Welcome back to Rebuilding Trust With Your Body, it’s Katy here. This episode is going to be less about new strategies for you to do, but rather things that you should STOP doing. As you can tell from the title, I’m going to share 5 things that I personally had to stop doing with food and my body in order to become an intuitive eater. I’m really going to be outing myself here, and part of me wants to feel embarrassed, but I’m also embracing the fact that I was only doing what I thought I needed to do at the time, and when you know better you do better, right? I think we can all embrace that here on this show.

Now here’s why I want to focus on the things I quit doing, instead of just giving you a bunch of new strategies to add in…

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in figuring out what’s the best food to eat, or supplement to take, or type of exercise to do – and we forget to ask ourselves if there’s anything that we are currently doing that is a waste of our time, energy, or money (and especially if it’s not only a waste of these things, but if we are doing things that are actually backfiring on us). 

This could not be more true than within diet culture, where so many of the things we are told to do seem helpful on the surface but are either ineffective to begin with (hello, Wellness Woo, we’ll visit you in a second), or the things diet culture tells us to do actually work against us metabolically, biologically or psychologically and in the long run cause more problems than they solve. 

Before we dive into our main topic for today, you know what time it is…We’ve got some Wellness Woo to talk about. 

Wellness Woo is the stuff that diet and wellness culture tells us we should do in the name of health, but it’s really based on pseudoscience, exaggerated claims, or just nonsense. 

Today’s Wellness Woo is: Arsenic in white rice

What Arsenic Actually Is

• Arsenic is a natural element found in soil, rocks, water, air, plants, and animals — it’s everywhere in trace amounts.
• It exists in two main forms:
  
  • Inorganic arsenic (linked to cancer risk): found in contaminated soil, groundwater, and industrial materials like treated wood and old pesticides.
  • Organic arsenic (less harmful): found in fish, shellfish, and some plant foods.
    
• The toxic reputation mostly refers to inorganic arsenic, not the organic type found in seafood and most plant foods.

Why Rice Gets a Bad Rap

• Rice absorbs 10x more arsenic than other grains because it’s grown in flooded paddies — the water helps arsenic move from soil into the plant.
• The MSU study found that brown rice contains 72–98% more arsenic than white rice, since the outer bran layer (where arsenic accumulates) remains intact in brown rice but is removed when producing white rice.
  • Interesting given how brown rice is harped on by diet culture as being the “healthier” choice, right?
• U.S. rice from the southeast (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas) tends to have more “legacy arsenic” due to historic pesticide use in cotton farming.
• Rice from South Asia can have even higher levels because of naturally arsenic-rich groundwater.

Wild Rice Is a Different Story

• Wild rice (technically a grass) grows naturally in lakes and streams rather than flooded fields, so it tends to absorb less arsenic.

Health Concerns — What’s Real

• Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic (small amounts over years) — not occasional intake — is what’s linked to:
  • Skin, lung, and bladder cancers
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Diabetes
  • Endocrine disruption
• Acute poisoning from food is not a concern in the U.S.
• Young children may be more vulnerable, since rice cereals and snacks can be a large part of their diets. (Baby food – rice cereal and snacks)
• Regulatory bodies agree:
  
  • IARC, EPA, and NTP all classify inorganic arsenic as a known human carcinogen.
  • Organic arsenic compounds (the kind in seafood) are not considered carcinogenic.
• According to the FDA: The lung cancer and bladder cancer risk attributable to lifetime exposure to all rice and rice products is a small portion of all cases of these cancers, at 39 cases per million people (10 cases/million bladder cancer and 29 cases/million lung cancer) (see Table 5.3). To put this in perspective, the total numbers of lung and bladder cancer cases, from all causes, are 90,000 per million people over a lifetime .
  

Common Sources of Exposure

• Food: the largest source for most people — mainly seafood (organic arsenic), rice, rice products, mushrooms, and poultry.
• Water: some U.S. wells and rural systems have higher natural arsenic levels.
• Environment: contaminated soil from old pesticide use or industrial runoff.
• Old pressure-treated wood (pre-2004): can leach arsenic — especially a concern for kids playing on old decks or playgrounds.

What You Can Actually Do

• Relax — you’re not being poisoned by your stir-fry. Arsenic is naturally present in tiny amounts in most foods.
• Eat a variety of grains: mix in oats, quinoa, barley, farro, etc. to lower overall exposure.
• If you eat rice often:
  
  • Rinse and cook it in excess water (like pasta) to reduce arsenic by ~50%.
  • Choose white rice more often than brown if exposure is a concern (especially for kids).
    
• Don’t stress about occasional rice meals or sushi. The dose makes the poison — not the food itself.

The Big Picture

• Arsenic in rice is real science, but the fear-mongering online blows it way out of proportion.
• Brown rice isn’t “toxic,” and white rice isn’t “nutritionally empty.” Both can fit into a balanced diet.
• Chronic, high exposure matters — not the occasional serving.
• Regulatory agencies (EPA, FDA, WHO) are already monitoring and setting limits to keep exposure safe.
• The smartest thing you can do is eat a diverse diet — not swear off rice because of a viral post.

https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/what-you-can-do-limit-exposure-arsenic

https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Arsenic-in-Rice-and-Rice-Products-Risk-Assessment-Report-PDF.pdf

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/arsenic.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10375490

https://water.msu.edu/feature/msu-researchers-community-leaders-address-arsenic-rice-and-other-issues-food-safety#:~:text=Why%20rice%20contains%20arsenic,cultivated%20rice%20is%20primarily%20grown.

If you have an example of Wellness Woo that you want to share, DM it to me

Ok, that’s enough of that. Moving on to today’s main topic…5 things I Had to Stop Doing to Become an Intuitive Eater

1. Counting calories

Holidays are coming – counting calories isn’t going to help you…

2. Weighing myself

3. Thinking of food as good/bad 

4. Measuring food

5. Actively trying to eat less or as little as possible

In case nobody has told you today – you are worthy just as you are. We’ll talk again soon.

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