Microwave is health hazard for you

Dr. Rajat Agarwal

MBBS · General Physician · 

Is the microwave for your health? These 5 effects will shock you!

As tempting as putting a ready-to-cook meal in the microwave for dinner after a tiring day may sound, you should stop doing it. Cooking in the microwave is harming your health. It affects the absorption of nutrients by your body. Convenient as it may be, here’s why you should choose health over convenience.

1. It sucks the nutrition out of food: If you heat your food in the microwave, you’re taking away its essential nutrients. Your healthy greens and lean meat turn into dead food due to the dielectric heating of a microwave. The heating process of a microwave causes molecular friction in order to heat your food, which in turn changes the food’s molecular structure. This in turn reduces the nutrient content of your food.

2. It destroys Vitamin B12 and breast milk: Food containing Vitamin B12 when heated in the microwave instantly loses all its health benefits. This is particularly true for foods like milk, raw beef and pork. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry revealed that these foods lost about 30-40% of its Vitamin B12 content after being heated in the microwave, and transformed into inactive vitamin.
The same is true for breast milk. Its bacteria fighting properties are destroyed by microwave exposure. Research published in the journal Pediatrics showed that breast milk heated at high temperatures in the microwave was found to have 18 times more E Coli growth in compared to unmicrowaved milk. On the other hand, microwaving your breast milk at low temperatures greatly reduced lysozyme activity and increased the growth of harmful bacteria.

3. It gives rise to carcinogens in food: If you heat foods wrapped in a plastic in the microwave then you’re giving rise to carcinogens in your food. Such microwavable food items contain toxic chemicals like PET, BPA, xylene, benzene and toluene, which when heated release carcinogens that is then absorbed by your body. Other harmful toxins are also released in this process. In fact the Russian government has issued a warning on the health and environmental hazards of microwaves.

4. It can alter your blood makeup: In a clinical study in Switzerland, researchers found that those who consumed microwaved milk and vegetables regularly had changes in their blood. This study brought to light the fact that after consumption of microwaved food, the red blood cells of an individual decreased while the white blood cells increased and so did cholesterol levels.

5. It can alter your heart rate: Dr Magda Havas of Trent University carried out a research which showed that the levels of radiation emitted by a microwave impacted both heart rate and heart rate variability. 2.4 GHz is the frequency of the radiation emitted by a microwave, and even though it is within the safety guidelines, it can still cause immediate and rapid changes in your heart rate. So if you’re the type who experiences chest pains and irregular heartbeats and eat microwaved food on a regular basis then you should stop right away.