Cooking in microwave ovens: whether advisable?

[Guest guest]

Respected Acharya ji,

Do not hurry. Even I read this that microowens preserve nutrients. Let them.

But do u know how they generate heat ? By creating turbulence at the molecular levels.

This creates genetic upheaval. Even in the person eating them. Very slow poison.

And there are many many other negative effects of microwens, mentioned at many places in

this group itself. "nutrients" is an allopathoic term for vitamins etc. Even gentically modified food

can have nutrients. Eggs, fish , meat ---all Tamasik food shunned by Ayurveda's prescription of normal diet--- have nutrients !!!!

 

So, I say, hurry not. Much more to know.

Yashendra

SM Acharya <smacharya (AT) (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

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.

[Guest guest]

ayurveda, SM Acharya <smacharya wrote:

> 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.

 

 

This is how pressure cooker was made popular. Less cooking time at

higher temperature, saving fuel and vitamins. But author finds it

difficult to understand following facts from scientific angle:

 

1. Khitchri cooked in ordinary vessel at atmospheric pressure needs

longer cooking time, but tastes better, is lighter for digestion, and

is oftne the food for sick.

 

2. Most of oils made from herbs are made at low temperatures of heating

such that no bubbles are formed, only some vaporization allowed, and

times of heating ranges 8-24 hours. Perhaps ancient ayurvedists knwew

about free radicals and oxidation.

 

3. Most cooking procedures for sweets, tasty dishes involve only low

temperatures and long cooking times. This is expecially true for milk

items. Indians have been using sigree and coal fires for some items,

which now a days are grilled in microwave ovens.

 

4. Fast cooking, fast food, fast life, fast rhythm in everything (incl.

music, dance) leads to fast exhaustion of life too! This is in contrast

to ayurvedic philosophy.

 

5. Many of ayurvedic medicines (e.g. avalehas) are prepared by long

fermentation/cooking in sunlight etc. Kashayas are always boiled on as

low heat as possible.

 

Thus ayurveda prefers slow and steady. Microwave does not fit into

this. May be ultimate liberation or yoga of soul and mind occurs where

there is no sound, no rhythm, no energy, no entropy change and

temperature absolute zero!