Does rice contain cadmium and is it dangerous if you eat rice every day?

What's actually in it

Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that occurs naturally in soil and is also spread through fertilizers, sewage sludge, and industrial pollution. Rice plants are unusually good at absorbing cadmium from the ground and concentrating it in the grain. Compared to wheat, corn, and other cereals, rice typically contains higher cadmium levels.

You can't wash cadmium off rice because it's embedded inside the grain itself. Cooking methods can reduce some metals, but cadmium stubbornly remains. People who eat rice at every meal get a steady daily dose of this metal.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Environ Geochem Health combined geographic data with individual health records to link long-term dietary cadmium exposure from rice to liver cancer risk. The researchers found that people living in areas with higher soil cadmium levels, who relied on locally grown rice, had significantly elevated rates of liver cancer.

Cadmium is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It accumulates in the body over decades, primarily in the kidneys and liver. The body has no efficient way to remove it, so every serving of contaminated rice adds to the lifetime total.

Beyond cancer, chronic cadmium exposure is linked to kidney damage, bone loss, and cardiovascular disease. Children and pregnant women are at higher risk because cadmium can cross the placenta and affect fetal development.

You don't need to stop eating rice entirely. But if you eat it daily, consider rotating in other grains like quinoa, millet, barley, or buckwheat. Rinse rice thoroughly before cooking. Choose white rice over brown rice when concerned about metals, since cadmium concentrates in the outer bran layer.