Microwaves: Friend or Public Health Enemy Number One

Let's face we are a modern society and in most American households where hectic schedules is a way of life for all concerned. This leaves very little time at the end of the day to cook a great home cooked nutritious meal. Leaving fast cooking to come into play by that modern convenience known as the microwave oven. Practically every household owns one plus they are fairly inexpensive to purchase.

Also, present in today is the ongoing debate over that modern convenience leaving issues raised concerning its safety due to the process of heating and cooking food. Microwave cooking has been associated to numerous health diseases and conditions including cancer and nutrient deficiencies in the body.

Baby formula

Enter the year 1989 and a radio announcement sponsored by Young Families, The Minnesota Extension Service of the University of Minnesota.

The announcement details had included the news that even though microwaves heat food at a fast rate they are not recommended for heating a baby bottle. It went on to note that even though the actual bottle may appear cool to the touch the inside liquid could possibly be immensely hot causing burns in the baby's throat and mouth. It was also suggested that by the build up of steam in a close container like a baby bottle could cause the bottle to explode. It went further on to note that heating milk could in the microwave could cause changes to the milk and where formula is concerned it could possibly cause loss of nutrients in the formula.

It has been stated that using the microwave to heat formula or breast milk is not a good idea due to the fact all the nutrients become destroyed.

Microwaved blood kills

In the early part of 1991, rumors had circulated about a lawsuit in the state of Oklahoma. It was said that a woman who had hip surgery preformed had died due to the fact the nurse had heated the blood to be used for the transfusion in a microwave.

Later on it was revealed that the woman's death was caused by the change which occurred in her blood from the transfusion due to the fact of the blood being heated by a microwave oven. Question remains was the microwave indirectly responsible for the death? Some believe it is true and others do not.

Hidden dangers are lurking

Dr. Mercola states "Recent research shows that microwave oven cooked food suffers severe molecular damage. When eaten, it causes abnormal changes in human blood and immune systems. Not surprisingly the public has been denied details on these significant health dangers."

In 1992, an article appearing in the journal of Pediatrics, reported researchers from Stanford University that reheating breast milk in a microwave even when set at the lowest setting can destroy some of its vital disease fighting capabilities, specifically lost was lysozyme which guards against bacterial infections.

In a study on microwaved foods when broccoli is microwaved it loses 97% flavonoids, 74% sinapics and 87% caffeoyl-quinic derivatives, all of which are cancer protecting antioxidants. In comparison to broccoli being steamed it loses (in the same order as above) 11%, 0% and 8% of those antioxidants.

In 1998, Japaneses research had reported in Science News, they had discovered that just in six minutes microwave cooking can destroy half of the vitamin B-12 content in dairy foods and meat at a higher rate in comparison to other cooking methods.

A scientific study in 1991, conducted by Dr. Hans Ulrich Hertel and Bernard H Blanc, published a research paper in which had indicated that foods cooked in a microwave do pose more of a health risk than those foods cooked by conventional techniques. The findings of the study had revealed that the nutrients in foods when cooked by a microwave are changed and those changes take place in a persons blood which may cause deterioration to a persons body system.

Are microwaves really safe?

Microwave ovens that are sold and used today are far less powerful than those which were available in the seventies. Now any microwaves which are manufactured since October 1971, are covered by the radiation safety standard which is governed by the FDA. Standard limits have been imposed on microwaves concerning the amount of radiation it can leak during its lifetime. This standard is five milliwatts of microwave radiation for each square centimeter at exactly two inches from the surface of the oven.

When you are moving away from the microwave any levels of leaking radiation which could be reaching you becomes substantially decreased.

Microwaves have been shown to greatly decrease the amounts of nutrients in foods when heating. However, all heating methods do have a very similar effect. Microwaves do appear to deplete the nutrients in foods the most.

Microwaves can produce pathological changes in the body. When the food structure is changed, it cannot perform the function it was meant to perform.

Reason stated why you should not use a microwave oven

There are numerous reasons that have been stated about why persons should not use microwave ovens among them are:

Microwaved foods cause memory and concentration loss.

Microwaved foods cause immune deficiencies through the lymph gland and blood serum changes.

Eating microwaved foods for a long time can cause cancerous cells to grow.

The Food and Drug Administrations stand on microwaves

Some fine points that the FDA points out on microwave ovens among them:

The radiation from microwaves fall into the same category of radio frequencies.

Microwave energy is changed into heat and is absorbed by food it does not make the food contaminated or radioactive.

As far as health concerns go the following has been stated:

Research is being conducted on how it could affect the human body. Microwave radiation can heat body tissue the same way it heat foods. If exposed to high levels of microwaves it can cause painful burns and the lens of the eye is extremely sensitive to intense heat. Exposure to high levels can cause cataracts. Accidental exposure to high levels of energy from microwaves can change or kill sperm, and produce temporary sterility. Large exposure means more than the five milliwatts which are allowed for microwaves.

There have been claims that people have been injured from microwave ovens however, none of those claims was from direct exposure to microwaves. The injuries in which the FDA are aware of could have occurred from any oven or cooking surface not just microwaves.

The jury still is out on the safety of microwave ovens.

Sources:

Clip Marks

Daily Healing

FDA

Cancer Salves

Shirley's Wellness Cafe

Natural News