Soak rice overnight to reduce risk of heart diseases, cancer

If you’re a rice lover you might benefit from this healthier way to cook it. A new study suggests that before eating rice, soak it overnight to reduce the chances of increase in heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

According to researchers from the Queens University Belfast in England, arsenic from the industrial toxins and pesticides in the soil contaminate the rice, which is endangering the health of millions of people, reports The Telegraph. The findings revealed that by soaking rice overnight the level of the toxin was reduced by 80 per cent.

For the research, Andy Meharg from the university, tested three different ways of cooking rice. In the first, he used a ratio of two parts of water to one part of rice, where the water was “steamed out” during cooking. In the second, with five parts of water to one part of rice, with the excess water washed off, levels of arsenic were almost halved. And in the third method, where the rice was soaked overnight, levels of the toxin was reduced by 80 percent.

But experiments suggest that the way rice is cooked is key to reducing exposure to the toxic and naturally occurring chemical, reports internet.