Millions of people are unaware that they are endangering their health for the sake of convenience. The use of microwave ovens is a mainstay of modern living. But, how safe is it really?
For a vast majority of people, microwaves are a household item. But how does a microwave oven really work? Microwaves, much like light waves and radio waves, are a form of electromagnetic energy. They are very short waves of electromagnetic energy that zips at the speed of light. It is a simple-to-operate machine that cooks meals almost instantaneously.
Microwaves used to cook food uses alternating currents as opposed to the pulsed direct current that we normally get from the sun. Alternating current microwaves produces frictional heat as opposed to that coming from the sun which does not produce frictional heat.
According to The Southwest Museum of Engineer, Communication and Computation (SMECC), about 95% of American homes have this appliance.
What are the effects of using a microwave? By heating food in a microwave, a meal's nutritional value is substantially lessened. Thus, a person might not be aware that he or she is actually in danger of being malnourished.
Researchers also concluded that microwaves also take out 30 to 40 percent of vitamin B-12 from foods such as meat and dairy products. Frozen breast milk that is heated in microwave was also found to be affected by microwaves, according to Health-Science.
Breast milk has bacteria-fighting properties and this is significantly reduced when treated with microwaves.
The way you use the microwave can also have a great effect on your health. It was discovered that heating food inside plastic containers and plastic wraps release carcinogens into the food, according to Medical Daily.
Microwaves can also alter your heartbeat. You should discontinue the use of your microwave if you feel chest pains and irregular heartbeat with eating microwaved food.
According to Health-Science extensive researches done by German and Russian scientists have concluded that the use of a microwave device is not advisable.
