Prosecco, Nutella and now rice.

In recent weeks, it seems all our staple meals (and treats) are being vetoed for some reason or another, with rice the latest to make the news. Apparently, we've been cooking rice all wrong and it's only now that this surprising revelation is being addressed. Arsenic is a chemical element, which is both naturally-occurring and potentially toxic, depending on the level of exposure. It can contaminate rice during the growth process as a result of industrial pesticides. However, what's really important here is the cooking process, because this decides how much arsenic remains. For the BBC programme, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, Andy Meharg, professor of biological sciences at Queens University Belfast, tested three ways of cooking rice to see which one resulted in the lowest level of arsenic. The first is the standard way pf cooking rice, where you use two parts water to one part rice, and the water evaporates during the cooking process. According to The Telegraph, the second method upped the amount of water used, opting for five cups of water to one cup of rice. Cooking rice this way meant that the levels of arsenic dropped by almost 50%. Wow. Finally, the third option involved soaking the rice overnight and in this scenario, the levels of arsenic dropped by almost 80%. So, basically, if you want to ensure that your rice is free from arsenic, or almost free anyway, you best start soaking it overnight.