Please stop microwaving your food

tigersword

Total, complete and utter nonsense. Microwaves work on the principal of exciting the electrons in water molecules. They do not change the structure in any way, they simply cause the molecule to vibrate, generating friction, which, in turn, causes heat. The more water in a substance heated in a microwave oven, the more quickly it will heat. A microwave oven will not irradiate food or alter it's structure in any way. The originator of this thread and anyone who believes this nonsense is an idiot deficient in basic scientific literacy. If you don't believe me, consult www.snopes.com, or ask your local high school science teacher.

Ok..please answer this. what is causing the exciting of electrons is water? And whatever source you provide for this excitement..How does it know to only excite the electrons in water and not the electrons in the molecules that make up the food?
And please.. If am required to post peer reviewed sources for my position, then please do the same. Snopes is not peer reviewed.

http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/microwave.html

Here's another http://suite101.com/article/how-do-microwave-ovens-work-a35365

http://www.livestrong.com/article/421142-health-concerns-with-the-use-of-infrared-heat-to-cook-food/

Please take note of the peer review journals sources throughout the article and at the bottom.

You do know that infrared is NOT microwave, right? I mean, you say your basing this on science, but your counter arguments seem to display a basic lack of scientific knowledge.

ivikatasha

I think the OP has been througly pwned at this point.

silico

If possible... get a toaster oven or use the stove or regular oven. A saucepan with a bit a water will heat up your food just fine. Microwaves make your food no better than the plastic container you nuked them in. Food (especially the vitamins and nutrients contained in them that your body needs) are not meant to be heated up that fast and to the degree that microwaves produce.

The nutrients contained food (especially protein) have a certain structure. That structure is essential as it is used for "recognition" by the body's digestive system of what it is and what the body needs to do with it. When you microwave or nuke your food, you are denaturing or abolishing the structure of MOST of the nutrients and your body no longer recognizes it and considers it waste. It doesn't get used and goes in your mouth and out the other end. For some people..this can cause your body to trigger the hunger response in order to get the nutrients is it craving.. even though you may have already eaten.

This basic principle of this can be found in any anatomy and physiology book or H.S science books.

Try this test at home. Buy two identical 1.00 plants. Place them in the same spot in your home with sufficient light. Feed one plant regular tap water and the other microwaved water. The plant fed with microwaved water will be dead by the end of the week. Imagine what you are doing to your body with microwaved food.

"According to most studies, however, the reality is quite the opposite. 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.

Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects. The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.

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."

From the NYtimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/health/17real.html?_r=1#secondParagraph

"Some nutrients do break down when they’re exposed to heat, whether it is from a microwave or a regular oven. Vitamin C is perhaps the clearest example. So, as a general proposition, cooking with a microwave probably does a better job of preserving the nutrient content of foods because the cooking times are shorter.

As far as vegetables go, it’s cooking them in water that robs them of some of their nutritional value because the nutrients leach out into the cooking water. For example, boiled broccoli loses glucosinolate, the sulfur-containing compound that may give the vegetable its cancer-fighting properties as well as the taste that many find distinctive and some, disgusting. The nutrient-rich water from boiled vegetables can be salvaged and incorporated into sauces or soups.

Is steaming vegetables better? In some respects, yes. For example, steamed broccoli holds on to more glucosinolate than boiled or fried broccoli.

But this is nutrition, and nothing in nutrition is simple. Italian researchers published results in 2008 of an experiment comparing three cooking methods — boiling, steaming, and frying — and the effect they had on the nutritional content of broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. Boiling carrots actually increased their carotenoid content, while steaming and frying reduced it. Carotenoids are compounds like lutein, which may be good for the eyes, and beta carotene. One possible explanation is that it takes longer for vegetables to get tender when they’re steamed, so the extra cooking time results in more degradation of some nutrients and longer exposure to oxygen and light.

But let’s not get too lost in the details. Vegetables, pretty much any way you prepare them, are good for you, and most of us don’t eat enough of them. And the microwave oven? A marvel of engineering, a miracle of convenience — and sometimes nutritionally advantageous to boot."

From Harvard medical school: http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Microwave-cooking-and-nutrition.shtml

thefreebiemom

I don't mean to be rude but I just can't understand how some people didn't know microwaves were really bad... it's radiation people. What did you expect?

That being said, I'm sure if you have to use it on occasion, it can't be *that* bad for you.

By that understanding you should also not use computers, radios, cell phones, autos with any type of electronic components in them or anything else that uses electricity including heaters.

FlaxMilk

OP, congrats on staying classy--you've taken a really undeserved beating here.

Owlie45

The microwaved water and plants thing is a total urban legend.

Also, please don't microwave straight water. Unless you like boiling water to explode in your face.


ANY type of heating destroys nutrients. Freezing destroys nutrients.

Freezing does not destroy nutrients.

beattie1

OP, congrats on staying classy--you've taken a really undeserved beating here.

I disagree

FlaxMilk

OP, congrats on staying classy--you've taken a really undeserved beating here.

I disagree

I mean the rudeness, not the disagreement with her argument.

randomtai

I think the OP has been througly pwned at this point.

:smokin:

slkehl

You can pick up any science textbook and look up the effects of temperature on protein structures. Even if it has nothing to do with food. Your body temperature has an effect of the protein structures of cells if you have a really high temperature.

Yes, proteins can be denatured though heat. But it's temperature dependent, not time dependent. Heating it more slowly to the same temperature is still going to denature it, just more slowly.

Kalynx

how about we all chose to do what we feel is best for ourselves and try to be kind to each other.

give peace a chance lol. :drinker:

magj0y

I think the OP has been througly pwned at this point.

pwned. I just like that you said that.
so we have had misinformation, explosive water and radiation... did I miss anything else?

