What Is God’s Plan for You? Loner. Where Does the Arsenic in Rice, Mushrooms, & Wine Come From? How to Cook Rice to Lower Arsenic Levels.

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What Is God’s Plan for You?

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“What is God’s plan for His faithful believers?

The ultimate purpose of human beings is to become part of the family of God.

“Why am I here?” This is the question of the ages, the great mystery of life. Why were you born? Why do you exist? What is the purpose of your life? 

What is God’s plan for you? Many believe they will spend eternity in heaven—but doing what? Playing harps and comparing halos? I’ve never heard a good explanation that makes sense.Such a future seems quite dissatisfying. Due to Covid-19, millions of people have spent the last year bored, shut up in their homes doing little or nothing. Do we really want an eternity of that?

If heaven really is the future of much of the human race, the Bible says very little about it. In fact, I’ve searched the Scriptures repeatedly and can find nothing about what believers will do during a supposed eternity in heaven. And for that matter, the common ideas of halos and feathered wings are nowhere to be found either. (To learn more, download or request our free study guide Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?)

So, what is God’s plan for His faithful believers? What does He have in store?

What the Bible actually reveals is something far greater than going to heaven to do virtually nothing for eternity. It tells us we can become the literal children of God.

That may sound outlandish to you. But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the apostle Paul, quoting God in 2 Corinthians 6:18: “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (emphasis added throughout).

How did Jesus Christ, who came to reveal the Father (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 1:18), present Their relationship? As a family—God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.

God is in the process of creating a family—His own divine family, the God family. And as a God whose nature and character are summed up as “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), He wants to see us become part of that family—that means you and me.

What will existence in God’s family be like? Notice the apostle John’s description of Jesus Christ as he saw Him in vision in Revelation 1:12-18 (New Living Translation): “When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were bright like flames of fire.

“His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth [evidently figurative of His speaking the Word of God—Hebrews 4:12]. And his face was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one who died. Look, I am alive forever and ever!’”

This same John tells us in 1 John 3:2 that the glorified children of God will also appear as Christ does when they are resurrected and given eternal life in the family and Kingdom of God! He states, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.” 

This is the kind of glorified existence God promises to His children in the resurrection of the dead to immortal spirit at Christ’s return as described in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. The ultimate purpose of human beings is to become part of the family of God—so Jesus can be “the firstborn among many brethren,” those raised to glory as He is glorified now (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:10).

That is a future we can believe in and build our lives around!”

From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/what-is-gods-plan-for-you

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Loner

“There are times when we must be alone and it serves a purpose. But we need each other and we must appreciate the value in being together.

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/DRPskJ89hak

[Darris McNeely] “There are times we just want to be alone. We want to be by ourselves to work out whatever difficulty, whatever question, whatever problem that might be working in our lives. But we don't want to let that go too long because there's power, value in being together, working with a group, working with those that are close to you.

There's a story from the aftermath of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that helps us to understand this. It's the story of Thomas, the disciple, who for eight days removed himself from the other disciples after Christ was crucified and was not around in the initial appearances that the resurrected Jesus made to His disciples. And then in John's account, John 20:26, we read where Christ came through the wall, literally, into the room where his disciples were. And Thomas was with them. This says it was eight days after the time of the resurrection. And Thomas was doubting all that he had heard from the other disciples about seeing the resurrected Christ.

Christ appeared to them, He said, "Peace be unto you." And He turned to Thomas and He said, "Reach your finger here and look at my hands. Reach your hands here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And when Thomas did that, it was all it took. He said, "My Lord and my God," to which Christ said, "Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed, and blessed are those who have not seen, have not yet believed."

And so, Thomas now was back with the group, back with the other disciples, the other 10 at that particular point in time. And because he had seen Christ, now his faith was restored. But he had doubted for a period of time. And in this is an important lesson for us.

Today, there's reasons for us to be shut down, locked out, quarantined. We've gone through an extended period. And as the world reopens, we need to understand that there is value in the face-to-face contact with family, with friends, even co-workers to be able to communicate, to understand, to be effective.

This lesson from the life of Thomas, who doubted because he had not seen but when he then rejoined with all the others, his faith was strengthened and he went on to do the job as a disciple that Jesus wanted him to do. Being a loner, being apart, can have brief benefit. But, ultimately, we need one another as we develop our relationships that help strengthen the faith that we have in God.”         From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/loner

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Where Does the Arsenic in Rice, Mushrooms, & Wine Come From?

