Why you should know:

Arsenic is a carcinogen and has various other negative health effects; enough to warrant exposure limits in various jurisdictions. A five minute boil-and-discard step before cooking is a simple way to reduce your exposure, especially if you eat a lot of rice.

Details are in the study, linked in the title of this post. Here’s a diagram from the abstract:

  • @[email protected]
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    3 months ago

    How much arsenic water would you need to distill down to get a useful amount of arsenic?

    • BigFig
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      193 months ago

      Asking, for science

    • @[email protected]
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      3 months ago

      The real question. Apple seeds have naturally occurring cyanide, but you would have to eat something like 30 to 300 apples worth of seeds to maybe have a health issue.

      It’s the dose that makes the poison.

      • @Hule
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        23 months ago

        Aren’t you better off with plum or peach seeds?

        • @[email protected]
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          3 months ago

          Best not to eat any, but it’s still a matter of dose. Plum/peach seeds may be more a choking hazard than any other.

    • @HeyThisIsntTheYMCA
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      43 months ago

      How much arsenic do you define as useful? I had a similar thought and could probably figure it out, but I really don’t want to dig my old chem and bio texts out of my garage.