<not referring to AP whatev... It's sunday, I'm not making my brain work THAT hard today>


Ok. But really. Think just a tiny bit hard here. If microwaves were OH SO bad, why have they become oh so popular? They became popular long before the height of laziness/convenience/lack of time, so we can't blame it on that. If anyone looked at old old magazines on future houses, guess what? They had microwaves in them

slkehl

OP, instead of simply defending your side, it might be a good idea to take some time to read through those journal articles that you posted. If you had done so, you would have realized they actually refute your argument. People have taken the time to give you some great, accurate information, and it would be a great idea to look into it further. This could be a learning opportunity.

Kalynx

I think the OP has been througly pwned at this point.

pwned. I just like that you said that.
so we have had misinformation, explosive water and radiation... did I miss anything else?

<not referring to AP whatev... It's sunday, I'm not making my brain work THAT hard today>


Ok. But really. Think just a tiny bit hard here. If microwaves were OH SO bad, why have they become oh so popular? They became popular long before the height of laziness/convenience/lack of time, so we can't blame it on that. If anyone looked at old old magazines on future houses, guess what? They had microwaves in them

Well - it would be better if we were still alive 500 yrs from now and could see if long ..real long term effects could be traced. Since we cant unless we cut off our heads and stick them in a jar and put them in a freezer and then thaw them out in a micro.....wait..n/m.

graelwyn

I use the microwave to steam my vegetables in their bags. That is about it really. Hopefully, I am not losing too much in the way of nutrients doing this as opposed to boiling in a pan of water.

Restybaby2012

QUOTE: "Can I microwave my food if I am wearing my tinfoil hat? "

Only if you also wear your secret decoder ring too!!!

GnochhiGnomes

I use the microwave to steam my vegetables in their bags. That is about it really. Hopefully, I am not losing too much in the way of nutrients doing this as opposed to boiling in a pan of water.

Your losing less.

jfan175

OP, congrats on staying classy--you've taken a really undeserved beating here.

If classy means defending a falsehood with studies that actually refute her argument (in the hopes that no one actually reads them), then I guess you're right.

slkehl

I use the microwave to steam my vegetables in their bags. That is about it really. Hopefully, I am not losing too much in the way of nutrients doing this as opposed to boiling in a pan of water.

Your losing less.

You may lose some nutritional value when heating vegetables or you may gain some, depending on their chemical properties. But heating is heating, whether on a stove or in a microwave. In fact, this study showed that micronutrients tended to be retained more when the food was microwaved than when heated over a stove since the prep time was reduced, especially when steaming and blanching: Lassen, Anne; Ovesen, Lars (1 January 1995). "Nutritional effects of microwave cooking". Nutrition & Food Science 95 (4): 8–10. This is because nutrients tend to be lost by leaching into the cooking water, and microwaves result in shorter cooking times.

However, I could see greater micronutrient loss only if the microwave was programmed to heat the food past the boiling point, which could lead to a faster breakdown, such as vit B12, which is converted to an inactive form by heat. Again, this could be offset by the shorter cook time. Also, you can alter this by adjusting the wattage on your microwave.

So, it's not so much the microwaves itself but how hot it heats the food that could potentially create issues.

Bobbie_89

Theres bad and goods in everyones diets. I'm not saying that it's a good thing to use the microwave and I'm not saying its a bad thing. Some people has to do what they have to do even if it means using a microwave on a daily basices. I'm a stay at home mom so I barely use it anyways unless I'm running on a tight schedule. Just how some says stay away from frozen dinners, cook all your meals. Some can do that and some can't always do that. Just do what you can thats all that matters.

jolinemariem

i refuse to stop using my microwave

CrystalDreams

NEVER!

sweetchildomine

Whatever. At this point in humanity, breathing causes cancer. lol The only way we are going to avoid putting chemicals in our body is if we grow all of our own food in an airtight room and even then you would have to water the plants with water that has most likely been chemically treated at some point lol Excuse me while I go enjoy my microwaved processed food!

PayneAS

Quick search:

http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave/plants.asp

Yep.

/moves along

rextcat

what i want to know is why the bowl or plate or what ever is allways 100* hotter than what is in it??

pastryari

Uh, no.

amyoliver85

In my house, both plants will be dead by the end of the week. Because frankly, I have a black thumb.

Also, I think it's important to remember that while vegetables and other foods do lose some nutrients in the cooking process, it's still better than eating processed foods.

I don't personally use a microwave that often. But I do use it for steaming vegetables. Frankly, I love my microwave steamer and I think it's just fine to cook vegetables that way. As the sister of a scientist who has tested this very methodology, I can assert that using a steamer in the microwave to steam vegetables does not do significant harm to your veggies.

In fact, it is my understanding--and no I'm not going to go in search of 900 peer reviewed journals to share on my Sunday evening...you all have fingers, the internet and Google, so do it yourselves--that slight steaming actually enhances the body's ability to absorb the nutrients in some foods. Raw is apparently not always better. So if you need to microwave, just be smart about it and do what's right for you and your diet.

I say if even 80% of your diet is coming from non-processed source then more power to you. Who cares how you get it?

Crochetluvr

what i want to know is why the bowl or plate or what ever is allways 100* hotter than what is in it??

^^^^This!

JuneBPrice

If this is true, I should probably be dead by now...

amyoliver85

If this is true, I should probably be dead by now...

Didn't you know? You are. :-D

That's why I can see you. Because I'm invisible (possibly dead too). Just ask the 13 people who ran me over in the grocery store today and just kept walking like I wasn't there.