Here is an interesting article about the danger of microwaved food:
Comparing the blood chemistry of people after eating food cooked in conventional and microwave ovens, a dismayed Hertel explained that “blood cholesterol levels are less influenced by cholesterol content of the food than by stress factors.” . . .
So was the blood chemistry of consumers. These abrupt measurable changes included a decrease in high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) and a sharp rise in low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) levels following the consumption of microwaved food.
The two researchers also discovered marked declines in the number of red blood cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and collect carbon dioxide, as well as in white blood cells that fight infections.
The researchers say these bad effects happen because microwave heating makes cells “easy prey for viruses, fungi and other micro-organisms.” The author adds, “bad bugs are everywhere.”
Whereas I believe the opposite: The problem with microwaved food, when there is one, is that it is too sterile. The article later reports an experiment in which E. coli. grew much faster on microwaved milk than conventionally heated milk. I interpret that to mean the microwaved milk was more sterile: less competition for the E. coli.
Note I don’t mean to say don’t use your microwave. I use mine all the time to heat water and defrost stuff. It’s the experimental data and their interpretation that interested me
I was with you until you took away my microwave. Here I must draw the line.
Darrin I didn’t mean it that way and I have added a note to make that clear.
I use my microwave “gently”. That is, rather than heating foods until they are piping hot, I use just enough time to get them warm. This, I hope, dampens the negative impact of microwaving food. The microwave oven is such a convenient way to warm up food at the office. At home, I’ve taken to heating more of my food in the oven, toaster oven, or on the stove.
Are there any other proven risks of microwave cooking?.
A physicist freiend told me there is none, but a web search gives lots of scare websites.
Thanks
@Willy,
Yes, if you eat microwaved food that is really hot, it can burn your mouth.
Also, there are some questions about the safety of plastics and microwave ovens. The consensus seems to be to only use “microwave safe” containers (there might be labeling laws on this, depending on your country), and not allow plastic wrap to come into contact with food while being microwaved (which includes fluids splattering while being heated).
Thanks Anthony.
What do you think about this article (I don´t like Mercola but it is a good list of all the scare about MW ovens)
https://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards.htm
Lots of fast food is microwaved before serving.
@Willy,
I have no idea – I’m not a microwave oven expert. I don’t microwave much, because I can heat things up quickly and they tend to taste better on the stove top in a pan. I even heat up milk using the stove top, which is actually not much slower than a microwave.
Would this mean that consuming dead bacteria would not trigger an immune response?