A microwave oven operates at a frequency 2.45 GHz. Percy Lebaron the inventor of the microwave oven, found out that microwaves can also cook food by accident. He found that a candy bar that he carried in his pocket was melted by radar waves. (src)
A microwave oven cooks food because the water molecules inside food absorb the microwave radiation and thereby heat up and heat the surrounding food. Microwave radiation will similarly heat up skin and other body parts. Heat transfer could explain why one sometimes hears about people working at fast-food workers etc. getting headaches when exposed to leaking microwave ovens. (Chad Mueller)
Microwave ovens cook food by generating intermolecular friction between the molecules of the food. The microwaves cause water molecules to vibrate; the increased friction between the molecules results in heat. Microwaves could affect your tissue in a similar way if they were able to escape from the microwave oven. (David E. Hintenlang)
src - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-a-microwave-oven/
A Swiss food scientist (Hans Hertel) in the late 1980s found that microwaved food increased cholesterol levels, decreased red and white blood cell counts, decreased hemoglobin and produced radiolytic compounds. Hertel and seven fellow vegetarians locked themselves into a hotel room, where they performed a two-month experiment that consisted of eating foods prepared in the microwave and by other means. After two months of togetherness, Hertel emerged with a terrifying pronouncement: He had found changes that
appear to indicate the initial stage of a pathological process such as occurs at the start of a cancerous condition
in the blood of the men who had eaten microwaved milk and vegetables. (src) (src2)
Studies suggest microwaving your food could expose you to carcinogenic toxins released by plastic or paper wrappers.
The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.
Vitamins are generally classed as either water-soluble or fat-soluble. The water-soluble vitamins generally act as precursors to coenzymes.
In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.
When it comes to vegetables, adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients. One study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 found that broccoli cooked by microwave — and immersed in water — loses about 74 percent to 97 percent of its antioxidants. When steamed or cooked without water, the broccoli retained most of its nutrients. (src) (mirror)
Microwave ovens generally do not destroy nutrients in food. Every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other nutrients in food. The factors that determine the extent are how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used and the cooking temperature.
Dr Garcia-Viguera said this is because the antioxidants are water-soluble. “During microwave heating they leach into the cooking water, removing their nutritional benefits from the foodstuff.” (src)
What the microwave oven does to the food:
➜ Breaks chemical and molecular bonds ➜ The food molecules are destroyed and deformed by microwave’s radiation, thus resulting in harmful radioactive compounds. ➜ 96% of the breast milk antibodies are destroyed by microwaving. ➜ The structure of Infant formulas is altered by microwaving. Namely, it changes the components in amino acids, thus resulting in immunological abnormalities. ➜ A 1992 Search for Health’s study examined the effects of participants who consumed micro-waved vegetables. In addition, the participants reported:
➜ Rapidly elevated cholesterol levels ➜ Reduced hemoglobin, leading to an anemic-like conditions ➜ Reduced white blood cells ➜ Elevated leukocytes, showing poisoning and cell damage.
You are still exposed to dangerous levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF) even in case your microwave oven is ideally sealed. What’s more, EMF can actually enter into human bodies and lead to serious health issues as :
➜ Cataracts (since there is a lack of blood vessels in our eyes to dissipate the microwave’s heat and cellular stress) ➜ Viral and bacterial infection decreased resistance ➜ Weakened immune system ➜ Birth defects ➜ Cancer ➜ Other serious illnesses
Limited exposure to EMF of 0.5mG – 2.5mG is recommended by the EPA (USA Environmental Protection Agency).
So in case you stand 10cm from a microwave that is operating, then you will be exposed to 100 – 500mG. On the other hand, if you stand 3 feet away from your microwave that is operating, you will be exposed to 1 – 25mG. (src)
microwaving leftovers or a frozen meal? turn the timer UP 10mins at half power does a better job than full throttle Microwave Effects in Organic Synthesis: Myth or Reality? Why 50 Ohms?
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