Rice is an essential food that can bring some benefits to the body. However, the following 3 types of poor quality rice can be harmful to our health if we accidentally eat them.
Rice is one of the essential daily foods for Asians in general and Vietnamese in particular. When cooked, rice helps supplement energy and some essential nutrients for the body. However, some types of rice can damage the liver, kidneys, and increase the risk of cancer.
1. Moldy rice
Moldy rice is rice that has gone bad, usually due to prolonged storage in a humid environment. Rice stored in a humid environment creates conditions for the growth of Aspergillus flavus. This fungus cannot be completely removed by washing with water or boiling at 100 degrees Celsius.
The fungus Aspergillus flavus produces a toxin called aflatoxin. Eating moldy rice can cause the body to become infected with this toxin, causing acute poisoning. When poisoned by aflatoxin, the patient will have symptoms such as nausea, jaundice, gastrointestinal bleeding, and abdominal pain.
In addition, regularly eating moldy rice for a long time can damage the liver, increasing the risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer or stomach cancer.
Using moldy rice can affect your health. (Illustration photo).
2. Rice contains too high levels of cadmium
Cadmium is a heavy metal element that can damage the kidneys and nervous system of humans. Cadmium is found in soil and water in certain areas. Rice, crops, and aquatic organisms can be contaminated with cadmium if they are grown or live in areas with contaminated soil and water.
Consuming rice containing high levels of cadmium will seriously affect human health. Eating foods containing high levels of cadmium can cause digestive disorders leading to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Consuming rice contaminated with cadmium can affect kidney function and cause kidney damage due to cadmium accumulating mainly in this organ.
Cadmium poisoning also causes calcium metabolism disorders, leading to bone diseases such as bone pain, osteoporosis, bone deformities, and bone tissue destruction.
3. Old rice stored for a long time
Rice contains fat, protein and starch, all of which are affected by storage time. Old rice stored for a long time and not stored properly will reduce the nutrients in the rice. Old rice after being cooked will not have a fragrant, delicious taste, and will not retain the stickiness of newly harvested rice.
To distinguish old rice from newly harvested rice, people can base on the color and aroma. New rice is usually white and old rice will be opaque yellow or ivory.
Old rice stored for a long time often loses its nutritional value. (Illustration photo).
Things to remember when buying rice
To choose delicious rice that is safe for health, people need to note the following:
- Observe the shape and color of the rice grains : High-quality rice often has plump grains, uniform size, and no impurities. The rice grains are naturally white, not yellow or green. When buying rice, people can put a few grains of rice in their mouth and chew. If the rice has a slightly sweet and fragrant taste, it proves that it is delicious and high-quality rice.
- Choose a reputable rice production facility: To ensure safety, people can buy rice from reputable production brands that have been tested for quality and health safety.
- Check the packaging: When buying rice, people need to check whether the packaging is tightly packed or not; whether information about origin, production date, expiry date, manufacturer information, etc. are clearly stated on the packaging or not. If the packaging is damaged or the label is unclear, people should absolutely not buy it.
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