Is microwaved food bad for you?

[Jed3]

I've heard that microwaved food is no good for you. I eat a fair bit of microwaved food and I want to know if it has any negative effects on the body.
Can anyone help me?

[thod]

I have heard the moon is made of cheese.

You can research the web as well as anyone. I am not sure why you think it is bad. If you say it destroys vitamins, well so does boiling, and that is akin to what a microwave does.

[Shadow]

I don't eat much microwaved food, the only time I microwave food is for lunch, and even then I'll probably have something like pre made pizza or 3min noodles. The last thing I microwaved was Easy-Mac, and that really doesn't have any nutrients to destroy.

[Doppelbock]

This whole "microwaved food is bad for you" nonsense is usually propagated by the same kind of people who buy into "holistic medicine" and all that crap.

[Szarra]

I would say it's more likely that what you are microwaving is bad for you and not necessarily the act of microwaving. It's like the people who eat McDonald's everyday for three years and then scream that it's McDonald's fault they're fat.

[Uberfuhrer]

Latest research states that practically everything can kill you. Don't fret.

[punkyplatypus]

The only reason I can think of microwaving food as being harmful to your health would be microwaving it in/on some sort of container or plate that might break down partially when microwaving, possibly contaminating the food (like plastics & styrofoam, which wikipedia says might "interfere with hormone functions. It's a possible human carcinogen"). The other adverse affect I can think of would be to stick something in the microwave that might explode and kill you (perhaps a closed metal can). I've also been told that staring into the microwave while it's on may damage my eyes, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.
Other hazards, like fires and undercooking, can be caused from using other cooking devices. I figure if you're smart about how you use the microwave, you shouldn't have any problems. If it were really that dangerous, shouldn't there be (more, if any) protests against it?

[superhormone]

Microwaved foods usually have high sodium contents which can be detrimental to you health but that too depends on many conditions

[mkay]

I've read variations on these possible health risks:


1. People who ingested microwaved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers, plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues and a gradual breakdown of the function of the digestive and excretory systems.

2. Due to chemical alterations within food substances, malfunctions occurred within the lymphatic system, causing a degeneration in the immune system's ability to protect the body against neoplastic (cancerous) growth.

3. Microwave exposure caused significant decreases in the nutritional value of all foods studied, most significantly in the bio-availability of Bcomplex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics (substances that prevent abnormal accumulation of fat).

4. Heating prepared meats in a microwave sufficiently for human consumption creates the cancer-causing agent d-nitrosodiethanolamine.

5. Cancer-causing free radicals were formed within certain trace-mineral, molecular formations in plant substances -- particularly in raw root vegetables.

6. Ingestion of microwaved foods caused a higher percentage of cancerous cells within the blood serum.

7. Microwaving foods alters their elemental food substances, leading to disorders in the digestive system.

I don't eat microwaved food for various reasons mentioned by others. Obviously up to you to read up and decide what's best for you.

[Aronnax]

Prepackaged food tends to be bad for you but there's nothing inherently bad about using a microwave to heat food. The long wavelengths are good at causing water molecules to rotate/vibrate but they don't destabilize atoms (making them radioactive).

[PcChip]

Szarra stated exactly what I would have posted:

I would say it's more likely that what you are microwaving is bad for you and not necessarily the act of microwaving.

I also agree with Aronnax in that prepackaged food tends to be bad for you, but all microwaves do are cause water molecules to vibrate, creating friction and heating the food from the inside.

[PRBori]

Using the Microwave ALL the time can eventually lead to cancer. But using it a few times is not. Also, microwave food is nood good, if you can cook your own it would be much more healthier.

Currently, I cook my own and take it to work. On the weekends in particular I cook as much as necessary and freeze some of it for lunch. That way I know how old the food is and how it was made, which is important to me.

Anyway, the only advice is limit the use of microwave to once a day whenever possible. Use the oven or stove as much as possible. At work I have no choice but microwave, but at home I prefer the other methods over it.

[Vortex]

Using the Microwave ALL the time can eventually lead to cancer. But using it a few times is not. Also, microwave food is nood good, if you can cook your own it would be much more healthier.


Source this.


All a Microwave does is generate a microwave field (astonishing, I know) that hits the water molecules (and other dipole compounds) in food. This causes them to vibrate, releasing the energy as heat. There is no residual electromagnetic radiation of any kind.

