Health Debunked: Are Microwaves Bad for Your Health?
Key takeaways:
Microwaves are safe if used correctly. Microwaves use low-energy, nonionizing radiation to heat food.
The amount of radiation used by microwaves hasn’t been linked to an increased risk of developing cancer.
Microwaving doesn’t reduce the nutrient value more than other cooking methods and doesn’t make food radioactive.
Today most kitchens are equipped with microwaves. Yet, the internet is riddled with information about the dangers these everyday appliances may pose to you and your food.
From cancer scares to nutrition hazards, there are many claims about the risks of microwaves. But, if used correctly, microwaves are safe. Let’s take a look at what the research says about microwaves’ effects on food and your health.
What are microwaves, and how do they work?
To understand why microwaves are safe, it’s helpful to understand the science behind microwaves and how they work.
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Microwaves are compact and powerful machines that work by turning electricity into a form of energy that generates heat. Specifically, there’s a generator called a magnetron inside your microwave. The magnetron takes electricity from your power outlet and converts it into electromagnetic waves called microwaves.
When these waves penetrate your food, they cause the molecules in it to vibrate and generate heat. This is what makes your food hot.
Do microwaves use radiation?
Yes. The electromagnetic waves created inside a microwave are a form of nonionizing radiation. This type of radiation is low-frequency and low-energy. That means it can cause molecules in your food to move and heat up, but it’s not powerful enough to change their chemical structure. That means your microwave can’t make your food radioactive.
Is microwave radiation harmful?
No. Many different agencies and independent researchers have looked at whether radiation from microwaves is harmful. When used properly, there’s no evidence that microwaves cause negative health effects.
That’s partly because microwaves are designed to keep electromagnetic waves inside the oven. For more than 50 years, the FDA has regulated the manufacture of microwave ovens. Strict safety standards state that a microwave must leak less than 5 mW of microwave radiation per square centimeters at approximately 2 inches throughout its lifetime to get FDA approval. This is far below the amount that can cause harm to people.
Once a microwave turns off, no more electromagnetic waves are left inside the oven. So your microwave can’t continue to leak radiation when it’s off.
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In fact, most reported injuries from microwaves have nothing to do with radiation exposure. The most commonly reported microwave-related injury are burns caused by liquids or food that are too hot.
Do microwaves cause cancer?
No. To date, there’s no evidence that microwaves cause cancer. There’s also no evidence that eating food that was cooked in a microwave increases the risk of cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer is an expert group that studies the causes of cancer. It doesn’t classify nonionizing radiation as a “known or probable'' human carcinogen. In other words there’s no evidence to conclude that exposure to nonionizing radiation, like from microwaves, causes cancer.
Do microwaves kill nutrients?
For those who prefer microwaves for convenience, the good news is studies show microwaving meals doesn’t seem to reduce nutritional value more than other cooking methods.
For example, one study suggested that when heating orange juice and milk, using a microwave didn’t affect nutrient levels much differently than using other heating methods. And another study suggested that when a filet of herring is microwaved, its omega-3 levels aren’t affected any more than with other cooking methods such as grilling.
In general, boiling food will likely cause more nutrient losses than microwaving them. This is because boiling them causes water-soluble nutrients to leach into the water. Limited water is used in comparison with microwaving, making it one of the better cooking methods for retaining a food’s nutrients. Plus, microwaving only exposes foods to heat for a short time compared with other cooking methods.
However, it’s worth noting that one study did find that even microwaving garlic and broccoli for just a minute can destroy their cancer-fighting compounds and antioxidants.
Do microwaves kill bacteria?
Microwaving food can kill bacteria if the food is heated to a high enough temperature for a long enough time.
Follow directions on microwaveable foods to be sure that you’re using microwave settings that will thoroughly cook the meal. There’s a risk of getting food-borne illness (food poisoning) if you undercook your food in your microwave. One outbreak of salmonella was most likely due to frozen meals being cooked in microwaves that were below the recommended wattage.
Can you microwave plastic?
You should always be careful when microwaving any form of plastic. Evidence suggests chemicals in plastic packaging can transfer into foods when microwaved, which has been associated with an increased risk of cancer.
Many plastics contain harmful hormone-disrupting compounds, such as bisphenol-A (BPA). When non-microwavable plastics are placed in the microwave, harmful compounds can leak onto food.
Although there’s no research to show an association between regular consumption of microwave-cooked foods and cancer, always be sure to check whether your container is microwave-safe before heating.
To reduce the risk of harm and contamination, never microwave food in a plastic container unless it’s labeled microwave-safe.
The bottom line
When used correctly, microwaves are an overall safe, easy, and effective cooking method. There’s no evidence that the radiation in microwaves is harmful. However, be careful to follow instructions on microwaveable foods to be sure they’re cooked properly. And avoid burning yourself on hot foods, or microwaving plastic containers that aren’t labeled microwave safe.
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References
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