Let's begin with the basics of cooking food. Cooking at its most basic level is simply the process of creating a chemical reaction in food through the application of heat.
Conventional cooking means the application of heat from an outside source resulting in a chemical reaction in out food. As you increase the temperature of food, the molecules within it move faster and faster and begin to collide. These collisions produce can cause changes in molecules or can produce completely new molecules with properties unlike their unchanged predecessors. These changes can include variations in taste, color and texture. This process can also lead to the malformation and destruction of certain food molecules.
Due to these changes, some people prefer to consume their food in its raw state. They claim that food retains more of its nutrients and other healthful properties if left uncooked. This is the most basic reason people have become interested in raw diets popular today. It's also the reason fresher foods are better for you.
Microwave cooking is unlike conventional cooking in many ways. As opposed to cooking by simply applying heat, microwaves cook food by agitating the molecules which causes enough friction to generate heat from within. This molecular friction can be so intense that the molecules are damaged - ripped apart or deformed. While overall the process of cooking through microwaves is considered to be more gentle to food, molecular breakdown still occurs and it happens in a different way than conventional cooking.
While it is true that all forms of food manipulation through cooking can cause harmful molecular breakdown/deformation (burned or charred meats, for example, contain carcinogens like heterocyclic amines (HCAs)), the kinds that result from microwave cooking are different from those created by conventional cooking. That is probably the only thing we can confirm factually. Some people have attempted to link microwaved food to poor nutrition, lymphatic disorders, cancer and lowered DHL (the good cholesterol) levels, however not much has been yet proven.
The microwave oven was banned in Russia in 1976 due to concerns regarding the impact on health. The ban was lifted after Perestoika.
After the World War II, the Russians also experimented with microwave ovens. From 1957 up to recently, their research has been carried out mainly 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 - and was apparently prosecuted for doing so (J. Nat. Sci, 1998; 1:42-3) - the following effects were observed by Russian forensic teams:
- 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 a binding effect to radioactivity in the atmosphere
- Creation of cancer-causing agents within protein- hydrosylate compounds in milk and cereal grains;
- Microwave emissions also caused alteration in the catabolic (breakdown) behavior of glucoside - and galactoside - elements within frozen fruits when thawed in this way;
- Microwaves altered catabolic behavior of plant-alkaloids when raw, cooked or frozen vegetables were exposed for even very short periods;
- Cancer-causing free radicals were formed within certain trace-mineral molecular formations in plant substances, especially in raw root vegetables;
- Ingestion of micro-waved foods caused a higher percentage of cancerous cells in blood;
- 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;
- The unstable catabolism of micro-waved foods altered their elemental food substances, leading to disorders in the digestive system;
- 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;
- 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.
- from Dr George J Georgiou, Ph.D.'s research into microwave cooking
It is important to recognize that this information from the research is applicable to the food itself. It does not refer to the affects on humans, nor does it contrast the effects of cooking foods conventionally.
There have been numerous projects and bits of research done regarding the safety of microwaved foods, however it is unclear as to whether any of the information can be trusted. This is because many people out there are looking to prove their point one way or another. There is also the question of suppressed research by major corporations who have much to lose should microwaves be declared unsafe. MANY myths and half-truths abound on the internet regarding the truth. Unfortunately it is extremely difficult to get an accurate, unadulterated view of how microwaves truly affect human health. Most of what you'll find is horrifyingly scary accounts of the severely unsafe microwave balanced by a common-sense view of exactly the opposite.
As for me, I decided to try an experiment for myself instead of relying what others say. I decided to stop using my microwave for a few months to see what would happen. Here's how it went.
The first week I had to explain to my significant other (SO) why we weren't going to use the microwave any more. This was met with cries of protest and derision for my opinion that the microwave might not be as safe as we think. It took several days, but eventually I convinced him to just give it a try.
Mostly I had used the microwave to heat up leftovers and to cook veggies. I almost never cooked a meal in it unless I was at work and usually that meal consisted of a frozen vegetarian lunch. Though these were the only real uses I had for the microwave, it did get used frequently.
