Microwave Dangers

Are there microwave dangers that come with your dinner? We often assume these ovens are safe. We can just "nuke" our dinner and it's fine. Intuitively, I have always felt it's not a good idea to use these ovens. So I did some research. Here's what I found:

--For years, Russia outlawed microwave ovens. Russian scientists recognized microwave dangers based on their research: signs include low blood pressure and slow pulse. Later signs are stress and high blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, eye pain, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, stomach pain, nervous tension, inability to concentrate, hair loss, reproductive problems, cancer, adrenal exhaustion. Ouch!

--A study reported in the Nov 2003 Journal of Science and Food Agriculture found that microwaved broccoli lost up to 97% of its beneficial antioxidants. In contrast, steamed broccoli lost 11% of its antioxidants.

--Microwave ovens use molecular friction to heat up the food. This unusual type of heating causes damage to surrounding molecules, tearing and deforming them.

--Microwaves cook food by rapidly shaking the cellular molecules, which damages the cells. The food now has new compounds, called radiolytic compounds, that are unknown in nature. We are not sure what they do.

--in 1991, a woman named Norma Levitt was killed by a blood transfusion. A nurse warmed the blood in a microwave.

--In the Dec l989 issue of Lancet, Dr Lita Lee of Hawaii reported that microwaving baby formula converted certain trans-amino acids to their synthetic cis-isomers. These are not biologically active. The amino acid L-proline was converted to its d-isomer, which is a known neurotoxin and nephotoxin (Poison to the kidneys)

-Dr. Hans Hertel, a Swiss food scientist, carried out a clinical study of the effects of microwaved food on the blood. In a small but well controlled group, he found that after eating microwaved food, there was a decrease in good cholesterol, hemoglobin and red blood cells.

Avoid microwave dangers in a Natural Kitchen!

As a whole foods cook, I like a flame to cook on. Microwaves are made for processed foods. You can't stir, add in herbs at the right time, or have any control over the food. Just nuke it!

In natural healing, we are reluctant to add new things to the body never before seen in nature. (like genetically modified foods) until we are sure they are safe.

With microwave ovens, molecules are changed, and unnatural molecules are formed. Conventional heating is more gentle, heat transfers from without to within and this takes time. When you "nuke" a food, the oven uses an alternating current to force a billion or more polarity reversals per second. Not too natural.

I don't own a microwave. I want to see, smell, season and experience the art of good real food. I have more counter space without the extra oven, too.

I don't know how common microwaves are in restaurants. I have worked in a few natural foods places and there were no microwaves for the food we made. Restaurants need to make food in large quantities,too much to fit in microwaves, so the microwave dangers may be less. But they may warm up your coffee in a microwave.

It would be cool if restaurants allowed their patrons to tour the kitchens and see how things are done. We often want to known how our food was raised. I want to know how it was cooked!

I think there's too many microwave dangers to have these ovens in the kitchen. And I would like to see more research in this area.

Food for Thought

"Cooking for yourself is the only sure way to take back control of your diet from the food scientists and food processors, and to guarantee you're eating real food and not edible food-like substances, with their unhealthy oils, high fructose corn syrup, and surfeit of salt"

--Micheal Pollen, author and food researcher

What is GMO food, and is it safe?

the truth about high fructose corn syrup

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