Soaking your rice for longer—like 12 hours instead of just 1—can wash out more of the bad stuff like arsenic and lead, making your rice safer to eat.

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

The reduction of toxic metals of various rice types by different preparation and cooking processes - Human health risk assessment in Tehran households, Iran.

Cross-Sectional Study

2019 May 15

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

The reduction of toxic metals of various rice types by different preparation and cooking processes - Human health risk assessment in Tehran households, Iran.

Score: 28

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.12.060

Similar Assertions

Washing rice before cooking and using lots of water (like boiling it like pasta) removes more harmful metals like arsenic and lead than just cooking it in a small amount of water — so rinsed cooking is better at making rice safer to eat.

78%

If you soak your rice in water overnight and then throw out that water before cooking, you’ll end up with rice that has less of the harmful arsenic your body can absorb.

78%

Washing and soaking rice helps reduce harmful lead and cadmium to safe levels, but it doesn’t cut down arsenic enough to make it safe from cancer risk.

76%