What You Need to Know About Your Microwave
Microwaves are low energy waves that rapidly heat your food by a process called dielectric heating. A magnetron is a high-powered vacuum tube that generates microwaves by subjecting electrons to magnetic and electrical fields to produce an electromagnetic field with a microwave frequency of 2.4 gigaHertz.
The waves bounce through the food and cause water molecules, which are bipolar, to resonate at very high frequencies. The movement of the water molecules creates molecular friction and heats up your food.
This process alters the chemical structure of the food. Significant antioxidant damage has been found in microwaved food. Moreover, microwave radiation alters your food producing unique molecules into the food called radiolytic compounds. Radiolytic compounds are mutations that are unknown to the natural world. These substances lead to deterioration of your blood and immune system. By microwaving your food, you not only severely decrease the nutrient content of the food, but you also introduce toxic substances into your body. One woman actually died in 1991 after receiving a blood transfusion that had been warmed in the microwave.
Another problem with microwaving foods is that carcinogenic toxins leach out of the plastic and paper containers and into the food. The plastic packaging that microwavable foods come in leeches into the food during the microwaving process. The January/February 1990 issue of Nutrition Action Newsletter reported the leakage of numerous toxic chemicals from the packaging of common microwavable foods, including pizzas, chips and popcorn. Chemicals included polyethylene terpthalate (PET), benzene, toluene, and xylene. Microwaving fatty foods in plastic containers leads to the release of dioxins (known carcinogens) and other toxins into your food. One of the worst contaminants is BPA, or bisphenol A, an estrogen-like compound used widely in plastic products.
A study published in the November 2003 issue of The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that microwaved broccoli lost up to 97 percent of its beneficial antioxidants. By comparison, steamed broccoli lost only 11 percent or fewer of its antioxidants. There were also reductions in phenolic compounds and glucosinolates, however mineral levels remained intact.
Microwaving food limits its ability to help the body to prevent and fight disease. In a study of garlic, as little as 60 seconds of microwave heating was enough to inactivate its allinase, garlic’s principle anticarcinogenic ingredient. Microwaving can destroy the essential disease-fighting agents in breast milk that offer protection for your baby. Microwaved breast milk lost lysozyme activity, antibodies, and fostered the growth of more potentially pathogenic bacteria.
After the World War II, the Russians experimented with microwave ovens. From 1957 to the present, their research has been carried out primarily at the Institute of Radio Technology at Klinsk, Byelorussia. According to US researcher William Kopp, who gathered much of the results of Russian and German research (J. Nat. Sci, 1998; 1:42-3), the Russian teams found:
1. Heating prepared meats in a microwave sufficiently for human consumption created:
* d-Nitrosodiethanolamine (a well-known cancer-causing agent)
* Destabilization of active protein biomolecular compounds
* Creation of cancer-causing agents within protein-hydrosylate compounds in milk and cereal grains;
2. Microwave emissions also caused alteration in the catabolic (breakdown) behavior of glucoside – and galactoside – elements within frozen fruits when thawed in this way;
3. Microwaves altered catabolic behavior of plant-alkaloids when raw, cooked or frozen vegetables were exposed for even very short periods;
4. Cancer-causing free radicals were formed within certain trace-mineral molecular formations in plant substances, especially in raw root vegetables;
5. Ingestion of microwaved foods caused a higher percentage of cancerous cells in blood;
6. Due to chemical alterations within food substances, malfunctions occurred in the lymphatic system, causing degeneration of the immune system’s capacity to protect itself against cancerous growth;
7. The unstable catabolism of microwaved foods altered their elemental food substances, leading to disorders in the digestive system;
8. Those ingesting micro-waved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers, plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues with a gradual breakdown of digestive and excretory system function;
9. Microwave exposure caused significant decreases in the nutritional value of all foods studied, particularly:
* A decrease in the bioavailability of B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotrophics
* Destruction of the nutritional value of nucleoproteins in meats
* Lowering of the metabolic activity of alkaloids, glucosides, galactosides and nitrilosides (all basic plant substances in fruits and vegetables)
* Marked acceleration of structural disintegration in all foods.
Not only are microwaves destructive to your health, they are also damaging to the environment. Magnetrons are made from a limited resource and are not environmentally sustainable.
Moreover, the profusion of satellites in our atmosphere leads to the dielectric heating of our planet. This is similar to a magnetron: as the satellites rotate around the earth, the earth spins in the opposite direction inside that rotation, creating a spinning cooking chamber in our atmosphere. There are millions of devices on the Earth connecting to thousands of satellites, resulting in constantly high levels of microwave radiation.
The electromagnetic flow of the earth’s magnetic field guides all microwaves towards the North Pole. Microwave frequencies pass through the ice and water on earth and its atmosphere, causing dielectric heating of the glaciers and water particles in the air. This phenomenon contributes to melting icebergs and rising ocean temperatures. It also contributes to the greenhouse effect and potentially to ozone depletion.
Although it may be faster and more convenient to heat your food in a microwave, it is better for your health and the health of the environment to take the time to skip the microwave and heat your food on the stove.
Resources: http://www.relfe.com/microwave.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx
