This  might make everyone want to rethink using a microwave oven!

http://www.ghchealth.com/microwave-ovens-the-proven-dangers.html

I do not own a microwave and have no intention of getting one for some of the reasons listed in the article.

I do occassionally use one at work, where I do not have access to regular cooking appliances and feel guilty about it.

However, i have wondered with all our discussion of Advanced Glycation End products caused by the browning of foods whether the risk of microwaving might be less than the risks associated with the browning of foods prepared in other ways.

No, I don't use them and I've never owned one.  

I used to work for a couple of weeks each year in a place that only had a microwave for cooking.  I remember how I felt progressively worse and worse over the duration of those 2 weeks.  

We don't have a microwave and don't ever plan to get one. The methods I've always used to heat up food--oven, stovetop, toaster oven--still work just fine, no need for speed

When I moved last year I didn't buy one and instead bought a combo convection oven/toaster oven which is wonderful!  Pretty fast and I can use it for almost anything.  I do use a microwave at school to reheat food and do so because I would rather eat warm food than avoid it!

We had one for 7 years & when it conked out, we didn't replace it.  I hope the bad effects have left our systems.
I avoid them now.  Occasionally I may warm something for a minute(at work), but it really is frightening what we are learning.

I had read Dr Mercola's report some weeks ago, which is worth checking out if you want a condensed version of this info. Does anyone know if heating water or reheating black coffee (not in plastic) would pose a similar problem? Also, mine is a convection/microwave oven but I mostly use it just on convection now for cookies...

I'd just boil water in it, not more   it cuts down the aminoacids when using it to reheat meals, wouldn't do that at all .... the first reaction when I moved was to toss this thing outta my kitchen

Quoted from Victoria

No, I don't use them and I've never owned one.  

No me.

We use it at work for 1 old womans food.
I always feel guilty of it - not only is the food horrible for all bt - but to microwave it  
I remember when Emma was small - people asked shouldn´t you get a microwave ?
I asked why ? -I breastfeed and the last place I would put my childs food was in a microwave..

Use one at work to reheat my food, very infrequently.
Never have owned one. My family would probably use it all the time if we had one so better not to bring it into the house.

We have one, but I mostly use it for heating water since it seems slightly faster than stove-top.  It might not be.  The microwave also has the lovely and convenient capability of turning off at a set time rather than boiling the pot's contents out all over the stove, which I do regularly since I am constantly distracted.  I will very occasionally use it to heat food, but always on a glass dish; never plastic.  My anti-microwaving friend told me about a study done on plants where they would water plants with water that had been microwaved and the plants died.  Well, that made me really nervous till I went and read the study--one thing she failed to mention is that the water was heated specifically in plastic.  The study was more on the dangers of microwaving plastics than it was microwaves themselves.

It's hard to think about heating up the entire oven just to warm up something for a child that's 3 square inches.  Besides that, whatever bright guy built the house put the thermostat on the other side of the wall from the oven (meaning, the back of the oven backs up to where thermostat is, around the corner...if that makes sense), so every time I turn the oven on, the thermostat thinks the house is now 350 degrees and it shuts the heat off.

Quoted from Whimsical

When I moved last year I didn't buy one and instead bought a combo convection oven/toaster oven which is wonderful!  Pretty fast and I can use it for almost anything.  I do use a microwave at school to reheat food and do so because I would rather eat warm food than avoid it!

That sounds like a great idea. Maybe I'll do that next time. I have a microwave. I try not to cook in it..mostly reheating left overs and coffee.

We have a toaster oven that is small and heats up quickly.

I have one too, and I used to use it a lot, but I don't have room on my counter for anything extra.  It's frustrating to live in a house built back when nobody cooked (the 60s, when everything came from a can), and therefore has inconvenient counter space.

Oh, wait.  I just realized my blender and mixer and everything else lives under the counter, so why couldn't the toaster oven?  I could just unplug it, let it cool off, and put it away after I was done with it and it wouldn't have to live on the counter.

Hi Diana, I use my microwave exactly as you to reheat leftovers and hope I do not make harm to my health. I try also not to arrive to a too hot temperature, quite warm is enough for me.
Maria Giovanna

For those that are just heating water, you may want to consider an electric tea kettle. These heat water fairly fast without using microwaves.

