Cooking is a pretty big deal. The rest of Kingdom Animalia doesn't do it. We stand alone. In fact, there’s even some speculation that the ability to cook food gave us a pretty phenomenal advantage as humans – cooking gets us better access to the nutrients of food, so we spend less time chewing through all the fibrous goodness of nuts, fruits, veggies and whatever else we can find, and more time thinking of things to do with our (now larger) brains. (1, 2, 3)
Of course, now we are using our brains an awful lot, for work, school and the ever-important daily errands, and less for cooking. So we find ourselves with frozen veggies that we can zap (or nuke, if you prefer) in the microwave rather than letting simmer over the stove or bake in the oven for hours on end. A hot meal is ready to go in just a few quick minutes, sending us whatever delicious nutrients it carries.
But there seems to be some debate (on the internet at least) about the safety of the microwave. Is it really safe? Does the magic zapping of your dinner damage nutritious goodness of the food? Does that food cause cancer if you eat it? Does the radiation leak out, causing problems for people nearby?
In a word – No. The microwaves are pretty tiny, and aren’t capable of travelling all that far. Plus, there’s that nifty screen on the inside of the microwave door that prevents them from leaking out. Microwaves work by shaking the molecules of water in the food around a bit, which causes friction, which releases energy as heat and then you have warm food. And as much as microwaves do for us, they are pretty weak. Too weak to penetrate (and damage) DNA, and surely weaker than UV rays, X-rays and gamma rays. There is no published, reliable data to support the idea that microwaving your food can cause cancer. Further, grilling or frying meats can cause the formation of some pretty nasty amines, but microwaving the meats first (like when you are defrosting) can cause the precursors to these amines to drain off with the juice. So in this case, microwaving is probably a better idea than not microwaving.
So it’s faster, it doesn’t cause cancer, and the nutrition value… just as good, maybe better. This is especially true for veggies, which have a load of water that is often lost in cooking. This water carries away water soluble vitamins, and can reduce the nutrient content of the food. Microwaving doesn’t do that! No water leeching means you can hang on to those vitamins, which is definitely a plus. One word of caution, however – Vitamin C is prone to destruction at high temperatures (around 25% loss), so be sure to include a balance of foods high in vitamin C that are not exposed to higher temperatures.
There is one big thing to watch out for with the microwave, however: your container. Be sure to always use a microwave-safe container when cooking your foods. The microwaves themselves don’t cause any damage, but many containers are not heat-safe and the materials may breakdown and leech into your food. So scrap the leftover to-go containers, plastic butter tubs and one-time-use frozen dinner trays, and heat your foods in a microwave-approved container instead.
Nutrients galore.
Everything I could ask for.
Lovely Microwave.
For more information:
For more information and to learn about the origins of these myths:
-- Les, MS RD LD
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