Are Microwaves Evil?
January 12, 2007
As a young girl I was always told to not stand infront of my microwave because it causes cancer. Recently I read in a book “natural cures THEY don’t want you to know about” that mincrowaving food actually changed the chemical structure of the food making it more unhealthy for you. Lately I’ve been digging into this fabulous book called “Let Them Eat Flax” by Dr. Joe Schwarcz and it’s a book I would highly recommend. I’m not one of those naturalists that go nuts and think that everything unnatural is bad for you. I’m learning in this book that there’s a lot of things that naturalists think are bad for you that are not. Dr. Joe Schwarcz is a chemist and he goes into the actual studies done on things and the real chemisty and science behind it all. ANYWAY, back to microwaves. A microwave works by agitating molecules in the food so they create friction and heat the food up. Most things need to contain a certain amount of water to heat up which is fine because most food contains plenty of water. Microwaves do not breack chemical bonds therefore it cannot cause cancer nor can a microwave do anymore damage to your food than other means of cooking. Heating food does change the chemicals but that happens with any means of cooking, otherwise things wouldn’t cook!! Spanish researchers caused a major uproar because they wanted to see which method of cooking would yeild the healthiest cooked broccoli. They were mainly interested in the loss of flavonoids (which are helpful with cancer prevention). They noted a 97 percent decline in flavonoids when microwaving the broccoli, while there were hardly any losses in steaming the broccoli. Now that sounds scary right? It looks like the microwaves are killing our flavonoids but really, the researchers just didn’t know how to cook broccoli. They covered them entirely with water and heated them for FIVE MINUTES on high!! Of course that’s going to result in overcooked, squishy broccoli!! The only risks associated with microwaves are in accidents that happen with the hot food. DONT microwave a whole egg, it will explode in your face and be careful with liquids as they can get super hot without boiling so it’s good to make sure they’ve come to a full boil before you take them out of the microwave so you know the steam inside has been let off. No exploding coffee for me. Anyway, there, now you know the truth behind microwaves. I, for one, am very relieved as I was feeling guilty for microwaving my son’s food all the time after reading how it chemically alters the food. Looks like I still am a good mom.
One more thing to note. There are actually more carcenogens (heterocyclic aromatic amines) found in meat that has been grilled, fried, or broiled as opposed to microwaved. One thing I’d like to know though is why bread gets tough in the microwave. Also when actually cooking meat in the microwave it tends to get rubbery, perhaps I’ll get my mom to ask Dr Schwarcz next time she goes to one of his lectures. BUY THE BOOK!
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1.
Rev. Francis | January 22, 2007 at 5:43 pm
“A microwave works by agitating molecules in the food so they create friction and heat the food up”
The concern here is not whether molecules are moving, since that happens anytime you heat anything. The concern is HOW those molecules are agitated by the microwave. This, of course, is how the microwave receives its names: it uses microwave radiation in order to penetrate substances, causing them to absorb the radiation, thus stimulating the molecules.
“Microwaves do not breack [sic] chemical bonds therefore it [sic] cannot cause cancer nor can a microwave do anymore damage to your food than other means of cooking. Heating food does change the chemicals but that happens with any means of cooking, otherwise things wouldn’t cook!”
Again, the situation here has nothing to do with breaking chemical bonds, but about the insertion of varying degrees of microwave radiation. Using a stove-top over, on the other hand, merely uses conventional heat (sans radiation) to stimulate the molecules.
You are most likely quite right about the myth of microwave dangers, but for the wrong reasons. If you have a new (last ten years) microwave, the amount of radiation is so minute that you have a better chance of accumulating radiation poisoning by walking outside. By contrast, an older microwave may leak up to 5x the amount of radiation as newer microwaves and your cellphone emits up to 3x the radiation.
2.
healthnag | January 22, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I’d be curious to know what radiation does to chemical bonds to actually damage something. Perhpas breaking them would be in order. I’m sorry but your response didn’t really give any scientific proof for anything whatsoever. My sources for my article aren’t from some crazy dude, he’s a highly respected canadian chemist. Look him up.
3.
Rev. Francis | January 22, 2007 at 10:09 pm
My response offered the same amount of scientific evidence as yours. I am well aware of the McGill professor as I attended several of his courses during my undergrad (I found your blog through a search for him). I was not disputing the evidence you argued, or at least were informing the public about. Dr. Schwarcz makes a living by evangelizing the general public about scientific myths. You will find that his book will only dispute the classic unfounded myths, but will not mention radiation for the obvious reason that the amounts are so little.
Chemical bonds are rarely the cause for abnormal or unhealthy poison. If you are wondering about the effects that radiation in general has on different forms of substances I would encourage you to do a basic google search. Again, I am not insinuating that Microwaves are hence “evil”, dangerous, or unhealthy, since these are the same waves we use for our televisions, wireless networks, and, as mentioned, cellphones. Just don’t put your son next to a 1970’s microwave for several days.
4.
journeytomom | January 30, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Thanks for the info. I might have to check out that book.
I did want to pass on a tip my mother-in-law gave me regarding cooking bread in the microwave: reduce power to 30%. It comes out nice and soft and almost as good as when it was “fresh.” Hope that helps.
Melissa
http://wholelife.wordpress.com
5.
onlysometimesclever | February 20, 2007 at 1:32 pm
The bread gets tough because the microwaving of it causes much of the water to evaporate, so you’re left w/ moisture-depleted bread.
And Rev Francis sounds like a sourpuss. Anyone who puts [sic] when quoting ones own blog IN ones own blog is taking himself far too seriously. You have my permission to ignore him.
6.
MedicineMama | April 20, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Well, Im not familiar with this Dr. that you reffer too, but I am currently studing to be a holisitc health pactitioner, and currently read a collaberation of articles, studies, and research on the topic.
Although i agree that the exposure from microwaves arn’t enough radiation to cause cancer, but the foods that come out of the microwave sure will.
There are a number of reasons why microwaved foods are not healthy for you, they change polarity of the food, they decrease the food value by 60-90%, not to mention that in a microwave oven food may be heated for so short of a time that it is cooked unevenly, since heat requires time to diffuse through food, and microwaves only penetrate to a limited depth. Microwave ovens are frequently used for reheating previously cooked food, and bacterial contamination may not be killed if the safe temperature is not reached, resulting in food borne illness.You talk about how agitation creates molecular friction, which heats the food, but what you don’t cover is how the friction also causes substantial damage to the surrounding molecules, often tearing them apart or forcefully deforming them. The scientific name for this deformation is “structural isomerism.” Radiation, as defined by physics terminology, is “the electromagnetic waves emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay.” Radiation causes ionization, which is what occurs when a neutral atom gains or loses electrons. In simpler term, a microwave oven decays and changes the molecular structure of the food by the process of radiation. Most of all this heating process transfers radiation and alters just about every food placed into it with some form of carcinogen… which is known to cause cancer…
I find your blog interesting but lacking in scientific support, or not enough research about the topic to base it all on one mans opinion.
7.
Douglas M. Finney | October 27, 2007 at 10:50 am
My money is on MedicineMama. On recommendation of my nutritionist and naturopathic doctor and after reading the study done by Hans Hertal (See link below) I threw out my microwave oven. The article smells like it was authored by an appliance manufacturer.
http://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html