One example

Quoted from C_sharp

For those that are just heating water, you may want to consider an electric tea kettle. These heat water fairly fast without using microwaves.

One example

And of course, a plain old tea kettle that sits on a burner and whistles if you don't mind
waiting a few minutes.  That's what I've always used.

I used to use my microwave for reheating leftovers.

I now reheat everything on a low temperature in my oven.   A friend who used to own
a restaurant told me this.  You can take a plate of leftovers (oven safe plate) and put it on top of a pot of boiling water, cover it with a soup bowl turned upside down and pretty much reheat your food without drying it out. Once you set the plate on top of the pot, you can turn the heat way down or off.

C-Sharp I love my electic kettle.

Microwaving baby formula right in the bottle, now that is a scary thought! Many women are doing it and not even thinking twice.

I use a microwave, but after reading this article I will start looking for ways to use one less often.  I don't see any reason to worry about microwaving plain water in a glass or stoneware bowl or cup, and it's much faster than heating it on the stove, so I have no objection to that practice.

Unfortunately stoneware absorbs all the heat and you're left with a very hot dish and cold supper!

Yeah, plastic does that also. I hate eating and drinking out of plastic   Hey how about the Flava Wave? I saw that on an infomercial...It's good for O's. Cooks meat from frozen to done fast.

My stovetop water kettle has a harmonica type train whistle so I enjoy hearing it.  My microwave is used for taking the chill off some leftovers for one person so it isn't used much.  I always use glass type dishes.

We used a microwave to cook in for about two years, then couldn't stand to eat the food after it was cooked in it...  

For a long time, my wife would soften butter in it, but after reading information about testing done with foods cooked in one, has stopped that as well...

All it is now is a big clock...

It is time to get rid of it and use the space for something else!

We use a steamer (or pot of hot water under a plate) when we heat leftovers and for much of our cooking...

Ribbit it occurred to me too that some of the hype in some studies might've been around 'plastic and microwave use'...

Chloe, I always remember the week my Dad worked nights, he'd heat his "dinner" on a plate on a pot of hot water for next day's lunch. Microwaving sure is more convenenient eh? But you do worry bout what it does to food?!

I have also read* bout the danger of not making the meat or chicken leftovers "hot enough" to kill off the bacteria?!
Seems your idea of a raw food diet could have more merit than you think eh Ribbit? Not a great time of year for that for some of you tho'?!

*I wonder if one problem for me is reading too much - there seems to be so much conflicting info out there...

Possum, my husband, who understands such things as micro waves and radio waves and all sorts of waves that are unseen and oft-misunderstood, says that the problem is the plastic, not the microwave.  But then, although he's usually right about stuff, there's always the possibility of him just not knowing enough.

I don't think the problem is reading too much, I think the problem is trying to figure out who to believe after you've read all the various viewpoints.

I like my raw food, and I'm finding that even though the idea of eating cold food on a cold day is "hard to swallow", if I just go ahead and do it, I feel better and it's easier to do next meal.

I don't have one but I use the one at work.

Who stands to make money if people stop using microwaves? or use them less?  I can't think of anyone off the top of my head, but maybe someone fits the bill.

Ribbit, thanks for sharing you DHs advice.  It provides some nice balance to what I read.  The articles opposing microwaving foods do have a rather shrill tone to them.

Exactly Ribbit - bout deciding "who to believe"! I tend to think twice bout something if the person is trying to sell an alternative product unless I know them personally...

Thanks, be interested to follow up re what your DH says... Wouldn't it be nice if you could just trust everybody? Sure make life simpler (sigh)
My DH doesn't want to think about anything that's a change from routine,(esp in the morning or evening - or anytime actually...lol) so he goes on reheating his coffee/tea (with dairy in it). I do too but add the dairy afterward. Oh I just thought I could give him a smaller cup to start with...Then it wouldn't get cold b4 he finished it; but then again I might have to jump up n down refilling it (another sigh) Still, I might get fitter...

Quoted from TJ

Who stands to make money if people stop using microwaves? or use them less?  