Even better: from Wikipedia (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts._radiation)

"Radiation from a microwave oven directly on a human is not carcinogenic. However, with the oven door open, the radiation may cause damage by heating. Nearly every microwave sold has a protective interlock so that it cannot be run when the door is open or improperly latched."

"Some people are concerned with being exposed to the microwave oven's radiation. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, a U.S. Federal standard limits microwave leakage from an oven, for the lifetime of the device, to 5 milliwatts per square centimeter when measured 5 centimeters from the surface of the oven.[7] This is far below the exposure level currently considered to be harmful to human health."

"There have been studies on the effects of microwave cooking. They show both positive and negative effects on the nutrient contents of microwaved food.

There are no effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables; spinach retains nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave. [10] In comparison, it loses about 77 percent when cooked on a stove.[10] Bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of carcinogenic nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.[10]"


-------

To sum it up: There is no direct way a microwave can harm you in any realistic scenario that doesn't involve massive user incompetence.

[yondyr]

I would say it's more likely that what you are microwaving is bad for you and not necessarily the act of microwaving.

Definitely bad for the cat....

[Caramel]

It all depends on if you clean your microwave oven often enough. But, the same is true for cooking with regular pans..

Oh, if your microwave blows up, then don't eat the contents. If you're able to find it, that is. It might be on the walls somewhere..

[Szarra]

Definitely bad for the cat....

Yes, microwaving the cat is very bad for the cat. I did not consider that aspect, since I never plan on ingesting a cat. YMMV

[PRBori]

Source this.


-------

To sum it up: There is no direct way a microwave can harm you in any realistic scenario that doesn't involve massive user incompetence.

Here are some articles regarding the consequences. Even if people want to doubt, I personally take most anything seriously. Again it is a personal choice, a personal decision. I would be in the poll of scientist that doubts the results until a more in depth study is performed.

JAAIM-Journal for the American Association of Integrative Medicine - same article above...
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

The difficult Survival in a Global Microwave Oven - A switzerland Study
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Microwave Oven Radiation
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


************************************************** *
In regards to microwave food, there are some issues already proved, but again is all about common sense. My main concern would be how was the food handle? how old is it? after all you only see the expiration date only, there is no date indicating when it was actually cooked and packed... and I would dearly question sanitazion of the facilities.... but again that's just me a skeptical gal....

It is an individual choice. I do get them sometimes just like everyone else, but I do try to avoid them as much as possible.


Here are some articles:

Here are a few articles

Microwave Safety - Food Poisoning
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Microwave Food
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[azelismia]

I have my tinfoil hat on and I am not taking it off!

[Aronnax]

Some of those articles state that microwaved food won't hurt you and warn against reheating contaminated food in a microwave. That's good advice for any food that's just getting heated up and not cooked. If you don't get the food hot and keep it there the bacteria won't die.


The articles that related microwaves to cancer just cited a Swiss study but didn't explain mechanism for cancer formation. I wanted to hear the arguement so I spent a few minutes with Google and pulled up the study.

The swiss study was performed using a test group of 8 people, using 8 different tests. The tests were performed every 2-5 days over an 8 week period. You can't determine anything with a study group that small.

He then goes on to make misleading statements about how microwaves actually work:

"... Atoms, molecules and cells hit by this hard electromagnetic radiation are forced to reverse polarity 1 to 100 billion times a second. There are no atoms, molecules or cells of any organic system able to withstand such a violent, destructive power for any extended period of time..."

There are two errors in this statement:

1) A microwave does not force atoms to "reverse polarity 100 billion times a second", the atom's polarity never changes. Microwaves generate an oscillating field that can move polar water molecules but the atom's polarity does not change. He also is trying to intimidate the reader with large values by talking about "1 to 100 billion times a second". A light bulb shining on your skin subjects your body to 500 trillion cycles a second! Clearly there's no way your skin can withstand that! Both the statements are true, the microwaves generated by your oven operate at around 3X10^9 Hz while visible light operates around 5X10^14 Hz. Both frequencies are also pretty much meaningless until you start considering energy levels and atomic interaction.

2)Microwave ovens don't generate enough power to break down atoms, it pushes polar atoms around causing internal friction to heat your food. It can break intermolecular bonds but that's due to heat, just like a stove or conventional oven.

The man who performed this study doesn't have a firm grasp of statical significance or even a handle on freshman physics. It's disgusting that he has a doctorate because his experimental method wouldn't be acceptable for an undergraduate.

