I'm wondering if microwaving food has any negative effects that differ from conventional cooking. I have google searched this question and i have found many websites claiming all sorts of negatives occur but offer no credible source for these claims. There is also websites that debunk these same negatives by pointing out there is no credible sources to these "myths". But these debunking websites also fail to provide any sources themselves that prove their case.

I have been unable to find a single peer reviewed study that says one way or another what negative effects microwaves have on foods. I'm specifically curious about the molecular changes that occur and their potential health hazards.

To my understanding, microwaves ovens use low frequency electromagnetic waves that cause water molecules to rotate and generate kinetic energy. And a conventional oven heats though the convection of kinetic energy when fast moving particles bump into each others, transferring some of energy to those particles. I dont know much of about molecular physics but these seem like to very different ways of heating and i'm wondering if it has any differing effects on the food. Is there any difference? Is anybody aware of any studies done on this subject?

I was able to find a couple studies that say microwaved foods have equal or better nutrient retention and had lower amounts of carcinogens. But these studies do not answer my question. I want to know the negatives of microwaving foods (if any), not the positives.

This post was edited by NatureNames on Jan 18 2014 09:57pm

ask lightman imo.

don't remember if he has pm access. try hnf if he doesn't since he often lurks there.

This post was edited by carteblanche on Jan 18 2014 10:04pm

My friend is a nutritionist who says it's better not to microwave food cuz of radiation. Idk.

assuming the microwave is used properly
the radiation of the microwave oven is in general not damaging to food but it can be to humans
for some foods microwave is even better because of less water absorption in the food due to faster cooking times
but most prepared meals suitable for microwave cooking fall into the large bucket of junk food
which means relying on microwave food is detrimental to your health

btw, we don't use a microwave oven due to the effect microwave radiation has (not on food though)

the lack of peer reviewed articles should tell you something

Ok, I'm not talking about the types of foods cooked or the dangers electromagnetic waves present to humans outside of the microwave oven. Both of those things are pretty well documented i think.

This post was edited by NatureNames on Jan 19 2014 01:18am

there are quite a few, but i couldn't find a decent one in english

Specifically, I'm wondering what lasting changes or effects may occur to the food in the microwave. Like chemical, cellular, or molecular changes. Do these changes differ from food cooked in more conventional ways and do they have negative health implications when eaten. Lets say for example I'm talking about a potato, beef steak, or a bowl of oatmeal.

I would like to think that there is some type of radioactive residue or isotopes left in the food. Or maybe mutations of sorts that is left in the food similar to how ionizing radiation from nuclear waste can damage tissue and cause cell mutations that lead to cancer. Microwaves are pretty low in frequency, somewhere between radio waves and infrared waves. According to some scientific sources, microwaves are not strong enough to be ionizing. So does that mean microwaved food do not contain additional radioactive isotopes? and if they do, what is the half-life of those isotopes? I wish i knew but i dont know enough about radiation to answer that and wiki doesn't seem to have the answer.

I feel like there has got to be some concrete research about this somewhere but i cant seem to find it. Maybe the consensus is that the radiation levels are so low that they do no pose a big enough threat to warrant additional research or testing.

This post was edited by NatureNames on Jan 19 2014 01:20am

independent from radiation there are some points to consider, here http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/fn-250_4.pdf
is some indication where problems might arise when using a microwave oven

microwaving food is safe to the best of our knowledge. Microwaves involve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_heating

Hardly something that can create radioactive isotopes.

brmv i agree with your posts but your concerns have nothing to do with the OP. you are claiming microwaving food is dangerous due to uneven cooking and other factors, but the op is asking about the creation of radioactive food.

This post was edited by khemist on Jan 19 2014 01:25am