Are there any negative affects on your food and body from using a microwave?

Answer 1

There are problems with microwave cooking, but they're all related to the actual cooking of the food.

Food is heated for so short a time that it is often cooked unevenly. Microwave ovens are frequently used for reheating previously cooked food, and bacterial contamination may not be killed by the reheating, resulting in foodborne illness. The uneven heating is partly due to the uneven distribution of microwave energy inside the oven, and partly due to the different rates of energy absorption in different parts of the food.

The first problem is reduced by a stirrer, a type of fan that reflects microwave energy to different parts of the oven as it rotates, or by a turntable or carousel that turns the food.

It is also important not to place food or a container in the center of a microwave's turntable. That actually defeats its purpose. Rather, it should be placed a bit off-center so that the item travels all around the area of oven's cooking cavity, thus assuring even heating.

The second problem must be addressed by the cook, who should arrange the food so that it absorbs energy evenly, and periodically test and shield any parts of the food that overheat.

Many microwave ovens' performance drops after about 15 minutes of continuous usage, which means food takes longer to cook. When heating several meals, the last meal to be cooked may not be heated properly as a result.

Defrosting is another common weakness, as many microwave ovens may start to cook the edges of the frozen food, while the inside of the food remains frozen.

Some people claim there exist more subtle dangers. Claimed dangers associated with microwave cooking include:

- Microwave cooking causes more nutrient loss than conventional cooking

- Microwave radiation leads to chemical reactions in the food that are different from those occurring during conventional heating — and consuming that food causes cancer, particularly due to the formation of suspected carcinogens called d-nitrosodiethanolamines.

These claims have no accepted scientific validity, and most scientists and skeptics consider such statements to be alarmist and pseudoscientific. It is widely accepted that microwaves merely heat food, and do not affect chemical bonds directly. Because of this, microwave cooking is considered safer than other cooking methods, particularly grilling and broiling which are known to produce carcinogens.

Most anti-microwave critic's claims lack any scientific value, as do their explanations of electromagnetic radiation.

Answer 2

When we were looking up science projects on the net for my 6th grader, we came across a posting (I didn't save it and wish I had) where a girl had used plain tap water and then microwaved tap water on two different plants and tracked its progress. The one with the plain tap water after around 28 days looked great, but the one with the microwaved water was about 1/4 the size and looked very sickly. It really makes you think!

Answer 3

It's easy to burn yourself on microwaved food.

Sometimes the food is hot on the outside but still cold on the inside! I hate that!!

Certain things are terrible after being microwaved... I think anything with bread becomes rubbery in the micro!

What out for steam... When you cover a tupperware with saran plastic wrap, steam builds up on the inside. When you open the saran wrap, you can get a nice burn....

Answer 4

Have you ever seen what happens to meat in the micro? EEEW. MIcrowaves are no ways to cook real food. maybe to quicly re-heat something, and not too often. We got rid of ours.

Answer 5

Yes, they re-arrange the molecules in food, and can make them toxic, destroy all the nutrients, and leave you feeling hungry an hour later because your body hasn't been satisfied.

Answer 6

I don't think there are any negative effects but I know that re-heating is not good.

Answer 7

don't get near one with a pacemaker

Answer 8

yes...it doesnt really taste the same as before