The microwave oven was hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. It revolutionized cooking where housewives now had a convenient contraption that would instantly warm, defrost, thaw and cook food at the touch of a button. However, what you need to know is the biggest fact that Microwave technology wasn’t conceived and invented for kitchen cooking, it was for a far more sinister purpose and that was to be a new weapon of war.
The microwave was designed by scientists during World War II for improving bombs. Microwaves along with radar perfected results of seeking out Nazi bombers and prevent bombings. Microwaves are a form of radiation and that is why they are harmful. This article will inform you about the side effects of Microwave cooking.
Microwaves are also part of the electromagnetic spectrum similar to radio and sound waves. Besides war technology, they are also used in Information technology, radar and mobile phones. Microwaves are a form of non-ionized technology that does not possess the required high energy to transform the molecular structure of any substance.
Various material react to microwaving in different ways. Metal objects reflect microwaves, glass is transparent to it and plastics have a varied reaction. Materials that contain water absorb microwave energy which converts to heat energy. That is how a Microwave cooks your food. If you have noticed, trying to warm dry food in a microwave takes longer in comparison to food that contains liquid. What’s most interesting to microwave technology is that microwave containers won’t get hot unless food is put in them.
Image Source: www.healthyandnaturalhouse.com
The side effects of Microwave cooking can be dangerous which is why most scientists do not advocate the use of microwave cooking. The biggest disadvantage in Microwave cooking is that it zaps your food of its nutrient value. This is when food cooked in the micros can impact your health in a negative way.
Whereas a particular food may have been nutritious with all its essential values intact, after being microwaved, it becomes dead in nature. Microwaving has the ability to change food’s molecular structure due to the molecular friction caused by the process of microwaves interacting with rotating particles of water. The end result is food devoid of any nutritional value.
Image Source: www.health.harvard.edu
Studies in the Journal of Agricultural and food chemistry researching Microwave cooking found that vitamin b12 was lost from food such as meat and milk. The total vitamin value also showed a 40% loss during the process. Breast milk warmed in microwaves was robbed of its antibacterial properties whereas frozen breast milk heated at high temperatures showed an increase of E coli.
Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of Microwave cooking was the creation of carcinogens in the process. When you heat food contained in plastic, carcinogens are created during that process. The Russian government at one time had issued a warning about the negative health impact of microwave cooking. Research found Microwaved foods to contain toxins such as BPA, PET (polyethylene Terpthalate, benzene, toluene and xylene. This was because of the plastic containers being used to heat food. Instead the microwave energy was causing the food to absorb such carcinogens released from the plastic containers in the heating process.
Image Source: www.planetetechnologie.com
Studies have found that radiation caused by microwaves can alter and cause irregular heartbeats. Moreover due to the lack of nutrients, microwave food weakens immunity and makes you susceptible to disease. Insomnia, birth defects, cataract, and fatigue it also increases the risk of diabetes, stroke and cancer.
The biggest problem caused by Microwave cooking is that it robs food of antioxidants vital for boosting your immunity to disease. Anti oxidants also protect us from free radicals which are the prime agents of cancer.
Image Source: www.slidesharecdn.com
This is the big question. There is no perfect answer to what may now seem to you as confusing. If microwaves can kill you, so can body fat and all the junk food out there too. To use the microwave as a convenient appliance for emergencies and warming food may be acceptable provided you use the highest quality of vessels. Moreover, if using a microwave creates benefits that outweighs the risks and helps you maintain your body weight then isn’t that acceptable too?
Ideally no one should be using a microwave but for a busy bee wanting to shed weight it can help. It would make more sense eating microwaved sweet potatoes along with a serving of leafy greens and lean protein rather than trying to maintain a raw diet for a few days and gorging on steaks thereafter.
Image Source: www.spectator.co.uk