Would you stop using your microwave?

Doberluv

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#1
If you were convinced they do what these articles indicate, would you quit using your microwave altogether? I don't know if these studies are good or not. But it's kind of creepy to think about. Do you use a microwave or have you stopped using one? Have you never used one? I use mine quite a lot, but mostly for re-heating foods. I can't think of much that I cook from the beginning using a microwave. It's very convenient, cuts down on washing pots and pans etc, but these articles are kind of spooking me. Maybe I'll quit using mine. What do you think about this information? I just did a quick look but if you have something more current or better, please post it. I think it's worth looking into.


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx



http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/0601/sc0601-microwave.html
 

Dekka

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#3
Those aren't studies. But they are very biased articles that in some cases mis represent studies...

However I tend to nuke only water. Steaming is best, but compared to boiling there is little difference.

ETA.. for example using BPA is bad in microwaves, but it is equally bad when storing food cold, or heating in general.. it has nothing to do with microwaves as the article would lead you to believe.
 

PWCorgi

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#4
We don't have one. The only time I miss having one is when I have leftovers, the microwave is the easiest way to reheat them.
 
S

SevenSins

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#5
What do you think about this information?
I think that the pure, unadulterated joy of watching Peeps puff up to astronomical proportion before exploding into pastel-palleted clouds of sugary napalm balances out the inherent fear of jiggling my biophotons.
 

PWCorgi

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#6
I think that the pure, unadulterated joy of watching Peeps puff up to astronomical proportion before exploding into pastel-palleted clouds of sugary napalm balances out the inherent fear of jiggling my biophotons.
:rofl1::rofl1::rofl1::rofl1::rofl1:
 

Doberluv

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#7
I think I'll slow down with it's use because if it wrecks the nutrients in things, what's the point of trying to eat healthily? I guess it's not that big of a deal to re-heat things on the stove. At any rate, anything using high temperatures isn't all that great either for preserving nutrients. We've probably already got the deck stacked against us a little bit because the soil that vegetables and things grow in, in many areas has been depleted of a lot of essential minerals, such as selenium for one thing.
 

Doberluv

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#8
Well, it's the opinion of some pretty classy looking references. I mean....the food and drug administration? Don't you all value our government watch dogs?;)

Well, let's see if we can find some better information? I'll race ya. But first I have to go take the dogs for a walk.
 

ACooper

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#9
I found it interesting where it talked about certain things being lost in food...........like broccoli for instance.

I own a tupperware microwave steamer and use it quite often to steam veggies, including broccoli. It makes me sad to know I could be destroying a big part of the reason I'm serving it in the first place :(

I don't think I'm getting rid of the microwave, but I am rethinking my use of it for our veggies..........steamed or otherwise. We'll still use it to heat soup and leftovers though.
 

Dekka

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#10
Well, it's the opinion of some pretty classy looking references. I mean....the food and drug administration? Don't you all value our government watch dogs?;)

Well, let's see if we can find some better information? I'll race ya. But first I have to go take the dogs for a walk.
I don't trust studies that are funded by lobbists to show what they want to show. This is well known to be an issue. Also it is very common for articles to reference papers and get the take home message completely wrong :) I have often looked up these sorts of references and found that the paper in question actually refutes the article!

So while it would be interesting to go through the actual studies, based on these articles I really wouldn't be changing anything. These articles have enough obviously misleading information it makes me distrustful of the rest. Which is sad if they have validity.
 
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#12
Microwaving doesn't typically deplete nutrients in most foods more so than the stove. Many nutrients are broken down by cooking in general but typically the faster heating times of the microwave preserves much more nutrients than the stove. It all depends on which foods. Some foods are actually recommended for microwave cooking over any other method to preserve nutrients. There are actually charts that will list the best cooking methods for preserving nutrients in different types of food.

As a rule I NEVER microwave anything in plastic or Styrofoam. I have switched all Chloe's dishes to Corelle when I realized how bad melamine was, which is what all those hard, kid dishes are made of.
 

Doberluv

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#14
I don't trust studies that are funded by lobbists to show what they want to show. This is well known to be an issue. Also it is very common for articles to reference papers and get the take home message completely wrong :) I have often looked up these sorts of references and found that the paper in question actually refutes the article!

So while it would be interesting to go through the actual studies, based on these articles I really wouldn't be changing anything. These articles have enough obviously misleading information it makes me distrustful of the rest. Which is sad if they have validity.
I was being sarcastic. :red_bandana:
 
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#15
The study was not without its shortcomings. It involved only eight participants, of which Hertel was one. As compelling as his findings were, his methodology did not stand up to the scientific rigors of the field.

In spite of Hertel's methodological shortcomings, his findings do raise concerns about what this form of radiation is doing to your food and should be taken as a launching point to larger, more robust studies in the future.
So we know he was spouting garbage, but he was scared of the same thing, so we should still listen to him!
 

Doberluv

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#16
Well, I've looked around a bit more online and can't find any real evidence one way or the other. Heating vegetables takes away some of their nutrients no matter what the heat source, it seems. The less heat the better and no scorching. But if you eat them raw, some of it may go undigested anyhow, right? So then, you may not get all those nutrients either. The more chewing, the better I suppose.

So, I guess I'll continue doing what I have been doing. I often cook up some vegetables, either carefully sauteing them or steaming them. If there are left overs for another meal, I'll stick them on a plate and microwave them just enough to heat them up a little bit. I've even put them on the grill, wrapped up in foil. That's probably not so good...very hot. But on the other hand, they may be shielded by the foil and I put them on the top rack which is not so close to the heat. But then there's the aluminum to worry about. Maybe that's not too safe either. Ya just can't win. Oh and then let's not forget about the soil in which they grew. Maybe that doesn't have enough nutrients in it and then it doesn't matter what you do.:eek:
 

Fran101

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#18
Eh as it is, I don't keep any processed or ready made food around, but I do have a lot of left overs I use the microwave for so no, I probably wouldn't stop using it..

lol If I was interested in preserving nutrients, I wouldn't be cooking the stuff up in the first place.
Everything I cook (aka: vegetables) I cook because I make the DECISION that I value taste over nutrition. Harsh but true fact lol
 

smkie

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#19
Quit using the dryer for the most part when I found out that it saved me practically a dog food's bag worth of electricity. Just isn't that hard to hang stuff up. I only throw it in for a quick cool tumble to soften the stiffness. Smells wonderful too. I have lived without a microwave, and I didn't like it. I use it a lot, my Mom used it a lot for the babysitting kids stuff and they all grew up to be just fine and to have children that are growing up fine too so I am not worried about micro "waves" in my food.
 

Dekka

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#20
Then there is the point how much nutrients does it loose. Ie just eat an extra broccoli floret and come out ahead :)

I would like to see studies on digestible nutrients lost as that is the significant issue. Not how many are on the plate, but how many we can use.

I have to say nutrition studies typically are some of the worst I have seen, for bias and for poor methodology.
 

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