Power companies. For preparing small meals not using a microwave will cause you to use 5 times as much energy.

C#, tell me this:  how could I find out how much energy something uses?  Like am I better off having my crock pot plugged in on low for 14 hours, or should I use the stovetop for less amount of time, or what?

Quoted from Ribbit

C#, tell me this:  how could I find out how much energy something uses?  Like am I better off having my crock pot plugged in on low for 14 hours, or should I use the stovetop for less amount of time, or what?

In general crockpots are supposed to use less.

For this specific example:

My guess is your crockpot used about 100 watts on low.

This would be 1.4 kilowatt hours for 14 hours.

How much the burner uses will depend on several factors (6 inch versus 8 inch, how you have it turned up....).  My understanding is 1300 to 2400 watts for a burner is common. If we went for for the low end of 1400 watts, you would use the same amount of energy in one hour as you did for 14 hours on the crock pot. If we went for a 2100 watt burner, you would burn 1.4 kilowatt hours in 40 minutes.

Quoted from C_sharp

However, i have wondered with all our discussion of Advanced Glycation End products caused by the browning of foods whether the risk of microwaving might be less than the risks associated with the browning of foods prepared in other ways.

Yes, I tend to wonder about this as well  

I wonder if it is a cultured thing - cause as an European/Dane I read this thread and wonder:
Why the need to reheat food so much ?

I make 90 % of my food fresh-so do most danes( microwave foods aren´t big here)
Yes I do have leftovers - but most of the time I eat them cold( meat, fish, pies) or reuse them in a new dish.
I would never reheat coffee or tea- that is just - these drinks need to be made fresh and enjoyed

It is not just the plastic it is the molecular structure of the food that gets disturbed.


http://www.dadamo.com/faq/smartfaq.cgi?answer=988814109&id=988813483

Thanks Andrea for the link.

My mother thought she had gotten her brain tumor from the microwave because her chair at the kitchen table was about 2 feet from it..She might have been right.

I'm getting a convection toaster oven and a mug warmer.

Quoted from Mayflowers

I'm getting a convection toaster oven and a mug warmer.

So glad!

This article is inaccurate for two reasons:

First, it suggests that the source of microwave energy is radioactive.  It is not.

Second, it describes "natural" microwave energy from the sun as being DC and energy from an oven as being AC.  This is nonsense.  DC energy comes from batteries and power supplies that rectify and filter AC energy.  Light, microwaves, radiowaves and the electricity you get from the generating plant are all AC, even if it occurs naturally.

I think it's good to question the technology that we use, as well as the motivations of those who write articles like this.  In this case, it may be that microwave energy does alter food.  But because of the inaccuracies I described, I can't help feeling that the author is simply an alarmist, traditionalist or a Luddite who just wants people to stop using microwave ovens.

Quoted from Chloe

This  might make everyone want to rethink using a microwave oven!

http://www.ghchealth.com/microwave-ovens-the-proven-dangers.html

Interesting read this thread.  I never never cook from scratch in it or cook raw foods in it.

We use it to heat up frozen soups/foods that I have made in advance and grab quickly for lunch or dinner when I don't have time to cook.  Have done this for years.  But due to the plastic scare, what I do now, is begin the process in their plastic container since I cannot get them out until the food has softened a bit which is approximately a minute; the food being still 98% frozen solid, I then move it to a glass bowl and finish warming it up.

Hubby pours his coffee in the morning, adds his almond or rice milks which cools down the coffee and then runs it in a glass cup in the wave for about 30 seconds.  There is no way he is going to put it on the stove to reheat it!  He wants that cup now! ha...

I used a teapot on the electric stove for my tea water and the I pour the hot water into a 16 oz smaller 'brewing' pot (Yerba and many other teas need to steep for 10 minutes); and then we end up needing to heat up the cups of tea in the wave again but only for 30 seconds or so.  The electric stove heats the teapot water in about a minute.  It's very fast.

I am interested in that convection oven thing.  Our friends we just visited in California have a microwave/convection combo, but they never use the convection part of it.

What is the difference?  Does the convection take longer to cook or?

I use the microwave oven for heating up something quick or for reheating.  I never put plastic in there.  I also have a Flavorwave oven that I occasionally use on frozen meat.  My son cooks the main meals in the regular oven or stovetop.  

