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Microwave ovens: convenience vs. health and nutritionI am the first to admit that anything convenient I like. I am personally having a very hard time keeping up with my own life right now, so anything that can save time is much appreciated. I bet many of you feel the same way. I'm willing to pay more money for pre-washed organic mixed greens and I buy organic nugget potatoes instead of the big ones so I don't have to peel or chop. A few years back, I insisted on getting a microwave to defrost meat and to reheat snacks. We still have that microwave, but now it is relegated to rag duty - I zap my kitchen rags for 3 minutes to kill every living bit of bacteria on them before wiping down the counters.
Since the microwave is so good at killing bacteria, it becomes obvious that it also will kill anything alive in our food. All those vital enzymes that help us digest our food, all the B, C and E vitamins and most trace minerals are destroyed in the microwaving process. As opposed to conventional means of cooking which heat the food from the outside in, microwave ovens heat from the inside out by hurling out high-frequency alternating power fields which forces the molecules within the food to align themselves with the rapidly alternating electric field and sends the molecules flying back and forth at the dizzying pace of about 5 billion reversals per second. This causes a great deal of intermolecular friction which creates heat to heat the food, but it also destroys the cellular structure of the food, and it can change the chemical composition of the food into something that the body no longer recognizes. And if the food was cooked in a plastic container or with plastic wrap on top, plastic molecules are now imbedded into the food, which creates a whole other disaster for the endocrine system. So eating microwaved food frequently, is a problem because not only have the micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phyto-nutrients) been destroyed, but also the macro-nutrients (proteins, carbs, fats) have been molecularly damaged rendering it virtually useless to the body. You can even detect the compositional changes yourself. Don't microwaved eggs seem rubbery to you, too? Physicians tell new mothers never to heat the baby's milk in the microwave, as it denatures the proteins in the milk. If something is not good for baby, surely it is not good for adults either.
More and more evidence is coming to the fore that electromagnetic fields are damaging to human cells, and the higher the frequency the bigger the problem. Food that is nuked at a rate of the typical 2.45 gigahertz frequency in the microwave has been "energized" and the food gives off that energy to the nervous system, which may cause a stress response of high blood pressure, anxiety, headaches, and dizziness. Eating zapped food can cause abnormal changes in the blood and in the immune system. The Russians, who did most of the research on microwaves, found that there were higher incidences of stomach and intestinal cancers, digestive disorders, and higher rates of all cell tumors in those that ate microwaved foods frequently. Microwave ovens were banned in Russia from 1976 until Perestroika.
So, how does one live microwave free? The biggest thing is to get organized and get into the habit of taking out the frozen meat, poultry or fish in the morning, or to buy fresh on the way home. As for cooking, I love my folding electric grill, as it cooks really fast because the grill folds like a waffle iron and grills both sides of the meat at once. I either steam some fresh organic veggies or make a salad, and along with the help of a healthy sauce or dressing that I made up on the weekend, voila, I've got a simple, nutritious meal in less than 15 minutes. Much tougher is eating out at restaurants, where we are not always aware of the cooking methods used. So ask the necessary questions and do what you can to protect your food and your health.
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Chek, Paul; You Are What You Eat CD Series Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2002.
Blanc, BH & Hertel, H.U. Comparative study about the influence on man by food prepared conventionally and in the microwave oven 1992.
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Dealler, SF et al: Superficial microwave heating Nature 344: 496, 1990.
Quan, R et al. Effects of Microwave Radiation on Anti-infective Factors in Human Milk Pediatrics 89(4): 677-669, 1992.
Lubec, G. et al. Amino acid Isomerisation and Microwave Exposure The Lancet 2(8676:) 1392-93, 1989.
Thomas, Will; Nuked in your kitchen Convergency Weekly, Online.
Online at Are Microwave Ovens a Source of Danger?