In a contemporary kitchen, the microwave oven is probably the most indispensable appliance – the one appliance that any household cannot do without. If you don’t want the hassle of preparing vegetables but you want to eat the green stuff, you can just pop that vegetable-based frozen dinner for it to be ready in a short time.
Before you pop in that microwave popcorn or heat that vegetable turnover or quiche, it would be a good idea for you to be aware of what using the microwave could do to your health.
Here are 5 microwave health dangers you should know about:
1. It Takes Away the Food’s Nutrients
Popping food in the microwave can take away the food’s nutrients. That nutritious cold meal would turn into ‘dead food’ because of the microwaves’ dielectric heating.
Water molecules rapidly rotate in the food and in the microwave in high frequencies, creating molecular friction to heat up the food, and leading to the food’s molecular structure to change. Such rapid molecular movement diminishes the nutrient content.
2. It Destroys Vitamin B-12 and Breast Milk
Once microwave-heated, vitamin B-12’s health benefits are negated instantly. In a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study, researchers studied microwave heating’s effects on vitamin B-12 loss in foods like milk, pork, and beef. The results indicated that there was a 30% to 40% loss of the vitamin.
During heating, breast milk’s powerful bacteria-fighting agents are also destroyed. Findings in the Pediatrics journal examined the practice of heating frozen human milk in intensive care nurseries. Twenty-two milk samples were tested for antibodies and lysozyme activity by heating them for 30 seconds.
At high temperatures, the breast milk was determined to have more E. coli growth, which is 18 times more than the non-microwaved milk. Low-temperature microwaving also decreased the lysozyme activity and also allowed the growth of bad bacteria for babies.
3. It Can Change the Blood Composition
In a clinical study by the Swiss, researchers determined that the blood changes in people who consumed microwaved vegetables and milk. The participants ate food prepared in various ways, including the microwave way.
The study’s results showed that red blood cells decreased while white blood cells increased, together with the cholesterol levels. The microwave’s non-ionizing radiation can lead to changes in your heart rate and blood makeup.
4. It Can Create Carcinogens in Food
Microwaveable foods are determined to have toxic chemicals like xylene, toluene, benzene, PET (polyethylene terpthalate), or BPA. The plastic containers that go in the microwave oven have been determined to release carcinogens and the other toxic substances, which are absorbed in the food and eventually by the human body.
5. It Can Change Your Heart Rate
Because of the 2.4 GHz radiation, microwaves can instantaneously affect your body. Trent University’s Dr. Magda Havas’ study found that microwave-emitted radiation affects both heart rate variability and heart rate.
While such levels are still acceptable, they tend to cause rapid heart rate changes. If you regularly eat microwave food and feel any chest pain or experience irregular heart, it is wise for you to stop using the microwave.
The microwave health dangers mentioned above can help you to determine whether or not you want to continue using your microwave oven, or buy one if you don’t have it already in your kitchen.
We don’t have a microwave in our kitchen and don’t miss it at all. If you have one use it only when absolutely necessary, like to quickly re-heat leftovers, instead of relying on it for your daily cooking. If you don’t use it too often radiation and exposure will be minimal so you have nothing to worry about.
About the author:
Amy is a life and food lover, certified biologist, and holistic health coach. She is the founder of the healthy lifestyle website body-in-balance.org and creator of the online program, “ThinForever”. After successfully changing her family’s health and happiness, she’s on a mission to help other people achieve the life and body they want. You can find here on Facebook or Google+ or get her FREE clean, whole food recipe eBook “Amy’s Home Kitchen” here.
Sources for this article include:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf970670x