Is Your Microwave Nuking Your Health?
by Vin Miller
Because of the convenience they provide, microwave ovens have become so popular that they’re found in nearly every household and restaurant. The word “microwave” has even been formally accepted as a verb in the dictionary. However, popularity is not always a reliable measure of goodness, and the convenience of microwave ovens may come at a significant cost.
Food Quality and Cooking
Although it’s common knowledge that you must eat well to be healthy, few people recognize the importance of food quality. Those that do probably understand the importance of eating organic food but may not realize that proper cooking is just as important. Using a microwave oven is likely to destroy much of the nutrients in food and can even transform them into dangerous and toxic compounds that don’t occur naturally. In other words, the microwave can turn a typically healthy food into one that lacks nutrition and causes disease!
The Destructive Nature of Microwave Ovens
Microwave ovens produce intense electric and magnetic radiation that oscillates at a rapid frequency and causes food molecules to rotate and change polarity billions of times per second. The friction resulting from this movement is what generates the heat that cooks the food.
This violent and rapid movement causes food molecules to become deformed, and as a result, they’re unlikely to be digested and may even be attacked by the immune system. If they are digested and absorbed, their damaged nature may promote malfunction in the cells that utilize them. Furthermore, some of these deformed food molecules can fuse with each other and produce unnatural compounds that are toxic.
Microwave Ovens Can Cause Disease
If the body goes without a balanced variety of nutrients for an extended period of time, which can result from frequent microwave use, malnourishment will result and dysfunction will begin to occur. As such, it should be no surprise that this is the starting point of disease.
In addition to the malnutrition, the toxic compounds produced from microwave radiation are believed to be a serious cancer risk. Frequent consumption of microwaved foods is also associated with poor digestion, altered immune activity and impaired hormone production. In fact, the effects of regularly consuming microwaved food are so profound that many medical professionals have attributed to it a condition known as “microwave sickness.”
As with many issues relating to modern technology, the potential health risks associated with microwaving food is a highly controversial topic that is still under debate. However, it’s well known that heat can damage the nutrients in food, and microwave ovens tend to produce significant amounts of heat through the use of unnatural radiation. Common sense should be enough to realize that the convenience of using a microwave oven is not worth the risk.
Good Health isn’t Always Convenient
Like many people, you’ve probably become reliant on the convenience of your microwave oven, and the thought of no longer using it probably seems unimaginable. But is the convenience worth the possibility of enduring years of poor health and disease in your old age?
With rare exception, a long, healthy and happy life is only obtainable by those who are dedicated to making it happen, especially with the many unhealthy influences that exist in modern society. The significance of optimal health cannot be fully appreciated without making the effort to achieve it and experience the benefits first hand.
Easy Ways to Eliminate Microwave Use
Discontinuing your use of the microwave is not as hard as it may seem. It’s been years since I’ve used one and I don’t feel inconvenienced at all. In fact, I think it’s satisfying to know that I’m supporting my health by not using one.
Here are a few things to consider to help protect yourself from the risks of microwaved food without it being a major inconvenience.
- Instead of reheating cold food, take it out of the refrigerator a few hours early and simply let it warm to room temperature.
- If you insist on your food being hot, use a conventional oven or a toaster oven to heat it, but try to keep the temperature as low as possible.
- Prepare your meals in advance so that you always have a good meal available even if you’re too busy or tired to cook.
- Get rid of your microwave. You can’t use it if it’s not there and you’ll be forced to adjust.
Post this on Twitter
Post this on Facebook
Support this on StumbleUpon
Email this to friends
Leave a comment
It would be good to have some references for this information – it says some startling and strange things and I’d like to know the research which backs up the statements. I can’t find any reliable research findings which back up your statements about microwaves making toxic chemicals or making people sick, and the only research there seems to be about “microwave sickness” was done by Russians and related to people being exposed to microwave radiation for long periods of time – not eating things that had been microwaved, which is entirely different.
I could like this blog, but it’s sad to see such unreliable and un-backed up statements on it.
Hi Ricky, thanks for sharing your concern.
The following two articles from Dr. Mercola’s website discuss some of the research indicating how microwave ovens transform nutrients into dangerous compounds.
The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking
The Proven Dangers of Microwaves
You should consider the fact that most modern research is driven by big industry. If there’s no profit based incentive behind the research, it usually doesn’t get done. Furthermore, much of the research done today is conducted by the same institutions that benefit from it which is a major conflict of interest.
There’s not a lot of profit incentive to do research that will show how bad microwaved food is for your health. Who would fund it? Certainly not the appliance industry!
I’m sorry that you regard my content as unreliable. My primary motivation is to help people improve their health through common sense. We obviously didn’t evolve on microwaved food, and the potential for microwaving (or any other form of extreme cooking) to alter food should be pretty obvious. Please keep in mind that I’m not trying to force anyone to share my opinions, but instead, am trying to help them develop their own.
