Is it safe to microwave food? The question is valid, despite the fact that microwaves have been on the market for close to three decades now. Unfortunately, little research has been done on the concerns and questions consumers have. Why? That's another good question. Considering that microwaving involves exposing our food (and ourselves) to microwave radiation, there should be a long list of studies investigating its safety and effects on food and health, but there isn't.

One of the most famous studies about microwave ovens is an example of how science and business often do not mix. After being denied a grant from their government, two Swiss researchers decided to fund their own study into the safety of eating microwaved foods. Using human subjects, they recorded the effects of microwaved food compared to conventionally cooked food. The results showed significant changes to blood after microwaved food consumption, included a drop in white blood cell count and an elevation in LDL ("bad") cholesterol relative to HDL ("good") cholesterol - even though there is no cholesterol in vegetables, which were used in the study. In addition, cell membrane permeability appeared altered, allowing a higher risk of invasion by bacteria, fungi and viruses (Raum&Zeit, 1992).

Doctors Hans Hartel and Bernard Blanc, who conducted the study, were kept quiet through the use of trade laws and the courts. Two years after the study's completion the Swiss Federal Court confirmed a conviction against the researchers, who were fined and threatened with imprisonment.

According to US researcher William Kopp, the Russians knew the effects of microwaving foods due to extensive research beginning in the 1950s. Kopp explained, in a 1998 article published in the Journal of Natural Science, that they reported microwaved meat became carcinogenic (cancer-causing). They also found that proteins became unstable, free radicals were formed, nutrients were decreased and the lymph and digestive systems of humans eating microwaved foods were associated with incidences of stomach and intestinal cancers.

Other studies have confirmed that microwaving breast milk causes a decrease in antibodies that are needed by babies to fight infections (Pediatrics, 1992), vitamin B12 is reduced by as much as 40 percent in microwaved foods (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 1998), and microwaving food greatly reduces, if not eliminates, antioxidants in food (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2003).

While any type of cooking damages food, it seems that, despite the lack of studies, microwaving food is cause for concern. Health Canada admits that some microwave energy may leak from the ovens while in operation, but they maintain that due to established regulations, microwaves pose "no known health risks." Many experts simply advise standing five feet from an operating microwave oven and using glass instead of plastic for heating and cooking, since even plastics designed for microwave use have been proven to release known toxins. Others recommend using microwaves for defrosting and quick heating rather than cooking.

Have microwaves been proven dangerous? Not exactly. Have they been proven safe? No, not really. Loius Slesin, PhD, editor of the New York-based Microwave News, a report on non-ionizing radiation, says he feels that there may very well be something going on with the issue of microwave safety, but on the other hand admits he's not convinced there is even an issue. "There really is no basis from which to decide," he says.

Three quarters (74 per cent) of Canadians consider the microwave an important day-to-day cooking tool, while 56 per cent use microwaves mostly for reheating food (Ipsos Canada, 2003). Personally, I value myself, and my food, enough to err on the side of caution. I don't own a microwave and don't for a minute miss whatever it may bring to my life - good, bad or otherwise.

Sandra Tonn is a registered holistic nutritionist, natural health journalist and health educator based in Powell River, BC. Visit www.sandratonn.com.

Reference: Blanc, B.H. and Hertel, H.U. "Comparative Study about Food Prepared Conventionally and in the Microwave-Oven," Raum&Zeit, 1992, Vol. 3, No.2, p.43.

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