Brown rice contains more arsenic than white rice because the toxic metal concentrates in the bran and germ layers that get stripped away during polishing. The good news: simple changes to how you wash, soak, and cook brown rice can cut its inorganic arsenic content by 40 to 54 percent, and choosing the right variety can lower your starting point even further.
Why Brown Rice Has More Arsenic
Rice absorbs arsenic from soil and water more readily than most other grains. The inorganic form of arsenic, which is the more harmful type, concentrates in the two outer layers of the grain: the bran and the germ. White rice has these layers milled off, but brown rice keeps them intact. That’s what gives brown rice its fiber, B vitamins, and mineral advantages, but it’s also why brown rice consistently tests higher for inorganic arsenic than its polished counterpart.
This doesn’t mean you need to give up brown rice. It means your cooking method matters more than it does with white rice.
Choose a Lower-Arsenic Variety First
Not all brown rice is equal. Where rice is grown and how much arsenic is in the local water supply creates significant variation between brands and regions. Brown basmati rice from California, India, or Pakistan tends to test lower in arsenic than brown rice grown in the south-central United States (Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas), where rice paddies sit on land with historically higher arsenic levels in the soil.
If you’re buying brown rice specifically, look for basmati from one of those three regions. This won’t eliminate arsenic, but it gives you a lower baseline before any cooking adjustments.
Soak Before Cooking
Soaking brown rice in water draws arsenic out of the grain. Research on multiple rice varieties found that soaking can reduce total arsenic by up to 40 percent, with about 85 percent of the arsenic removed being the more dangerous inorganic form. An overnight soak (8 to 12 hours) in a generous amount of water works well. Drain and rinse the rice thoroughly before cooking, since the soaking water now contains the arsenic you just pulled out.
Even a shorter soak of a few hours helps, though longer soaking times extract more. This step alone makes a meaningful difference and requires almost no extra effort beyond planning ahead.
Cook Like Pasta, Not Like Pilaf
The standard absorption method, where you use just enough water for the rice to soak it all up, traps whatever arsenic is in that water right back into the grain. Cooking rice in a large volume of excess water and then draining it off works like a rinse cycle, pulling arsenic out of the rice and carrying it away.
The FDA confirms that cooking rice in 6 to 10 parts water per 1 part rice, then draining the excess, removes 40 to 60 percent of inorganic arsenic depending on the rice type. The process is simple: boil a large pot of water, add your rice, cook until tender, then drain through a fine-mesh strainer. It’s the same way you’d cook pasta.
The Parboil and Absorb Method
Researchers at the University of Sheffield developed a technique that combines both approaches and outperforms either one alone. The method, called “parboil and absorb” (PBA), works in two stages:
- Parboil: Boil rice in a large volume of water (roughly 6 parts water to 1 part rice) for about 5 minutes. Drain and discard this water.
- Absorb: Add fresh water at a lower ratio (just enough for the rice to absorb as it finishes cooking) and cook on low heat until the rice is done.
This method removed 54 percent of inorganic arsenic from brown rice in testing. For white rice, it removed 73 percent. The first boil flushes out much of the arsenic, while the second stage with fresh water lets the rice finish cooking with its texture intact. You get better results than the simple drain method, and the rice doesn’t end up waterlogged.
The Nutrient Trade-Off
Every method that removes arsenic also removes some nutrients. Washing, soaking, and cooking in excess water can reduce essential nutrients by anywhere from 8 to 83 percent depending on the specific nutrient and method used. B vitamins and minerals like iron are particularly vulnerable to leaching out in water.
This is worth knowing, but it shouldn’t stop you from using these techniques. Brown rice starts with significantly more fiber, magnesium, and B vitamins than white rice, so even after some loss, you’re still getting nutritional value. If you eat a varied diet with other whole grains, vegetables, and protein sources, the nutrient loss from arsenic-reduction cooking is easy to compensate for. The parboil-and-absorb method strikes a reasonable balance, since the second stage uses less water and retains more nutrients than draining all of it.
Extra Steps That Help
Rinsing raw brown rice under running water before cooking is the simplest starting point. Rinse until the water runs relatively clear. This alone won’t remove as much arsenic as soaking or excess-water cooking, but it contributes, and it takes less than a minute.
You can also combine strategies for the best results. A practical routine looks like this: soak your brown rice overnight, drain and rinse it the next day, then cook using the parboil-and-absorb method. Stacking these steps gives you the cumulative benefit of each one.
Varying your grains also reduces your overall arsenic exposure. Quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and oats all contain less arsenic than rice. You don’t need to eliminate brown rice entirely, but rotating it with other grains a few times a week naturally lowers your intake.
Special Considerations for Young Children
Infants and toddlers face higher risk from arsenic in rice because they eat more food relative to their body weight. The FDA has set an action level of 100 parts per billion for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereals, applying to both white-rice and brown-rice varieties, organic or conventional. If you’re feeding a young child rice-based cereal, look for brands that meet this threshold and consider alternating with oat-based or multigrain infant cereals to limit exposure. For toddlers eating table food, the same cooking techniques above apply, and varying their grain sources is one of the most effective strategies.