Why microwaved food is bad for your health

cartoon microwaveThe microwave was my mom’s favorite go-to appliance when we were growing up. She microwaved canned vegetables to complement steak or chicken, or heated up frozen burritos on the fly if we needed to be somewhere.

Leftovers were stored in plastic storage containers and heated up in the microwave for lunch and dinner. We even used the microwave to heat up candy bars stored in the freezer. My brother and I were always getting sick; if only we knew then what we knew today about the health hazards associated with microwave use.

They don’t say “nuke it” for nothing…

I stopped using microwaves to heat up food after stumbling across the studies mentioned in this article at Natural News. I also came across studies that said microwaving rearranges the molecular structure of your food. A friend of mine who specializes in nutrition even agreed that eating microwaved food is bad for your health.

Evidence shows that microwaving destroys up to 97% of antioxidants, vitamins, and other nutrients in your food. If you’re nuking vegetables and other meals in the microwave, you’re not getting the full amount of nutrients these foods have to offer. You know what else is funny? The definition of nuke is “to attack or destroy (something) with a nuclear weapon.” Who wants to eat food after it’s been through all that?

Healthy cooking techniques you should be using

Experts recommend consuming most fruits and vegetables raw for the highest nutritional benefit. I always eat raw fruits, but can only stomach a few raw vegetables. Dr. Weil makes great cooking recommendations in this article, which suggests steaming, broiling, baking, and roasting. There is no mention of a microwave.

My household steams and sautées foods for the most part. Leftovers like pasta are usually served cold straight from the refrigerator, while everything else is reheated in the toaster oven. Ironically, the microwave is now used as storage space for vitamins and supplements, and never gets turned on.


One thought on “Why microwaved food is bad for your health

  1. Interesting article! I’m a chemist with training in nuclear chemistry, and agree partially with this assessment. I wouldn’t cook meat (from raw) in the microwave, or cook with plastic wrap touching food, because there is indeed some molecular disruption. Reheating foods in glass containers, however, doesn’t concern me. The integrity of foods such as fruits and veggies isn’t any more compromised by a minute in a microwave than it is by canning. Just my thoughts! 🙂


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