Microwave ovens were meant to be the ideal tool for convenience cooking in today's busy and time-limited life, much like the frozen-dinner idea that goes along with them!
However for a health perspective, microwave ovens are one of the worst things you can use...
Microwave ovens heat up food by stimulating massive friction between water molecules in the food. This causes a very rapid increase in temperature, but at an uneven rate and temperature in foods with different concentrations of water. This is why some parts of your microwave meals are scalding and others are still cold!
Scientific research into microwaving foods includes the following:
1) In the Pediatrics journal (1992, volume 89, no. 4) - showed that warming human breast milk in a microwave oven destroyed the natural antibodies and enzymes, and further damaged the cells in the milk. The results occurred even when the milk was warmed to low temperatures.
2) Microwaving food in contact with plastic containers causes chemicals in the plastic to leach into the food, which you can sometimes taste (such as when you leave a plastic water bottle in the sun or in a hot car). Such chemicals in plastic can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) or they can mimic normal body hormones and thus have effects on the body. These chemicals can also affect fertility and sexual development (ie, early puberty in children). This occurs even in BPA-free or "microwave-safe" plastics.
3) Epidemiology and Infection journal (1995, vol 115, no. 2) - The uneven temperatures in food from microwave cooking can cause food poisoning from salmonella.
4) Vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin (in fruits, vegetables and some meats) is required for good immune system function and protective against stress, but is particularly affected (ie, hugely reduced) by microwave cooking.
5) Vitamin B12 found in meats and other animal products (eggs, dairy etc) is also greatly reduced (ie, destroyed) when cooking in the microwave oven.
6) Microwave ovens leak radiation to the environment and to anyone standing nearby when they are being used.
So while microwave ovens appear to be convenient in our busy lives, they come at the expense of destroying the food cooked in them and affecting your health. With a little planning and only a little more time, you can cook, reheat, steam, bake or grill your meals instead, and it doesn't take that much longer!
It's still best to steam your vegetables and fish, or reheat meals in saucepans or in the oven - but not in "safe" plastic containers or using any plastic cookware, not just for retaining more nutrients in your food, but for your overall health.
However for a health perspective, microwave ovens are one of the worst things you can use...
Microwave ovens heat up food by stimulating massive friction between water molecules in the food. This causes a very rapid increase in temperature, but at an uneven rate and temperature in foods with different concentrations of water. This is why some parts of your microwave meals are scalding and others are still cold!
Scientific research into microwaving foods includes the following:
1) In the Pediatrics journal (1992, volume 89, no. 4) - showed that warming human breast milk in a microwave oven destroyed the natural antibodies and enzymes, and further damaged the cells in the milk. The results occurred even when the milk was warmed to low temperatures.
2) Microwaving food in contact with plastic containers causes chemicals in the plastic to leach into the food, which you can sometimes taste (such as when you leave a plastic water bottle in the sun or in a hot car). Such chemicals in plastic can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) or they can mimic normal body hormones and thus have effects on the body. These chemicals can also affect fertility and sexual development (ie, early puberty in children). This occurs even in BPA-free or "microwave-safe" plastics.
3) Epidemiology and Infection journal (1995, vol 115, no. 2) - The uneven temperatures in food from microwave cooking can cause food poisoning from salmonella.
4) Vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin (in fruits, vegetables and some meats) is required for good immune system function and protective against stress, but is particularly affected (ie, hugely reduced) by microwave cooking.
5) Vitamin B12 found in meats and other animal products (eggs, dairy etc) is also greatly reduced (ie, destroyed) when cooking in the microwave oven.
6) Microwave ovens leak radiation to the environment and to anyone standing nearby when they are being used.
So while microwave ovens appear to be convenient in our busy lives, they come at the expense of destroying the food cooked in them and affecting your health. With a little planning and only a little more time, you can cook, reheat, steam, bake or grill your meals instead, and it doesn't take that much longer!
It's still best to steam your vegetables and fish, or reheat meals in saucepans or in the oven - but not in "safe" plastic containers or using any plastic cookware, not just for retaining more nutrients in your food, but for your overall health.
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