1. Continually eating food processed from a microwave causes long-term - PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE by 'shorting out' electrical impulses in the brain.
2. The human body cannot metabolize the unknown by-products created by microwaves.
3. Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods
4. The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual (long-term, permanent) within the human body
5. Minerals, vitamins and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so the human body gets little or no benefit or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.
6. The minerals in vegetables are altered into CANCEROUS free radicals.
7. Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths.
8. Prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes CANCEROUS cells to increase in the body.
9. Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood syrum alterations.
10. Eating microwaved foods causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability and decrease in INTELLIGENCE!!!!!!

Interesting, but please can you present some evidence?

(Not to be construed as a criticism, but I for one cannot afford to knee-jerk on every claim I read here)

I agree with mindmt, some evidence would be very helpful

Board chemist (as well as the board asshole) here.

Here is the issue with microwaving: If you want to warm something, you are probably ok, as well as boiling water. But to actually cook in a microwave is a totally different scenario. When you cook in a microwave, very small areas of the food experience extreme heating (much more than a stove or oven) and produce substances not produced in std cooking methods. Also, depending on the material of the container, these micro hot spots can leach out nasties, especially in some types of plastics.

That being said, I read about taking water, microwaving it to boiling and letting it cool and then watering plants with it, after awhile the plants die. I did not believe so I tried an experiment showing this was bogus. No effect on the plants what so ever.

I figure why not err on the safe side and don't use it. We don't have one and don't miss it.

I too am skeptical of microwaves bad reputation.
If you are outside on a cold day and your hands get cold you rub them together as the friction will produce some heat. The microwave produces heat in a similar manner but on a much smaller scale, by rubbing molecules together.

Now as saved1986 said the heat produced in a microwave is not uniform there are hot spots. However with the newer microwaves that have a motor driven turntable your food should move through these hot spots before it has a chance to become super heated.

Microwave, like any radiation, causes water molecules to move/expand as they move very fast and cause friction. The same is true of other forms of heat (radiation). Only instead of the smoothness or slowness of gas flame or electric heat, microwave is a very short radiation wave, causing the water molecules to move very fast. So saved1986 is correct about hot spots. And on the other hand Mad Scientist is correct about modern ovens, especially ones that auto-rotate the food.

The convenience of microwave cooking is that people believe they can cook using any type of container that is not metal. Therein lies the problem. That is like believing that you can store refrigerated or frozen food in any type of container. Plastic is the worse, due to chemical leaching. Hard plastic could be better. Ceramic or glass is best. Common sense is even better. It's like heating tomatoes in cast iron. Or stuck in the early days of eating off if tin plates, or whitening teeth with mercury/quicksilver.

As far as different chemicals being created in water while microwaving, I'm pretty sure the same thing is true of just boiling water on an electric or gas stove. What different chemicals would be created? What make one form of radiation more dangerous than another?

__________________
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- Jim
"The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation � a force for construction and destruction.� (Jonathan Haidt)

Radiation, as defined by physics terminology, is "the electromagnetic waves emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay." Radiation causes ionization, which is what occurs when a neutral atom gains or loses electrons. In simpler terms, a microwave oven decays and changes the molecular structure of the food by the process of radiation. Had the manufacturers accurately called them "radiation ovens", it's doubtful they would have ever sold one, but that's exactly what a microwave oven is.


More info is available at: herbalhealer/microwave

Cooking, no matter the method of radiation, changes the structure of food. It's as much chemistry as physics. The physics definition is not the only definition of radiation. When you put your hand near object that has been heated by the Sun, you are feeling radiant heat = radiation.

A true physics definition is actually:
the emission or transfer of radiant energy as particles, electromagnetic waves, sound, etc

Radiation can be nuclear (radiaoactive radiation) or x-rays, UV rays, visable light, IR, microwaves, radio waves etc.

Microwaves are radar waves, hence the term radar range for microwave ovens.

I have GE Advantium oven that can be used as a microwave, halogen light, or both. It will cook with light for foods that I want browned, or act as a microwave. It will also go to switched mode for automatically switching between both. I just have to be careful to use the appropriate cookware. Speed cooking. Get me out of the kitchen faster.