I’ve been meaning to write this article for a long time—ever since I started this blog, actually. I’ve put it off just because the answer is so overwhelming and threatening to our convenient lifestyles. What’s wrong with microwaving? Basically EVERYTHING. You might want to stop reading here if you don’t want to make any changes in your quick cooking methods. It all started when one night my friend Ivy was over and I was about to heat up something for her to eat. “In the microwave?” she asked. I looked at her like, of course—how else would I heat something up? She said she’d rather heat it over the stove herself. And she did. “Why? What’s wrong with microwaving?” I asked her as she stood over the stove. My ignorance surprised her (considering my adamant stand on other health topics) and she encouraged me to do my own research. The minute I started looking into it, I was at once overwhelmed and alarmed. But then if you know me, what’s new. Haha. What I found out is that microwaving food is far more dangerous to the human body than I ever thought. Actually I hadn’t given it much thought. Because microwave oven manufacturers, Washington City politics, and plain old human nature suppress the facts and evidence against microwaves and people like me continue to use their microwaves in blissful ignorance.
It’s not just about standing far away from the micro when it’s on. It’s not just about not microwaving stuff in plastic. Those two things are the very least you can do. In a nutshell, every microwave oven leaks electro-magnetic radiation, harms food, and converts substances cooked in it to dangerous organ-toxic and carcinogenic products. (Health Effects of Microwave Radiation - Microwave Ovens, by Dr. Lita Lee) So again, why is microwaving food dangerous? Let’s start with how the microwaving process works. Microwave radiation interacts with the molecules in food. Food molecules - especially the molecules of water - have a positive and negative end in the same way a magnet has a north and a south polarity. All wave energy changes polarity from positive to negative with each cycle of the wave. Artificially produced microwaves in ovens are produced from alternating current and force a billion or more polarity reversals per second in every food molecule they hit. As these microwaves bombard the food, they cause the polar molecules to rotate at the same frequency. All this agitation creates molecular friction, which heats up the food. The friction causes substantial damage to the surrounding molecules, often tearing them apart or forcefully deforming them. Production of unnatural molecules is inevitable. Naturally occurring amino acids have been observed to undergo isomeric changes (changes in shape morphing) as well as transformation into toxic forms, under the impact of microwaves produced in ovens. Also, and this is very important for all parents, NEVER EVER EVER MICROWAVE YOUR BABY’S FORMULA OR BREASTMILK even for a few seconds to warm it up. Microwaved formula has been found to be poisonous to the nervous system and to the kidneys! Just turn the tap water on hot and put the bottle of milk in the hot water until it’s a good temp (don’t waste your $ on those bottle warmers).
Read on if you’re still interested and want more info (how could you not?). Below are the findings of Russian studies done on microwaved foods. Carcinogens were formed in virtually all foods tested. No test food was subjected to more microwaving than necessary.
- Microwaving prepared meats sufficiently to insure sanitary ingestion caused formation of d-Nitrosodienthanolamines, a well-known carcinogen.
- Microwaving milk and cereal grains converted some of their amino acids into carcinogens.
- Thawing frozen fruits converted their glucoside and galactoside containing fractions into carcinogenic substances.
- Extremely short exposure of raw, cooked or frozen vegetables converted their plant alkaloids into carcinogens.
- Carcinogenic free radicals were formed in microwaved plants, especially root vegetables.
- Decrease in nutritional value
- Russian researchers also reported a marked acceleration of structural degradation leading to a decreased food value of 60 to 90%
- in all foods tested. Among the changes observed were:
- Deceased bio-availability of vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics factors in all food tested.
- Various kinds of damaged to many plant substances, such as alkaloids, glucosides, galactosides and nitrilosides.
- The degradation of nucleo-proteins in meats.
The anti-microwave group (a.k.a. microwave militia) have skeptics who call them crazy, but really, it makes more sense to me that long-term exposure to man-made microwaves are harmful to the human body than that it’s not. The skeptics are probably also doubtful that McDonald’s, processed foods, canned goods and plastics are harmful to their bodies, too. It comes down to what you’re wiling to believe and let affect how you live.
Do your own research. It’s totally your decision to choose to throw out your micro, eat food heated by a micro or even purchase one in the first place. For me, when I initially read all this, I put a sign on my micro that said “If possible, DO NOT USE MICROWAVE.” I tried to heat everything on the stove or in the toaster oven. But that became inconvenient and over time I’ve become lax about it. Sadly I microwave food several times a day now, though I make sure to use only ceramic or glass (NO plastic, saran, not even those “microwavable” splatter covers!!). But after rehashing the details of my research, I just might put up the sign again and give my anti-microwave campaign another go.
