Hellobee Boards

This is the first time I'm reading/hearing about arsenic in rice!
I didn't give my LO rice cereal since she hated it.
We don't eat a lot of rice so I just buy small bags from Whole Foods. :T
How do we know how much arsenic is in the rice we're eating?!

Eh. Arsenic is a (very) trace element necessary for survival. Everything kills us.
Maybe I should be more concerned but I am not.
Also it's a moderation thing not an "avoid at all costs" thing.

This is the reason why I only buy Asian grown rice. In many Asian countries it's their only crop and they grow it year round. It eliminates the fear of runoff pesticides used in another crop. A few countries have strict gov't regulated standards for rice crops and their harvest methods that aren't enforced in the US - since it is also their daily staple.

I never fed LO rice because it seemed to back her up-but my Pediatrician said it was important to give her some cereal, since its vitamin d fortified. He said if im REALLY worried about arsenic, to just give her oatmeal (which i do) but he said you would really have to feed them a lot for it to have any negative effect.

@clementine: could you do barley? I've read a lot that babies don't need rice/oatmeal cereals and had never given LO any until my pediatrician told me to (I should also mention that my pediatrician is relatively young and I would consider him to be pretty up to date on all the studies)...He was not concerned about the arsenic study at all and really, if the rice didn't back her up so badly, I probably would feed it to her.

oh wow!! that's crazy - I hadn't heard that!
We don't eat a ton of rice though, and DS just had it for the first time last week!
We skipped over rice/oat/other baby cereals and just fed him fruits and veggies, after 2 months he started eating some legumes too like beans and he also eats meat. I prefer to keep him off grains anyway since they're not really healthy

@Crumbs: i also only buy asian rice (usually korean). it is concerning, but how can i live without rice???

@Arden: thats originally what I thought too, but my pediatrician said that babies are at risk of being iron deficient (I think it was iron, but it might have been vitamin d) and the cereals were necessary since they're fortified. But he said I could chose rice cereal or oatmeal, just as long as it was iron fortified.

@stiffaknee: That's another misconception and something many pediatricians are not caught up with the research on.
Fortified cereals are not the best iron or vitamin D sources, as the vitamins and minerals are added (not naturally occurring) and is not absorbed well this way.
It's the equivalent to telling people to drink ovaltine (because it's fortified with vitamins) instead of eating healthy, balanced meals that naturally provide you with necessary nutrients.

There is plenty of iron and vitamin D in many vegetables and fruits, and the baby is also still getting many nutrients through breast milk.
Vitamin D is best gotten through sunlight, 15 minutes a day will do. Eggs, mushrooms, and fish also contain natural vitamin D.
Sweet potatoes, prunes, blueberries, apricots, tomatoes, lentils, and MANY other foods have very high naturally occurring iron that is better absorbed by the body and contain many other nutrients that cereals lack.

@Arden: I just want to say that I appreciate your responses! Very good points, thanks