The Dangers of Rice Milk and Rice Cereal

I wrote recently about our switch to hemp milk as a cows' milk alternative for Gabriel. Because hemp milk is hard to find where I live, we have still been giving him rice milk every now and then. Today I learned a startling fact about rice milk and will no longer be feeding it to anyone in my family.

Studies were done in early 2009 by the European Food Standards Agency on 60 samples of different rice beverages. Since this study came out stores in countries across the UK and even China have stopped selling many rice beverages and rice cereals marketed toward babies and small children.

Arsenic is found in many foods in both organic and inorganic forms. Obviously, the organic form is not as harmful, however, long term exposure to the inorganic form (often used as a pesticide) is proven to be a carcinogen. For some reason rice tends to contain higher levels of the inorganic form than many other foods.

Even the organic brands of rice milk contain high levels of arsenic in this study.

Conclusion of the study:

Daily consumption of rice drinks in quantities similar to the average consumption of cows’ milk (one glass, approximately 200 millilitres by adults or half a pint, approximately 280 millilitres by a toddler/young child) would lead to an additional daily dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic. This increase is minor for adults and young persons and they do not need to change their diet. This increase in the intake of inorganic arsenic could be up to four fold for toddlers and young children (ages 1- 4.5 years) if rice drinks are consumed instead of breast milk, infant formula or cows’ milk. Therefore the Agency advises against the substitution of breast milk, infant formula or cows’ milk by rice drinks for toddlers and young children. All other consumers do not need to change their diet. Parents of toddlers and young children who are currently consuming rice drinks because they are allergic to or intolerant of cows’ milk are advised to consult their health professional or dietician about suitable alternatives to cows’ milk.

You can read the complete study here.

-Jessica

Source:

Arsenic in Rice Drinks. European Food Standards Agency. http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fsis0209arsenicinrice.pdf Web. 10 Sept. 2009.

Hemp Milk

We have been researching milk alternatives ever since we met with Gabe's nutritionist, who told us that the rice milk we were giving him was inadequate in fat and protein.

Here is a chart I made comparing the amount of fat and protein (in grams), as well as the % RDA of calcium in 8 ounces of each type of milk:



As you can see, the nutritionist was correct - rice milk and almond milk do not compare to any of the other alternatives in terms of fat and protein. Even soy milk falls short in fat. But what surprised me most were the levels in hemp milk, an alternative I had never heard of before.

After doing a little more research about hemp milk I discovered that it is not only high in fat and protein, and contains half of your daily calcium, it also is:

• high in omega 3/omega 6


• contains no cholesterol


• a complete protein, containing all of the essential amino acids


• contains potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, and more (sounds better than my prenatal vitamin!)

And don't worry, it does not contain THC.

Hemp milk just became popular a few years ago and is growing as an alternative to dairy, soy, and almond products for people with allergies and intolerances.

I also discovered that rice milk and soy milk can contain phytates (which block the absorption of certain nutrients) and oligosaccharides (which cause gas and stomach problems). Hemp milk does not.

So we switched Gabe over to hemp milk several days ago and he seems to be enjoying it. We are still adding probiotic powder to his breakfast drink and a liquid calcium supplement to his dinner cup to compensate for what it is lacking.

The only brand that we found in our local grocery store was HEMP Dream, made by the same company that makes Gabe's rice milk. It was costly (nearly $6 for 32 ounces) and doesn't contain the same amount of calcium as other brands, so I don't know if we will stick with it.

I have heard good things about the taste of Living Harvest Hemp Milk, which can be ordered here for a very reasonable price. But, the nutritional label shows that it only has half of the protein of other brands.

Manitoba Harvest offers several varieties that are cheaper than HEMP Dream, but also do not contain the optimal amount of calcium.

We are still shopping around to find the right product for Gabe, but are thrilled to know that there is an alternative out there that can give him everything that cow's milk can!

-Jessica

Source:

"The Benefits of Organic Hemp Milk Natural Health & Organic Living Blog." 02 July 2009 .