white rice in a pot.