Re: Arsenic?

I didn't know for a while. I have no idea what arsenic tastes like. The seaweed just tasted like seaweed. Not great. But in researching my symptoms and what I was eating, it became evident that heavy metal poisoning was a candidate and that I had had unusual exposure to a food source high in arsenic. The episodes stopped when the hijiki was stopped. Not scientific proof, but good enough for me not to eat hijiki anymore. Here is information on hijiki, an abstract off the Internet:
Estimation of Arsenic Bioaccessibility in Edible Seaweed by an in Vitro Digestion Method

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J. M. Laparra,† D. Vélez,† R. Montoro,*† R. Barberá,‡ and R. Farré‡
Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (CSIC), Aptdo 73, 46100, Burjassot (Valencia), Spain, and Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Avda. Vicente Andrés Estellés s/n. 46100 Burjassot, Spain
J. Agric. Food Chem., 2003, 51 (20), pp 6080–6085
DOI: 10.1021/jf034537i
Publication Date (Web): August 13, 2003
Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society
†

Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (CSIC).
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*

To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: (+34)963 900 022. Fax: (+34)963 636 301. E-mail: rmontoro@iata.csic.es.
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‡

University of Valencia.
Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the bioaccessibility (maximum soluble concentration in gastrointestinal medium) of total (AsT) and inorganic (AsI) arsenic contents and the effect on them of cooking edible seaweed, a food of great interest because of its high As content. An in vitro gastrointestinal digestion (pepsin, pH 2, and pancreatin−bile extract, pH 7) was applied to obtain the mineral soluble fraction of three seaweeds (Hizikia fusiforme, Porphyra sp., and Enteromorpha sp.). AsT was determined by dry-ashing flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. AsI was determined by acid digestion, solvent extraction, and flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The bioaccessibility of AsI increased significantly after cooking, attaining 73% in Porphyra sp. and 88% in H. fusiforme. For cooked H. fusiforme, the AsI attained in the bioaccessible fraction was 26 μg g-1 seaweed, a concentration that is a warning of the toxicological risk of this food.

Keywords: Bioaccessibility; total arsenic; inorganic arsenic; seaweed; cooking

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