“What happens when our crops are grown in soil contaminated with arsenic-based pesticides and arsenic drug-laced chicken manure?”

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/upYpLFGjG78

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“When arsenic-containing drugs are fed to chickens, not only does it grow out into their feathers (which can then be fed back to them as a slaughterhouse byproduct), the arsenic can get into their tissues, and then get into our tissues, explaining why national studies found that those who eat more poultry have tended to have more arsenic flowing through their bodies.

Why would the industry do that? “In modern poultry CAFOs [these concentrated animal feeding operations],” there can be “200,000 birds under one roof.” And so, the floors of these buildings become “covered with feces.” While this so-called factory farming “decreases…costs, [this also] increases the risk of disease…” That’s where arsenic-containing drugs, and other antibiotic feed additives, can come in, to try to cut down the spread of disease in such an unnatural environment—to which you can imagine the smug vegetarians gloating how glad they are they don’t eat chicken. But, what do you think happens to the poop?

The arsenic from the drugs in the feed can get into our crops, into the air, and into the groundwater, and find its way into our bodies, whether we eat meat or not. Yeah, but how much arsenic are we really talking about? Well, we raise billions of chickens every year, and if historically, the vast majority were fed arsenic, then, if you do the math, we’re talking about dumping a half million pounds’ worth of pure arsenic into the environment every year—much of it onto our crops, or shoveled directly into the mouths of other farm animals.

Most of the arsenic in chicken waste is water-soluble; so, there are certainly concerns about it seeping into the groundwater. But if it’s used as a fertilizer, what about our food?

Studies on the levels of arsenic in the U.S. food supply dating back to the 70s identified two foods—fish aside—with the highest levels: chicken and rice, both of which can accumulate arsenic in the same way. Deliver an arsenic–containing drug, like roxarsone, to chickens, and it ends up in their manure, which ends up in the soil, which ends up in our pilaf. “Rice is [now] the primary source of [arsenic] exposure in a nonseafood diet.”

I was surprised to see mushrooms in the top five food sources of arsenic, but then, not so surprised when I found out that “poultry litter [was] commonly used” as a starting material to grow mushrooms in the United States. And, over the years, mushroom arsenic content has rivaled the arsenic concentration in rice, though people tend to eat more rice than mushrooms on a daily basis, and arsenic levels in mushrooms did seem to be dipping, starting about a decade ago, confirmed in this latest 2016 paper that looked at a dozen different types of mushrooms: plain white button mushrooms, cremini, portobello, shiitake, trumpet, oyster, nameko (never heard of it), maitake, alba clamshell, brown clamshell (never heard of either of those either), and chanterelle. Now, only averaging about half what rice is running.

Just like some mushrooms have less arsenic than others, some rice has less. Rice grown in California has 40% less arsenic than rice grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Why? Well, arsenic-based pesticides had been used more than a century on millions of acres of cotton fields, noted to be “a dangerous practice” back in 1927. Arsenic pesticides are now effectively banned; so, it’s not a matter of buying organic versus conventional rice, because millions of pounds of arsenic had already been laid down in the soil well before your rice was even planted.

The rice industry is well aware of this. There’s an arsenic-toxicity disorder in rice, called “straighthead,” where if you plant rice in soil too heavily contaminated with arsenic, it doesn’t grow right. So, instead of choosing cleaner cropland, they just developed arsenic-resistant strains. So, now, lots of arsenic can build up in rice without the plant getting hurt. Can the same be said, however, for the rice consumer?

Same story with wine. Decade after decade of arsenic pesticide use, and even though they’ve been banned now, arsenic can still be sucked up from the soil, leading to “the pervasive presence of arsenic in [American] wine [which could] “pose a potential health risk.” Curiously, they sum up by saying “[c]hronic arsenic exposure is known to lower IQ in children.” But if kids are drinking that much wine, arsenic toxicity is probably the least of their worries.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/Where-Does-the-Arsenic-in-Rice-Mushrooms-and-Wine-Come-From/

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How to Cook Rice to Lower Arsenic Levels

Boiling rice like pasta reduces arsenic levels, but how much nutrition is lost?

