Do You Microwave?

Are you one of the many who owns a microwave and appreciates its convenience? I was definitely one of them, being the busy executive who is always running short on time. At one point in my life, I was using the microwave oven to cook anything from packaged foods, pop corn, vegetables, meat and even warm drinks & soups. And man, I was definitely not in the best of shape then!

2 years ago, I read an article posted by a health forum user about his experiments on plants. He took 2 identical live potted plants, and watered them for 7 days using a) tap water from the tap, and b) tap water heated by a microwave oven and cooled. He then took pictures of the 2 plants, which looked shocking! The one watered with the microwave water died, shriveled and dark; while the one watered with normal tap water looked normal and alive.

Although I was unable to trace the authenticity of the article, it was enough to deter me from living off the microwave oven. After digging out various research reports on electromagnetic microwaves and how they affect our food, I gradually cut down my microwave oven usage. Then, last year when I conducted the water experiment on my own cactus, I threw out the microwave.

What disturbs me until today is that for every 6 friends I share this with, only 1 seems to have vaguely heard this before, but nonetheless still using his/her microwave oven; while the other 5 of them had never heard of it before. This is less than a 20% probability and it is not optimistic at all!

How Do Microwaves Cook Our Food?

Microwaves are a form of Electro-Magnetic Waves. These waves are used today in the technology of cell phones, television and satellite computer information. They are used to relay information via signals.

From what I had been able to gather from research, microwave ovens contain magnetrons which produce microwave radiation to interact with food molecules. These radiation causes food polar molecules to vibrate, and thus create molecular “friction” – which heats up the food from within. But at the same time, it causes substantial damage to the surrounding food molecules – either by shattering or deforming them.

This form of cooking is considered unnatural and have even been found to mutate some food molecules into carcinogens (which is cancer causing).

Along the way, I have also discovered some interesting facts:

1)Most of these research were undocumented and none of them had been formally approved officially either by FDA or government authorities.

2)The doctors & scientists involved in the research are either retired, self- employed, or had gotten into trouble before with the authorities at some point in time. A very good example is Dr Hans Ulrich Hertel. You can simply google his name and read more of his works.

3)Some established health sites which I visit frequently still has a “neutral” opinion on microwave ovens. And they are trusted, credible sites which I read for health information.

Well I guess they must have their reasons and stands for having that view. In order to get unbiased evidence, I simply use multiple sources for reading & research over the years.

For those of you who are intrigued by EMFs (Electro-Magnetic Fields) and how they can possibly affect us, here are 2 books which I’m sure can satisfy you:

1)Cross Currents: The Perils of ElectroPollution, The Promise of ElectroMedicine by Dr Robert O Becker

2)Electromagnetic Fields: A Consumer's Guide to the Issues and How to Protect Ourselves by B Blake Levitt.

If you want free research, you can also get them from the internet. In fact, once you start to look for it, you can see the evidence everywhere! I have read enough over the past 2 years to know that microwaved foods are not good for me, and I want to be responsible for my own health.

Perhaps for a start, you can try to pay close attention to how foods taste when they are cooked using microwave ovens. And if you really must, then conduct an experiment on your plants. (Well not that I recommend it, but given a choice between you and your plants’ lives, I would choose yours for sure!)

And ever remember your mother’s comment that microwaved foods taste funny and unnatural? Perhaps some mothers do know best after all!

Of course, that also depends on where you stand currently. For a person who is living off fried foods, soda, alcohol and cigarettes, EMFs are probably not that dangerous at all, on a relative scale. But if you are someone like me who is concerned about long-term well-being and want to consistently be at my best, it is definitely a worthy concern.


Cheers to Your Abundance, Health & Joy!

© Copyright, 2008 Linda Loo