Make sure your food isn't contaminated with bacteria when it goes into the microwave and it'll be fine.

Edit~ I love the glasses Azelismia

[azelismia]

Edit~ I love the glasses Azelismia

they're xray! If you wear them long enough the radiation causes your facial hair to grow very long and your nose to elongate before they all fall off and out.

[brad]

Yes, microwaving the cat is very bad for the cat. I did not consider that aspect, since I never plan on ingesting a cat. YMMV

I have my tinfoil hat on and I am not taking it off!

cat + hat --microwave--> ???

[azelismia]

cat + hat --microwave--> ???


what I wrote had nothing to do iwht the cat comment and the cat comment I find unfunny and in very bad taste. some subjects are never funny. abuse is one of them.

[yondyr]

ya had to be there...

[brad]

what I wrote had nothing to do iwht the cat comment and the cat comment I find unfunny and in very bad taste. some subjects are never funny. abuse is one of them.

Okay, but what is your opinion of tall horses?

[thod]

The H0 bonds are not the only bond that will absorb the microwaves though. The frequency is tuned to match that bond but some will be absorbed by other chemical bonds with similar energies. If those bonds are not as strong as the HO bond then I could see atoms being stripped from the molecule. Thus the original molecule and the ion would react with their surroundings to create new compounds. These could have adverse effects.

Its not something specific to microwaves though, conventional heat has the same effects of destroying compounds. Potatoes for example cant be eaten raw, the cooking destroys the nasty compounds.

[zoophilia]

it has a lot of preservatives esp. salt. usually it is low in calories though which might offset the negatives of increased salt intake.

[Ool]

[…] if you can cook your own it would be much more healthier.

Why do we have to cook at all? I mean, hardly anything I eat all day involves local cooking. The muesli doesn’t. The soy milk doesn’t. The apples and bananas don’t. The food supplement pills don’t.

I have my subs toasted if they put Velveeta on them. Otherwise I have my veggie patties microwaved with Philadelphia on the untoasted sub. But everything else is raw salad. And I could live with all my sub ingredients being cold.

Cooking to me seems to be an effort in futility. You are aware, I hope, that food gets warm anyway once it’s in your stomach…

[PRBori]

Why do we have to cook at all? I mean, hardly anything I eat all day involves local cooking. The muesli doesn’t. The soy milk doesn’t. The apples and bananas don’t. The food supplement pills don’t.

I have my subs toasted if they put Velveeta on them. Otherwise I have my veggie patties microwaved with Philadelphia on the untoasted sub. But everything else is raw salad. And I could live with all my sub ingredients being cold.

Cooking to me seems to be an effort in futility. You are aware, I hope, that food gets warm anyway once it’s in your stomach…

Cooking is good.... you know what the food has, you can take a risk and come up with new flavors.... you save money... and you can control the fatties and cholesterol add it. Supplemental pills cannot always substitute a meal 100%...

I know it takes time, sometimes 2+ hrs.... but I like it. Actually, I rather cook during the weekend and freeze my lunch portions for the week than spending 6+ dollars on fast food which is worst. I know not everyone likes to cook, but once you get into it you will love it and won't want to stop...

Then again, it may just be a motherly/women things.. not to mention cultural to some extend. In my country women tend to cook 3 meals a day... breakfast, lunch and dinner.... and there are no repeats.. lunch and dinner must be different... although I'm sure that has change since most women have to work. When I have someone in my life, I like to cook at least breakfast and dinner all the time, but this days I leave cooking for the weekends mainly and maybe mid week... for is just 1 1/2 of us and my sweetie pie doesn't eat a lot. Just freeze it...


Ahh... an about the COLD food, not everyone likes to have cold food all the time. Once in a while is good, but I need variety and I like it warm for it tends to taste much better.

[thod]

Cooking to me seems to be an effort in futility. You are aware, I hope, that food gets warm anyway once it’s in your stomach…

Cooking does more than warm food. It alters the chemistry of food substances, many foods would be inedible if eaten raw. It also sterilizes food killing off nasty bugs. Thus cooking granted access to a wider variety of, and safer, foods to our ancestors than would be available to non cookers.

You may eat your subway sandwich's cold but they contain cooked meats and the cooked bread is preferable to a ground wheat paste.

[Vertigo]

Everything is bad for you in one way or another, when I used to go away for work months at a time I would eat microwave food nightly and I never noticed any adverse effects.