A microwave oven, or simply a microwave oven, is currently used by the majority of the population of post-Soviet countries. It is very convenient and economical: the food is cooked and heated much faster than on a regular gas or electric stove, and the mechanism for handling it is so simple that even a child can warm up his own food without the help of his parents. Microwave ovens are not so expensive, and now this household equipment is in almost every family.
But, even having a microwave in your house, many people think: is it not harmful? I want to hear some evidence or a refutation of whether there is harm from the microwave.
What harm does the microwave bring?
First, let's find out what the mechanism of the microwave oven is. The microwave oven consists of a metal chamber with a close-fitting door, a microwave oscillator - a magnetron, its power source - a transformer, and auxiliary elements such as a rotating table, fan, timer, etc.
The principle of the microwave oven is to warm food from the inside thanks to the action of a powerful electric field with a frequency of 2450 MHz. Microwaves cause the polar molecules of water that are in the food composition to rotate at supersonic speed, and as a result of this molecular friction the food quickly heats up. In this case, the cookware remains the same temperature, which is also very convenient and safer than cooking on a conventional stove, where it is easy to get burned.
So what is the harm of eating from a microwave oven? Scientists are still arguing on this topic, and it is harmful to use a microwave, has not yet been reliably proven. However, "pessimistic forecasts" are as follows:
- The nutritional value of food products during their preparation in a microwave is greatly reduced.
- Under the influence of microwaves some compounds can turn into carcinogens. This can happen with products in the origin of which you are not sure (bought in the store or on the market), because they can be genetically modified or simply contain in their composition unacceptable substances.
- According to some reports, people who consume food cooked in a microwave for a long time can change the blood composition: the amount of cholesterol and lymphocytes increases, and hemoglobin, on the contrary, falls.
This information has not yet found a one hundred percent confirmation, but think: where in our time are so many diseases - diabetes, metabolic disorders, cancer? It is likely that their source is next to us, but we just do not think about its ambiguous properties. On the question of whether food is harmful from a microwave oven, no one will give you an unambiguous answer, but is it worth checking it for yourself, risking your own health and the health of your loved ones?
How to reduce the harm of microwave?
At the same time, it is wise to use this household appliance in order to minimize the harm. Be sure to follow the following rules for working with a microwave oven:
- use only glassware and in no case metal;
- Do not place in the microwave water in hermetically sealed containers (this includes eggs of birds, sausages in film, etc.);
- do not heat food in plastic dishes and plastic bags, as any plastic, when heated, reacts with the products, giving them toxic substances that are very harmful to humans and compounds;
- Do not allow children to work closer to a working microwave oven than 2 meters. Pregnant women are also advised to refrain from using a microwave oven.
Check how tight the chamber of your oven is, it can be very simple. Place your mobile phone in the switched off microwave oven, close the door and call from another phone to your own. If the camera is sealed, it will not miss the signal, and the phone will be "out of range". If he rang, it means that it is not so tight, your furnace, and being near it means exposing yourself to unjustified risk.
So, harm or benefit brings your body food from the microwave - a one hundred percent answer to you no one will give, so the decision, whether to use it or not, remains exclusively for you.