Microwaves: Are they safe?

[Muse]

I know that microwave radiation is an issue, but nowadays I think the door seals on the ovens are pretty decent, although you never know unless you test to see if your oven's leaking.

There's the issue of electromagnetic radiation, but I'm not terribly concerned about that. I believe that MW ovens put out significant amounts, but you can always step back from the oven while it's on. If you are 4 feet away, you are probably getting 2 milligauss or less EMF's, which is considered a reasonably safe level even over time. I'm not concerned about that.

What I'm wondering about is talk I think I've heard about ionizing radiation. Do you think that microwave ovens render food less nutritious or in some way unhealthy or toxic?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Muse
I know that microwave radiation is an issue, but nowadays I think the door seals on the ovens are pretty decent, although you never know unless you test to see if your oven's leaking.

There's the issue of electromagnetic radiation, but I'm not terribly concerned about that. I believe that MW ovens put out significant amounts, but you can always step back from the oven while it's on. If you are 4 feet away, you are probably getting 2 milligauss or less EMF's, which is considered a reasonably safe level even over time. I'm not concerned about that.

What I'm wondering about is talk I think I've heard about ionizing radiation. Do you think that microwave ovens render food less nutritious or in some way unhealthy or toxic?

Well, since I only have a few minutes and can't do any research on the spot, as you know (or don't know), cooking in general often makes food less nutritious - denaturing proteins, vitamins, etc. However, I haven't done enough research to have a viable opinion on whether microwaves make it less nutritious and/or unhealthy. I'll post back later.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: Muse
I know that microwave radiation is an issue, but nowadays I think the door seals on the ovens are pretty decent, although you never know unless you test to see if your oven's leaking.

There's the issue of electromagnetic radiation, but I'm not terribly concerned about that. I believe that MW ovens put out significant amounts, but you can always step back from the oven while it's on. If you are 4 feet away, you are probably getting 2 milligauss or less EMF's, which is considered a reasonably safe level even over time. I'm not concerned about that.

What I'm wondering about is talk I think I've heard about ionizing radiation. Do you think that microwave ovens render food less nutritious or in some way unhealthy or toxic?

Well, since I only have a few minutes and can't do any research on the spot, as you know (or don't know), cooking in general often makes food less nutritious - denaturing proteins, vitamins, etc. However, I haven't done enough research to have a viable opinion on whether microwaves make it less nutritious and/or unhealthy. I'll post back later.

Some friends of mine don't have one because ostensibly the benefits are outweighed by disadvantages, the cited one being ionization. If I don't get much response here, I'll make a post later in OT. I'm sure it would get a bigger response there. I only posted here because it's sort of on topic. Should have posted to OT, I think.

 

[Muse]

Maybe the risks have been overstated (or better put, my friends don't know):

From Wikipedia,
- - - -
According to the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, a US Federal standard limits microwave leakage from an oven, for the lifetime of the device, to 5 milliwatts per square centimetre when measured 5 centimetres from the surface of the oven.[16] This is far below the exposure level currently considered to be harmful to human health.

The radiation produced by a microwave oven is non-ionizing. It therefore does not have the cancer risks associated with ionizing radiation such as X-rays, ultraviolet light, and high-energy particles. Long-term rodent studies to assess cancer risk have so far failed to identify any carcinogenicity from 2.45 GHz microwave radiation even with chronic (i.e., large fraction of life span) exposure levels, far larger than humans are likely to encounter from any leaking ovens.[17][18] However, with the oven door open, the radiation may cause damage by heating; as with any cooking device. Nearly every microwave sold has a protective interlock so that it cannot be run when the door is open or improperly latched.

Near the bottom of the page at Wikipedia
- - - - -
Edit:

However, this page has dramatically different information, indicating that some scientists have identified that microwaved food has caused cancer in animals, etc. etc. etc.

 

[geokilla]

I microwave every day for lunch because I bring my lunch to school. At school and at home, if I'm close enough to the microwave, I can feel some "wind" generated by the microwave, so I try to stay about a foot away from the microwave.

As for the food, the food may be less nutritious and not as good as it was before it was warmed up by the microwave. My mom got e-mails before saying how microwaving any type of food makes them cancerous, but she gets all these random mails so I think that's a lie to scare people off from using microwave.

Question: Is there a problem if people open the door to stop the microwave instead of using the stop/clear button? Almost no one waits for the microwave to stop by itself or presses the stop button to stop the microwave. They just open the door.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

dont let the microwave wind get near your nuts, the heat could make you sterile
opening the door should be fine, as long as you open it relatively slowly. microwaves are fast, but not that fast... you want the last few to hit the door and not your face!

