STOP Using the Microwave – What Cooking in the Microwave Does to Food
Using the microwave may be one of the fastest ways to prepare a meal, but it’s also one of the fastest ways to ruin the quality of the food that you’re eating.
Using a microwave to heat up your food reduces its nutritional value, and leaks chemicals into the food. In this blog, I’m going to tell you what my family uses as alternatives to microwave cooking so you can avoid this.
Effects Of Microwaves On Food
Depending on how long the food is in the microwave, research shows that the food’s nutrient content is reduced by anywhere from 5-40%. Not all of the nutrients are gone, but some of them are very susceptible to heat.
Using a microwave for only 60 seconds can nearly deactivate alliinase, a cancer-fighting nutrient found in garlic.
Garlic has a lot of cholesterol-lowering, immune-boosting, and heart-helping properties. Microwaving your food means you lose those benefits.
If you cook broccoli in a microwave, you lose 97% of its antioxidants, compared to losing only 11% if you steam it.
Just a few minutes of microwave-cooking milk can destroy 30-40% of its B vitamins.
Microwaving foods that are high in vitamin C is a fast way to zap the amount of vitamin C content.
Microwaving not only reduces the amount of antioxidants and nutrients in food, it can actually increase the amount of free radicals. In some cases, it can even increase the potentially cancer-causing byproducts created when you overcook food.
Every form of cooking is susceptible to a loss of nutrients, but microwaves are the worst for it.
Microwaves are also shown to oxidize cholesterol. They can lead to an increase in glucose and fat-storing hormone responses inside of the body.
Microwaves do use a low-enough level of radiation to cook food that it’s not overly dangerous. However, it has still been linked to cataracts, which are a clouding of the lens of the eye.
So if you do use a microwave, try to avoid standing in front of the microwave watching your food.
Plus, if you’re cooking in a plastic container, the plastic can leach up to 44 different chemicals into your food.
Alternatives To Microwaving Food
I’m not suggesting that you never use a microwave again, but try to decrease how often you use them.
I recommend using a convection oven. It’s a great replacement for the microwave because it uses a different type of heat.
You can also use a stove top by putting water or oil in a pan and using it to cook.
Air fryers are another healthy choice as long as there’s no plastic or coated lining on the inside.
These options might take a little more time than a microwave will, but it’s worth protecting the nutrients in your food.
A group of eighth graders heated purified water in a microwave to a boil and poured it on plants, and within a week, the plant was dying.
This shows how dangerous microwaves can be for your body. You’re not a bad person if you microwave your food, but it’s worth doing it less to benefit your body.
If you want to navigate more health tips, check out my free book that can help you enter a new, healthy lifestyle.
