MICRO MANAGEMENT

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert 

January 27, 2003 

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Dear Reader, 

They're convenient, they're fast, but are microwave ovens really safe? 

This is a frequent question we get on the HSI Forum and through e-mails, such as this one from a member named Jasmine, who asks: 

"I do quite a bit of microwave cooking, but would like to know how that affects the food value, especially in vegetables. Does the excessive heat destroy the vitamin content or what? Nobody I've asked seems to know and I haven't been able to find any reference to it in numerous health magazines and books I've looked through." 

To address the question of how microwaving affects nutrition, I turned Jasmine's questions over to HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D. 

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According to Dr. Spreen... 
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There are very few studies on microwave cooking and food quality. There's a reason for that, which I'll get to in a second. What studies exist are all bad news for microwaving - they universally describe some type of damage. One study showed breakdown of vitamin B-12 to inactive degradation products in microwaved foods. The magazine "Health & Healing Wisdom" reports that Russian research concerning neurological effects of altered magnetic states of microwaved foods caused the Russian government to outlaw all food microwave apparatus in 1976 (I don't know if that ban still exists). Another study showed depletion of antibodies and breakdown of enzymes when breast milk is microwaved. 

There's also a problem with release of potentially toxic molecules into the food from packaging designed to help brown food during microwaving. This includes items such as pizza, French fries, waffles, popcorn and breaded fish - and these findings were determined by the FDA! 

The most controlled (and scary) research was almost stopped from anyone knowing about it before being published. Two Swiss researchers sequestered subjects under close scrutiny and blood tested them after randomly eating food that was either microwaved or conventionally cooked. They found all sorts of potentially nasty stuff: (1) blood hemoglobin levels decreased significantly after ingesting microwaved foods, both total levels and the amount contained in each red blood cell; (2) White blood cell levels tended to increase for no other reason than foods were microwaved; (3) microwaves altered protein molecules; (4) LDL cholesterol (the 'bad' type) increased relative to HDL cholesterol (the 'good' type). 

The problem was, they were immediately sued by the "Swiss Association of Dealers for Electroapparatuses for Households and Industry," and one of the authors was convicted by the Swiss Federal Court of "interfering with commerce." The fine was the equivalent of $65,000. So, the message is you think twice before stepping on too many big-money toes. 

However you slice it, there appears to be a problem with those high frequency, alternating current (meaning abnormal for the human system) electromagnetic waves...but it's sure an easy way to fix popcorn! 

Good Health, Allan Spreen, M.D. 

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Butter vs. "butter flavor" 
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Unfortunately, even the popcorn question has a cloud above it. 

In an e-Alert I sent you some time ago ("Could Popcorn Be Worse For Your Lungs Than Cigarettes?" 11/7/01), I told you about a disturbing "Wall Street Journal" article I found that reported on 24 workers at a microwave popcorn plant in Missouri who were all diagnosed with a rare and deadly lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans - usually only seen in isolated cases. After an investigation by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), it was determined that the cause for this bizarre outbreak was the artificial butter flavoring added to the popcorn. 

Further testing revealed that one specific ingredient in the artificial butter, called Diacetyl, was to blame. This FDA- approved chemical compound is also found in many wines, beers, cookies, candies, and cheese-flavored products. Granted, the average person's intake of Diacetyl probably doesn't compare with the exposure that you'd get while working with the compound every day, but ever since I saw that article I've been popping my pop corn with an air- popper, then adding a tablespoon of real butter. 

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Yes, there's more 
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In a Members Alert we sent you a few years ago, HSI Panelist Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S., outlined her concerns about microwave cooking. Her primary objection to using microwaves is their tendency to heat foods unevenly, indicating that some of the food is not sufficiently heated to kill all the bacteria or parasites that might be present. This uneven heating also creates hot spots in food that may release synthetic estrogens found in certain plastics. But even when using only glass (Pyrex) containers, Dr. Gittleman feels that low levels of radiation escaping from the ovens may be harmful, and cautions against standing in front of a microwave unit while it's in use. 

So I'm afraid the consensus for microwave ovens is not very positive. Until we have more definitive studies available, it would seem that the safest use of microwaves may be as a cooking aid (for defrosting, heating liquids, etc.) rather than as a method for primary cooking. 

To Your Good Health, 

Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute

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