How Microwaving Your Food Can Damage Your Health

While there are as many opinions as doctors and writers in natural medicine, we all subscribe to a few absolutes.

One of these, is that microwaving your food isn’t natural or healthy… There really is no debate necessary, but just in case you’re thinking of tipping over to the other side, here’s a reminder of why microwaving your food is madness:

Slowly cooking away

Quite a bit of previous research has been done on this topic, and while some still wants to claim that only trace amounts of dangerous materials migrate from microwave containers into foods, exactly the opposite is true:

A 2006 study, for instance, showed that beta-carotene (an antioxidant) was significantly depleted in broccoli that was steamed in a microwave, compared to broccoli boiled by induction.

But wait there’s more:

• A 1997 study showed that microwaving different types of oils, including virgin olive oil, caused the oils to become degraded
• One study showed that microwaving breast milk depleted antibodies and prompted the breakdown of enzymes
•  Another study showed breakdown of vitamin B-12 to inactive degradation products

A big difference

In one Swiss study, researchers ran blood tests on the participants, after feeding them meals that were either microwaved or conventionally cooked. Results from the microwave group showed:

• Blood haemoglobin levels decreased significantly (both total levels and the amount contained in each red blood cell)
• White blood cell levels tended to increase for no other reason than foods were microwaved
• LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol increased
• Microwaves altered protein molecules

Using a microwave every once in a while may be convenient. But if you are trying to cook healthy foods, there’s no place for radiation, especially if you take into account the potential cumulative effect of ingesting traces of those dangerous materials week after week, month after month, year after year… eventually it all adds up.

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Disclaimer: Bear in mind the material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only. We are not addressing anyone’s personal situation. Please consult with your own physician before acting on any recommendations contained herein.

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Sources:

“Microwaving food in plastic: Dangerous or not?” Nancy Ferrari, HEALTHbeat, Harvard Health Publications, health.harvard.edu

“FDA Approves Transcept’s Intermezzo Insomnia Drug” Dow Jones Newswires, 11/23/11, online.wsj.com