Cooking in microwave ovens: whether advisable?

[Guest guest]

Dear online friends,

I was a little upset when I read a recent posting by

Dr. Shirish Bhate regarding the experiment of boiled

water by ordinary heat and that boiled in microwave

ovens. The finding that conventionally boiled water

when used to water the plants promoted plant growth

while water boiled in microwave stunted the growth.

Being alone, I used to do quite a bit of heating and

cooking on by microwaves but after reading that

posting, I stopped even making tea in a microwave oven,

thinking about the potential health hazard

particularly when there is none to look after me.

After reading the following report in the Indian

Express, I have now resumed using the microwave oven,

though sparingly.

Hence it is necessary to know more on this subject as

it vitally concerns our health.

Will the members and readers please throw more light

on this hot subject of cooking in microwave ovens?

 

The Indian Express Weekly Health Guide under the

column, “Myth Buster” reported on 21 Oct., ’06 whether

microwave ovens kill nutrients in food, as follows:

They (m. ovens) are a staple in kitchens everywhere,

but for about as long as microwave ovens have been

around, people have suspected that the radiation they

emit can destroy nutrients in food and vegetables.

According to most studies however, the reality is

quite the opposite.

Every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other

nutrientrs. The factors that determine the extent are

how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used

and the cooking temperature. But since microwave ovens

often use less heat than conventional methods and

involve shorter cooking times, they generally are the

least destructive.

The most heat sensitive nutrients are water soluble

vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which

are common in vegetables. In Cornell University,

scientists found spinach retained all its folate when

cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 per cent when

cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked

by microwave had significantly lower levels of cancer

causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.

THE BOTTOMLINE: Microwave ovens generally do not

destroy nutrients in food.