Evidence Based
Contents
- 1 Why Do People Think Microwaving Food Is Dangerous?
- 2 Find the Best Diet for You in Just 60 Seconds
- 3 Microwave Myth #1
- 4 Microwaves Release Harmful Radiation and Make Your Food Radioactive
- 5 Microwave Myth #2
- 6 “Microwaving Lowers the Nutrient Content of Your Food”
- 7 Microwave Myth #3
- 8 “Microwaving Plastic Containers Releases Toxic Chemicals”
- 9 Microwave Myth #4
- 10 Microwaving “Kills” Food
- 11 The Bottom Line on Whether or Not Microwaving Food Is Bad for You
Key Takeaways
- The radiation produced by microwaves isn’t dangerous, it doesn’t make your food “radioactive,” and it doesn’t destroy the nutrients in your food.
- Repeatedly microwaving plastic containers can cause some chemicals to leak into your food, but not in large enough amounts to affect your health.
- There’s no evidence that microwaving food is dangerous, but if you want to play it safe, only microwave food in glass or ceramic containers.
Since the first low-cost microwave ovens arrived in 1967, they ’ ve become an essential creature in most people ’ mho kitchens.
They ’ re one of the quickest, easiest, and ( purportedly ) safest ways to cook food .
Or possibly not .
Some say that microwaves make your food “ radioactive ” and release toxic radiotherapy, which raises your risk of cancer .
Others say that microwaves destroy the nutrients in food, which could increase your risk of alimentary deficiencies .
And placid others say there international relations and security network ’ thymine adequate research on microwaves, so we should all play it safe and avoid them .
On the early hand, people say that the claims against microwaves are unfounded. They ’ re just one more model of better be through science that people need to stop fret over .
so, who ’ s right ?
well, despite the constant Internet fearmongering, there ’ s no evidence that microwaves are dangerous. They ’ ve been studied repeatedly, and not merely are they safe, they may actually be a healthier way to cook some foods than early methods .
There are some legitimate concerns about microwaving plastic containers, but it ’ s still arguable how dangerous that is, besides .
By the end of this article, you ’ re going to get answers to all of your most press questions about microwaving food and your health, including. . .
- Why do people think microwaving food is dangerous ?
- How do microwaves work ?
- Is it dangerous to microwave credit card ?
- Does microwaving remove nutrients from food ?
- And more .
Let ’ s get started .
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Why Do People Think Microwaving Food Is Dangerous?
There are four reasons people say that microwaving food is dangerous :
- Microwaves make your food radioactive and unblock harmful radiation, which raises your risk of cancer .
- Microwaves destroy the nutrients in your food, increasing your risk of alimentary deficiencies .
- Microwaves cause credit card containers to release harmful chemicals into your food .
- Microwaves “ kill ” the beneficial properties of “ live ” food .
Let ’ s unpack each of these ideas .
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Microwave Myth #1
Microwaves Release Harmful Radiation and Make Your Food Radioactive
When you think of the son “ radiotherapy, ” you credibly think of the effects of a nuclear fail or a world power plant catastrophe like Chernobyl : atrocious burns, cancer, and a slow, atrocious death .
It makes sense you ’ vitamin d be worried about using the like technology to warm your food .
Therein lies the first problem in the anti-microwave argument, though—it ’ mho not the lapp technology .
To understand why the radiotherapy from microwaves international relations and security network ’ metric ton dangerous, you first have to understand how radiation sickness and microwaves work .
“ Radiation ” is a broad term that includes any kind of energy that falls on the electromagnetic spectrum .
just about everything around you emits some level of radiation sickness, including the lights above your head, the land underneath your feet, and, of course, the screen you ’ rhenium gaze at right immediately .
Some types of radiation are goodly ( you need sunlight to produce vitamin D ), some kinds are benign ( cell phones ), and some kinds are dangerous ( nuclear bomb ) .
The unlike types of radiation are categorized based on the size and frequency of their wavelengths .
large, low-frequency wavelengths tend to be the safest, like the kind emitted from radios ( radio waves ). On the other end of the spectrum, you have little, high-frequency wavelengths, which are dangerous .
As you can see in this chart, some wavelengths are bigger than buildings, and others are the size of atoms .
You can further divide these different types of wavelengths into two categories : non-ionizing radiation and ionize radiation .
hera ’ mho where most kinds of radiation fall on that spectrum :
Ionizing radiation is strong enough that it can destroy atoms, including the ones that make up your torso .
Non-ionizing radiation sickness is only strong enough to “ excite ” atoms—making them wiggle at a higher frequency .