It comes down to a choice that we all have to make. Do we sacrifice convenience and live according to the natural habits that got us here, or do we opt for convenience at the risk of science having failed at outsmarting nature? Perhaps so many people are unwilling to believe the risks associated with microwave ovens because what they’re really unwilling to do is give up the convenience.
I have long been very suspicious of microwave ovens and haven’t used them for years. Something about them has just seemed so very ‘un-natural’ in the way they heat food.
The things that really concerned me the first time, was when I heated water to make a cup of instant coffee (not that I drink that anymore!). …anyway, for anybody reading this, give this a try:
Boil water by normal means (pot, kettle), poor it in a cup and then put in a teaspoon of instant coffee. …nothing much happens. It goes in, you stir it and you have a ‘coffee coloured’ drink.
Now, heat up water in a cup in the microwave so it’s either boiling or as close as you can get it. Take it out and put in your tea spoon of instant coffee and see what happens!?
When I last tried this the coffee almost fizzed and bubbled and reacted very differently to the ‘normally’ boiled water. Something just seemed so odd to me and was enough for me to question microwave ovens.
I also read something about a patient dying after being the recipient of a blood transfusion once, from blood that was warmed with a microwave oven. Don’t actually know if it’s true mind you?? …it wouldn’t surprise me though.
My personal view is that the ‘convenience’ of modern technology, quite often has more devastating long term effects that are too easily overlooked when considering the short term benefits.
Just my 2 cents.
….oops, sorry, I just had a quick look at one of the links you provided Vin where it sites the scenario of a patient dying possibly because of the blood transfusion! …there ya go
Hi Mianne,
Thanks for your comment and thanks for sharing a great (and alarming) example of how microwave ovens cook our food so differently than a conventional oven. I agree that modern technology is often embraced much to eagerly without adequately assessing the impact that it might have on health and the environment.
When I wrote this article, I looked further into the Norma Levitt case regarding the transfusion with the microwaved blood. It is true that Norma Levitt received a transfusion of microwaved blood following a routine hip surgery and died shortly after, but the jury ruled in favor of the defendant’s claim that the death was caused by a blood clot. Based on this, I didn’t include the case in the article, but I do suspect that the microwaving of the blood did play a role. I don’t think there’s any argument about a microwave oven changing the nature of blood, and in my opinion, that’s more than enough evidence to question it’s safety. Here’s the actual court documentation Norma Levitt case.
World Health Organization says this:
“Food cooked in a microwave oven is as safe, and has the same nutrient value, as food cooked in a conventional oven. The main difference between these two methods of cooking is that microwave energy penetrates deeper into the food and reduces the time for heat to be conducted throughout the food, thus reducing the overall cooking time. ”
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/info_microwaves/en/
so who should i believe?
“The World Health Organization (WHO), through the International EMF Project, has established a programme to review research results and conduct risk assessments of exposure to electromagnetic fields in the range from 0 to 300 GHz. Health risks from EMF exposure are being evaluated by WHO in collaboration with ICNIRP. ”
while Mercola.com says this:
THE WEB SITE AND THE MATERIAL ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MERCOLA.COM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTIES RIGHTS AND THE WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALTHOUGH AMF DESIRES TO PROVIDE COMPLETE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION AND MATERIALS ON ITS WEB SITE, AMF MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ABOUT THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS OF THE INFORMATION, MATERIAL, SERVICES, SOFTWARE, TEXT, GRAPHICS AND LINKS FOUND AT THE WEB SITE.
IN NO EVENT SHALL MERCOLA.COM OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE UNDER CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY: (A) WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE, THE SERVICE OR ANY CONTENT FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES (HOWEVER ARISING), OR (B) FOR ANY DIRECT DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF (IN THE AGGREGATE) $100. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Hi Cristian,
As with most issues, you will ultimately have to decide for yourself.
While Dr. Mercola may have a disclaimer on his site that makes it easy to discount his opinion, WHO is behind the highly controversial Codex Alimentarius and also the excessive hype about the swine flu. Besides, Dr. Mercola is reporting on the work of others which his disclaimer statement has no bearing on.
If you’d like to learn more about the destructive properties of the high frequency radiation used by microwave ovens, I suggest you read Electromagnetic Fields by B. Blake Levitt or Cross Currents by Robert Becker MD.
It’s well known that heat damages the nutrients in food, and microwave ovens heat food in a very intense way. Microwave ovens are only a convenience, and if you care enough about your health, it should be a convenience that you don’t mind sacrificing to avoid the risks that it may pose.
The extent to which heat damages food depends on the temperature and duration of exposure. The best way to cook food is with low heat which requires a longer duration. This is not possible with a microwave oven, and as such, I definitely don’t believe that “food cooked in a microwave oven is as safe, and has the same nutrient value, as food cooked in a conventional oven.”