It’s like I know the MW is not suppose to be healthy, but it is do darn convenient and fast.

Quoted from 1323

What is the difference?  Does the convection take longer to cook or?

Convection is going to take longer than a microwave for small amounts of food.

A convection oven is basicly a regular oven with a fan blowing to make sure the heat is more evenly distributed than a regular oven.

Cook time is about 25% less than a regular oven.  Things heat faster and are drier than in a regular oven. So I presume more glycation end produts are formed than is a regular oven.

Quoted from Ribbit

C#, tell me this:  how could I find out how much energy something uses?  Like am I better off having my crock pot plugged in on low for 14 hours, or should I use the stovetop for less amount of time, or what?

http://www.weemscreeksolutions.com/KillAWatt.htm
harbor freight sells these.

more info..

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/microwave.html

Quoted from SquarePeg

This article is inaccurate for two reasons:

First, it suggests that the source of microwave energy is radioactive.  It is not.

Second, it describes "natural" microwave energy from the sun as being DC and energy from an oven as being AC.  This is nonsense.  DC energy comes from batteries and power supplies that rectify and filter AC energy.  Light, microwaves, radiowaves and the electricity you get from the generating plant are all AC, even if it occurs naturally.

I think it's good to question the technology that we use, as well as the motivations of those who write articles like this.  In this case, it may be that microwave energy does alter food.  But because of the inaccuracies I described, I can't help feeling that the author is simply an alarmist, traditionalist or a Luddite who just wants people to stop using microwave ovens.

+1 about the article http://www.ghchealth.com/microwave-ovens-the-proven-dangers.html

Quoted Text

Microwaved blood kills patient

In 1991, there was a lawsuit in Oklahoma concerning the hospital use of a microwave oven to warm blood needed in a transfusion. The case involved a hip surgery patient, Norma Levitt, who died from a simple blood transfusion. It seems the nurse had warmed the blood in a microwave oven.

doing a little search I found

Quoted Text

However, a little more searching reveals that the story isn't true. The incident did happen, but a jury found that Norma Levitt was killed by a blood clot, not by blood heated in a microwave

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/webl ... ents/3142/
& http://wyomcases.courts.state.wy.us/app ... iteID=4387

However, I wonder why Dadamo says

Quoted Text

Avoid ... microwaves (they change the molecular structure of foods in unknown ways) for heating foods

The thing that troubles me is that I cannot be certain that in the future microwaves might be proven dangerous for our health.

Quoted from 1323

We use it to heat up frozen soups/foods that I have made in advance and grab quickly for lunch or dinner when I don't have time to cook.  Have done this for years.  But due to the plastic scare, what I do now, is begin the process in their plastic container since I cannot get them out until the food has softened a bit which is approximately a minute; the food being still 98% frozen solid, I then move it to a glass bowl and finish warming it up.

When I make soups to freeze, I line the container with a piece of cling wrap first then pour the soup in.  Then when you take it out of the freezer you can lift it out of the container, remove the cling wrap place in a suitable container and reheat!

mesastoura,
welcome newbie!!
giasou!

No way for Microwaves ...and I agree with Dr D and I am avioding freezing in plastic containers too! I can't find the article now, but just as microves release toxic stuff in your food when heated in plasticin  the freezer does about the same thing! .....between all the additives in food and plastic from other sources no wonder the embalmists  don't need much to preserve our dead bodies.

Quoted from Chloe

I now reheat everything on a low temperature in my oven.   A friend who used to own
a restaurant told me this.  You can take a plate of leftovers (oven safe plate) and put it on top of a pot of boiling water, cover it with a soup bowl turned upside down and pretty much reheat your food without drying it out. Once you set the plate on top of the pot, you can turn the heat way down or off.

What a great idea!

I heat my plate this way after steaming broccoli.  The food stays warm longer on a warm plate

Quoted from Chloe

This  might make everyone want to rethink using a microwave oven!

http://www.ghchealth.com/microwave-ovens-the-proven-dangers.html

Yikes, I am guilty as charged.  I read your hyperlink and I will give this alot of consideration.  Thanks for the post.