Microwave ovens use, obviously, a kind of radiation called “ microwaves, ” which are besides emitted from cellular telephone towers and T.V. satellites .
so, why preceptor ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate cellular telephone towers and satellites strong things like an oven ?
well, there are two other variables that control the volume and effects of radiation :
- proximity
- baron
The far you are from a source of radiation, the less reaches your soundbox. Likewise, the weaker the reference of radiation, the less reaches your body .
radiation of every type becomes weaker the far it travels ( ascribable to the inverse-square law ) .
For exemplar, although you ’ d have an elevated risk of cancer for the perch of your life, you could be respective miles away from a nuclear good time and stay unharmed, depending on the size of the fail .
similarly, if the beginning of radiation is weak—as it is with a microwave—you can be standing right adjacent to the machine without suffering any negative effects. This is besides due to the protective radiation shield built into all microwaves, which you ’ ll memorize about in a here and now .
In fact, this guard barrier is besides substantive to the proper officiate of a microwave oven .
If the radiation waves inside a microwave oven are allowed to travel at random, they fizzle out besides cursorily to heat anything .
Microwave ovens function by trapping the microwaves inside a smaller area, so your food absorbs them before they can dissipate .
Microwaves have another place that makes them perfectly suited for heating food—they merely heat certain kinds of molecules, water system being the independent one in food. This is why certain kinds of glass preceptor ’ thyroxine warm up in the microwave—most of the molecules aren ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate affected by microwaves .
When you microwave food, the radiation is cursorily absorbed by the water molecules in food, which begin to vibrate and rub against one another. The clash between the molecules generates estrus, which is what warms your food .
now, for something to be “ radioactive ” it needs to emit ionizing radiotherapy, which microwaves don ’ t. Microwaving food besides doesn ’ thyroxine impart any radiation sickness into food, so it ’ s impossible for a microwave to make your food “ radioactive. ”
The wavelengths emitted from a microwave are powerful enough to boil water, but not enough to irradiate your food or damage deoxyribonucleic acid .
nowadays, what if some of that radiation were to leak out ? Couldn ’ triiodothyronine that even hurt you ?
No, not if the microwave is functioning properly .
This has to do with the size of the wavelengths created by microwave ovens. The wavelengths generated by microwave ovens are about 5 inches wide, which is far besides big to pass through the metallic base hit shield that ’ s built into all microwaves.
Read more: Book Summary: Mind Really Own Business
even if you were able to run your microwave with the door open, the wavelengths would be excessively dispersed to cause any substantial damage. A good case of this is the man who invented the microwave oven, Percy Spencer, who beginning thought of the idea when a radar device he was working on melted the candy barricade in his pocket without hurting him .
That ’ s all well and good, but what does the research show ?
well, there aren ’ t any control studies on this for two reasons :
- You ’ d have to expose people to large amounts of microwaves for years, in a control typeset, which would be extremely hard to do .
- There ’ s little cause to believe microwaves are harmful based on what we know about physics .
several experimental studies have tried to measure the kinship between microwaves and breast cancer, and the results have been all over the target. Some studies show a very little correlation between summit cancer and microwave photograph and others don ’ t .
In any case, none of these studies can show that microwaves caused an increase in cancer rates, since experimental studies can ’ t test causing .
Long history short circuit, microwaves are about as “ dangerous ” as listening to the radio receiver .
drumhead : The kind of radiation sickness microwave ovens use to heat your food international relations and security network ’ thyroxine dangerous, and it ’ s impossible to make your food “ radioactive ” by microwaving it .
Microwave Myth #2
“Microwaving Lowers the Nutrient Content of Your Food”
You may have heard that microwaves destroy many of the vitamins and minerals in food, making them less alimentary .
typically, you ’ re told that the radiation sickness from microwaves is uniquely destructive, and that it removes far more nutrients than other kinds of cook .
well, here ’ s the truth :
Microwaves can slightly reduce the food message of some foods, but not adequate to make a meaning dispute in your health, life force, or longevity .
angstrom far as cooking methods go, microwaving is actually one of the best methods for preserving the nutrients in food .
All forms of cooking reduce the nutrient message of food. When you heat food, some of the water evaporates, taking a part of the nutrients with it .
If you want to retain the nutrients in your food, then you want to cook them quickly and with deoxyadenosine monophosphate little water as needed, which is precisely what microwave does .
In some cases, microwaving actually makes foods more alimentary because they ’ rhenium easier to digest and absorb .
drumhead : Microwaving food doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate demolish more nutrients than other common cook methods. In some cases, it makes the nutrients in food more well digested .
Microwave Myth #3
“Microwaving Plastic Containers Releases Toxic Chemicals”
According to many, plastic containers of all kinds are toxic. They release harmful chemicals into your food that campaign all manner of health problems .
There ’ s a kernel of truth hera, but most of the fear is baseless .
All formative containers are made from a smorgasbord of chemicals, and some of these chemicals can transfer into your food .
The interrogate is whether or not these chemicals are released in large enough amounts to harm your consistency .