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/H_Lui1v2A1M

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Cooking rice in a high water to rice ratio reduces [toxic] arsenic content”—meaning if you boil rice like pasta, and then drain off the water at the end, you can drop arsenic levels in half. 50 to 60 percent of the arsenic gets poured down the drain, whereas the typical way we make rice, boiling the water off like in a rice cooker or pot, doesn’t help. Or, may even make things worse, if the water you’re using to cook the rice has arsenic in it too—a problem that exists for about three million Americans, as about 8% of public water supplies exceed the current legal arsenic limits.

But “cooking rice in excess water [and then discarding] efficiently reduces the amount of [toxic arsenic] in the cooked rice.” Yeah, but how much nutrition are you pouring down the drain when you do that? We didn’t know, until now.

“Unpolished brown rice naturally contains [nutrients] that are lost when the bran layer and germ are removed to make white rice. To compensate, since the 1940s,” white rice has had vitamins and minerals sprayed on it to quote-unquote “enrich it.” That’s why cooking instructions for white rice specifically say don’t rinse it, and cook it “in a minimal amount of water.” In other words, “the opposite” of what you’d do to get rid of some of the arsenic. But brown rice has the nutrients inside, not just sprayed on.

For example, “rinsing white rice [—like putting it in a colander under running water—] removes much of the enriched vitamins sprayed onto the [white] rice…surface during manufacture,” removing most of the B vitamins, but has “almost no effect on vitamins in whole-grain brown rice,” because it’s got the nutrition inside. Same thing with iron: rinsing white rice reduces iron levels by like three-fourths, but the iron in brown rice is actually in it; and so, rinsing only reduces the iron concentration in brown rice by like 10%. But rinsing didn’t seem to affect the arsenic levels; so, why bother?

Now, if you really wash the rice, like agitate the uncooked rice in water for three minutes, and then rinse and repeat, you may be able to remove about 10% of the arsenic. And so, this research team recommends washing, as well as boiling in excess water. But I don’t know if the 10% is worth the extra wash time. But, boiling like pasta and then draining the excess water does really cut way down on the arsenic, and while that also takes a whack on the nutrition in white rice, the nutrient loss in brown rice is “significantly less,” as it is not so much enriched as it is rich in nutrition in the first place.

“Cooking brown rice in large amounts of excess water reduces the [toxic arsenic] by almost 60% and only reduces the [iron] content by 5%,” but does reduce “the vitamin content of brown rice by about half.” Here it is graphically. A quick rinse of brown rice before you cook it doesn’t lower arsenic levels, but boiling it instead of cooking to dry, and draining off the excess water drops arsenic levels 40%. That was using like six parts water to one part rice. What if you use even more water, boiling at 10:1 water to rice? A 60% drop in arsenic levels.

With white rice, you can rinse off a little arsenic, but after cooking, you end up with similar final drops in arsenic content. But the iron gets wiped out in white rice by rinsing and cooking, whereas the iron in brown rice stays strong. Similar decrements in the B vitamins with cooking for brown and un-rinsed white, but once you rinse white rice, they’re mostly gone before they make it into the pot.

What about percolating rice? We know regular rice cooking doesn’t help, but boiling like pasta and draining does. Steaming doesn’t do much. What about percolating rice as a radical rethink to “optimize [arsenic] removal”? So, they tried like some mad scientist lab set-up, but also just a regular “off-the-shelf coffee percolator.” But instead of putting coffee, they put rice, percolating 20 minutes for white, 30 for brown, and got about a 60% drop in arsenic levels using a 12-to-1 water-to-rice ratio. Here’s where the arsenic levels started and ended up. The squares are the brown rice; circles are the white.

So, raw brown may start out double that of raw white, but after cooking with enough excess water and draining, they end up much closer. Though, 60%, percolating at a 12-to-1 ratio, was about what we got boiling at just 10-to-1; So, I see no reason to buy a percolator.

But, even with that 60%, what does that mean? By boiling and draining a daily serving of rice, we could cut excess cancer risk more than half, from like 165 times the acceptable cancer risk, to only like 66 times the acceptable risk.” 

DOCTOR'S NOTE

At this point, I can imagine you thinking, Wait, so should we avoid rice or not? I’m getting there. First, I’m just laying out the issue. Here are videos on the latest on the topic, if you’re interested:  See bottom of page at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-cook-rice-to-lower-arsenic-levels/

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