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Why Were The Soviets Scared Of Microwave Ovens?
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Ambient Radiation Risk
There is also the risk of radiation leaking outward from the oven into the immediate environment. According to the FDA, the maximum permissible amount of radiation an oven can emit is 5 milliwatts per square centimeter, and up to 2 inches away from the surface of the oven. Anything higher than that or emitting further than 2 inches should not be used.
Of course, how would you know? You can’t see or smell radiation. If you choose to use a microwaves, make sure it is not too old and it is in good condition.
So…should I throw out my microwave oven?
Let’s not go that far. Just don’t make it your default option for heating food. It is better to use a conventional oven, stove or grill.
READ ALSO: Studies Find Cell Phones Are Much More Dangerous Than Brain Cancer!
But if you truly don’t have any other option, a microwave is acceptable. Just make sure what you’re actually eating is healthy in the first place. TV dinners are unhealthy no matter how they are prepared.
References:
smugbill
Dec 17, 2016 at 2:40 pm
you dance around the issue as if your pay check comes from microwave oven manufacturers. please stop deflecting by talking about the food and packaging that goes in it; does it poison food or not?
your use of the fda for support is completely laughable. yours is a health blog. is using a microwave unhealthy of not. if unhealthy, say so. let the fda and its stooges do the dancing. i come here for health information. why won’t you tell me about the health implications of using a microwave?
Ian Brooks
Jun 6, 2018 at 12:54 am
In simple terms, the answer is yes, MW ovens are safe to use.
But that is mitigated by the restriction that you would have to use common sense, something unfortunately missing from a large portion of the population.
Don’t cook in plastic, don’t overheat, leave food to sit before eating, etc.
Ian Brooks
Mar 6, 2018 at 8:46 pm
Your title and first paragraph imply (well, state) that MW ovens were banned in the USSR.. This is NOT true, there is no evidence for this at all and every article that states it can be traced ultimately (via articles by Joseph Mercola or Anthony Wayne & Laurence Newell) to an article by Bill Kopp who does not cite sources or clarify where he got his information from.
The broccoli study cited (F Vallejo, FA Tomás-Barberán, C García-Viguera, “Phenolic compound contents in edible parts of broccoli inflorescences after domestic cooking”, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 15 October 2003) immersed broccoli in water and microwaved it for over 5 minutes while steaming broccoli for only 3½ minutes. Two of the advantages of microwaving are speed and using less water (so nutrients do not leach out), so 5 minutes of microwaving would be similar to about 10 minutes of boiling or steaming which would doubtless also get rid of the majority of anti-oxidants!
All cooking will break down some molecules – that’s its purpose! Many proteins and enzymes are useless to us unless they can be broken down into polypeptide chains that our body can re-use to create our own human proteins.
The question therefore is “do MWs cause more damage than conventional cooking?” and the answer to that would appear, after 40 years of sales, is no. Using common sense (don’t use plastic containers – which you wouldn’t in a conventional oven anyway, don’t over boil your coffee etc.) then MWing is perfectly safe.
The taste is another matter.