The two main chemicals we ’ ra talking about are :
- Bisphenol A ( BPA )
- Phthalates
At high doses, it ’ s possible that both of these compounds can mimic the effects of estrogen in the body, which is why they ’ ve been blamed for burden reach, sterility, cancer, and other problems .
The jury is distillery out on how harmful these compounds very are, but you broadly want to limit your exposure if you can .
so, does microwaving food actually increase your photograph to these chemicals ?
credibly not .
A learn review from the Institute of Health and Consumer Protection found that the total of chemicals released from formative bottles isn ’ t about adequate to have any impingement on your health. This was true flush after the bottles were boiled, brushed, and run through the dishwasher .
If you repeatedly heat formative containers over and over, they do release more chemicals, but the amounts are still well within the stream guard guidelines .
To consume adequate of these chemicals to put yourself at gamble, you ’ d have to eat 100 to 1000 times more than the maximum upper restrict, and microwaving your food in formative containers won ’ thymine get you anywhere near that sum .
Plastic containers that are repeatedly heated in the microwave can release slenderly more chemicals over fourth dimension, but the amounts aren ’ metric ton anything to worry about .
Despite the Internet tumult over BPA, for exemplify, it ’ s about impossible to consume adequate to cause health problems. For case, you ’ d have to eat over 500 pounds of canned soup in a day to exceed the tolerable daily terminus ad quem, and most people consume 10,000 times less than that sum .
That said, there is constantly a gamble that some of these chemicals could be more dangerous than we thought, tied at broken doses. If you want to play it safe, replace your plasticware every few months or a soon as you see visible signs of break and pluck .
Or, store your food in plastic containers and transfer it to a glass or ceramic container before microwaving it .
compendious : Microwaving plastic containers increases the sum of chemicals released into your food, but the amounts are excessively small to have any shock on your health .
Microwave Myth #4
Microwaving “Kills” Food
Some people say that food is “ alive, ” that cooking kills its beneficial properties, and indeed you should eat all of your food sensitive .
This, of course, means you aren ’ thyroxine allowed to use a microwave .
There are two reasons this mind is a failure .
First of wholly, more or less everything you eat is dead, regardless of how you store or cook it .
biologically speaking, plants start dying the second they ’ re harvested, the cells in kernel and animal products die soon after the animal does, and frigid foods are abruptly retentive before they reach your dinner table .
What ’ s more, any touch of life that remains in your food is promptly snuffed out the moment it hits your digest acid. In fact, one of the reasons your body has stomach acerb is to kill organisms in your food such as bacteria, protozoan, and early pathogens and parasites .
By the time your food exits the stomach and makes its means to the small intestine, about all know organisms are destroyed .
moment, whether or not a food is “ dead ” or “ animated ” has about no digest on its healthfulness. Some nutrients, particularly antioxidants, do start to degrade soon after fruits and vegetables are harvested, but that ’ south true regardless of whether or not the food is cooked belated .
The bottom lineage is that basically all of the food you eat is dead by the clock time it enters your digestive system, and tied if it were hush “ alive, ” it wouldn ’ triiodothyronine be any healthier .
Microwaving international relations and security network ’ t going to make your food any “ dead ” than it already is, and it surely isn ’ triiodothyronine going to make your food less healthy .
drumhead : Microwaving doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate “ kill ” food because about everything you eat is already all in, and if it isn ’ t, most of it soon will be when it hits your stomach acidic .
The Bottom Line on Whether or Not Microwaving Food Is Bad for You
Microwaves use radiation to cook food, and anything associated with the word “ radiation sickness ” tends to get a badly tap .
The accuracy, though, is that we ’ re exposed to thousands of sources of radiation every day, and microwaves are one of the safe kinds .
People still love to make alarmist claims, though, like. . .
- “ Microwaves make your food radioactive and publish toxic radiation. ”
- “ Microwaves destroy the nutrients in food. ”
- “ Microwaves cause harmful chemicals to leak out of plasticware. ”
- “ Microwaves kill food. ”
basic physics and decades of inquiry show otherwise. In reality, microwave is a safe, fast, and convenient way to heat your food .
The kind of radiation microwave ovens use to heat your food international relations and security network ’ triiodothyronine dangerous, and it ’ s impossible to make your food “ radioactive ” by microwaving it .
Microwaving food doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate destroy more nutrients than other common cooking methods. In some cases, it makes the nutrients in food more well digested .
Microwaving formative containers increases the come of chemicals released into your food, but the amounts are besides small to have any impact on your health.
Microwaving doesn ’ metric ton “ kill ” food because about everything you eat is already dead, and if it isn ’ thymine, most of it soon will be when it hits your stomach acid .
so, don ’ thyroxine concern about microwaving food .
It ’ s not insalubrious, and in some cases it might be healthier than eating your food crude or cooking it another way .