The first few weeks were probably the most difficult. I found myself mindlessly popping leftovers into the microwave without thinking. I agonized over what to have for lunch at work. (I hate plain old sandwiches. I usually took leftovers to work with me.) I gnashed teeth over it and cheated a lot at home. At work I eventually figured out what to take for lunch that could be eaten cold or room temperature or went out to eat if I wanted a hot meal.
About a month in I decided in order to stop temptation I should take the microwave out of the kitchen. I took it into the basement and hooked it up there at the request of my SO. I did so and soon I found I was eating my leftover food cold. I didn't bother making veggies at all. Yep. I was that lazy. Over time, though, I realized I had two perfectly capable tools for heating up leftovers - the toaster oven and *gasp* the stove.
As I began to get used to heating up my food in the frying pan or in a metal bowl/pan in the toaster oven, I began to realize something: Leftovers heated up in this way didn't take too much longer and they tasted WAY better. I got better and better at doing it. Next thing I knew I had learned to reheat food a variety of ways, almost all of them superior to having been reheated in the microwave. It's true I also learned to burn fried rice to the bottom of a pan or two and I was guilty of charring a slice of pizza or two. As with many things, it just took practice.
Since I did want to start eating veggies again, I began to learn to cook them in new and exciting ways. I was much more comfortable standing in front of the stove and had a new appreciation for it. I started looking for new recipes and tried all kinds of new things. The steamer basket for my big pot suddenly was very useful. I learned to dry saute. I found out you could boil veggies without destroying them. Roasting veggies in the oven was delicious. All in all I found that removing one simple way of doing things led to several slightly harder but much more rewarding ways of doing things.
At work I began to prepare more fresh foods like salads and cold pastas. I developed sandwich alternatives like bringing what I'd normally eat on bread in separate containers so they'd stay fresher. For example I'd bring pita chunks separate from the hummus with carrots and cucumbers to dip. The variety of my lunches improved greatly. Since I wasn't eating frozen boxed foods, I figured my work food was probably more nutritious and lower in fat. Co-workers began to get jealous over what I was bringing in because it looked so good.
In addition I learned to plan my meals at home and for work more carefully and considered how much time things would take. Since I knew that cooking took a little more time, I didn't wait until the last second to cook food. I began to plan for when I would be hungry, rather than let my hunger dictate to me. That change was a big one for me, especially since I had been having issues with my blood sugar. There was less stress about cooking and eating since I had already taken care of it in my head before I was hungry.
A few months more passed. I had happily forgotten about the microwave. Though my SO was still sneaking down to the basement occasionally to heat up mashed potatoes, he had all but given up on it, too. What I noticed about myself is that I had shed a few inches from my waistline and was generally feeling better. My SO had noticed the same thing about himself.
While I can't say with any certainty that microwaved food was bad for us, there was an undeniable change in our health for the better. I had learned that I didn't need the microwave and that other cooking methods were far better. Why settle for rubbery food that may or may not have been healthy for me? Was it really worth the 5 minutes I saved? Simply answered, it was not.
I decided to keep my new way of preparing food. I prefer it. The microwave now sits in a niche in my living room where it is only used to heat up buckwheat therapeutic pillows in the cool months. Overall I feel more confident in my ability to make food and reheat my leftovers. I am happier knowing there is zero controversy regarding my food preparation. I don't worry that my food preparation method is more likely to give me cancer or cause me any harm. I like the improvement in my diet and have come to love cooking. (I even got more counter space out of it!) There is no way I'd ever go back to using the microwave.
Looking back, I believe it was abandoning the microwave that had the greatest effect on my health of anything I ever did. It was not that I had removed a potentially harmful way of cooking from my life, but rather it started me on my journey to becoming a good cook.
The moral of this story is that when we think about things instead of just accepting the status quo, there can be immense benefits to be gained. Regardless of whether or not science can support commonly held beliefs, we can make decisions that have a positive outcome. Perhaps it is worth taking a closer look at all the other 'safe' things in our life and deciding it is time for a change. Why not live the healthiest, best way possible? Is it really that much harder? For me that meant getting back to basics and taking more time for me. What does it mean in your life?
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