 

[MegaVovaN]

The wind you feel is the fan blowing air in the back of the microwave. When you cook something smelly and it smells outside the microwave, do you think radio waves carry it through the glass? No, fan blows it out.

 

[Muse]

I'm certain that no microwaves escape when you pop the door prior to the cycle ending. The instant you press the door release, the energy is turned off.

I think the only concern per my initial post is the contention by some that the food is altered in some way that's bad for you. It appears to have widely differing takes. I think I'm going to post in OT in a day or two. That forum gets around 10 times the traffic, probably more.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah right. They're not safe. Mine leaked and look at what happened to me:

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage...4_wideweb__300x375.jpg

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Yeah right. They're not safe. Mine leaked and look at what happened to me:

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage...4_wideweb__300x375.jpg

In the early days there were problems with leaking microwave radiation, stories of workers in restaurants losing their hair, eyebrows.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Kaido
Yeah right. They're not safe. Mine leaked and look at what happened to me:

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage...4_wideweb__300x375.jpg

In the early days there were problems with leaking microwave radiation, stories of workers in restaurants loosing their hair.

And we wonder why everyone has cancer Microwaves, processed foods with chemicals and fake colors, plastics leaking dioxin into our food and water, etc. Whee...

 

[rezinn]

I think the problem with microwaves is the food you put in them rather than what the microwave does to it. Microwavable food is by and large not healthy. Frozen meals are generally full of fat and loaded with calories, and we know high fat diets contribute to breast and colon cancers and diabetes at the very least.

 

[irishScott]

Somehow, I fail to see how a minor amount of microwave radiation for a few seconds is going to give me cancer. My mom used to microwave bacon when I was younger, and I got into the bad habit of standing close to the microwave to smell the bacon while it was cooking. I did this, every other day, for years. Then my mom heard about the OMG MICROWAVES CAUSE CANCER!!11 thing. I've had no negative effects from it.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Somehow, I fail to see how a minor amount of microwave radiation for a few seconds is going to give me cancer. My mom used to microwave bacon when I was younger, and I got into the bad habit of standing close to the microwave to smell the bacon while it was cooking. I did this, every other day, for years. Then my mom heard about the OMG MICROWAVES CAUSE CANCER!!11 thing. I've had no negative effects from it.

The EMF's you were getting were no big deal.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: rezinn
I think the problem with microwaves is the food you put in them rather than what the microwave does to it. Microwavable food is by and large not healthy. Frozen meals are generally full of fat and loaded with calories, and we know high fat diets contribute to breast and colon cancers and diabetes at the very least.

Myself, I never buy "microwavable food." Still, I use my MW several times daily. Mostly reheating a cooled cup of coffee. Sometimes, reheating leftovers.

 

[ss284]

Microwaving bacon should be considered a sin.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: ss284
Microwaving bacon should be considered a sin.

Never do it.

Now if I just put a refrigerated apple in the MW and heat it to room temperature, am I destroying a significant amount of its food value, e.g. vitamins?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ss284
Microwaving bacon should be considered a sin.

I love microwaving bacon. I have one of those plastic things with T-posts on it that lets the fat drip down. Cooks it way good :thumbsup:

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: ss284
Microwaving bacon should be considered a sin.

I love microwaving bacon. I have one of those plastic things with T-posts on it that lets the fat drip down. Cooks it way good :thumbsup:

I used my George Foreman to cook some bacon the other day while I made a burger. That worked very similarly and it was quite good.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: ss284
Microwaving bacon should be considered a sin.

I love microwaving bacon. I have one of those plastic things with T-posts on it that lets the fat drip down. Cooks it way good :thumbsup:

I used my George Foreman to cook some bacon the other day while I made a burger. That worked very similarly and it was quite good.

Lies, just lies.

 

[geokilla]

DEAD THREAD REVIVAL!!!

Hmm, I'm wondering here. Are there any differences between different brands of Microwaves? Say a Danby, RCA, etc. small brands vs Sanyo, Panasonic, etc. all the name brands.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: geokilla
DEAD THREAD REVIVAL!!!

Hmm, I'm wondering here. Are there any differences between different brands of Microwaves? Say a Danby, RCA, etc. small brands vs Sanyo, Panasonic, etc. all the name brands.

I doubt there's research that goes into that type of detail. There's not even good research on microwaves' effect on food in general.