|
|
|
Arthritis Pain Relief : Questions To Ask Your Healthcare Provider
Copyright © 2005 Priya Shah A great place to begin taking charge of you arthritis pain relief and prevention planning is by making an appointment with your healthcare provider and finding out more about your condition and treatment options. Make...
Moderate exercise is necessary for good health.
At a minimum, walk a mile or more several times a week (or daily) and move the arms around to loosen up the joints. If you can't walk or ride a stationary bicycle, use a rowing machine, swim, or join wheel chair races. If you can do none of...
Role of Internet in Healthcare
Health information and medical advice on the Net have set a new trend of self-help and online support and supplements the traditional direct healthcare available from physicians and hospitals. The last time you were ill and went to your family...
Stop Relationship Stress and Create Your Own Health Remedies
Human beings need relationships. Your relationships, past, present, personal or professional, represent a major source of stress in your life. Chronic stress causes breakdown of your immune system. This leads to many emotional and physical disorders...
Take Control of Your Health
In large part, you’re in control of your health, not your doctor. And taking control of your health doesn’t really depend on whether or not you have medical conditions. Taking control means developing habits and discipline. The most important...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Microwave Ovens & the Healthfulness of Microwaved Food
Microwave ovens do have benefits. They are certainly convenient. They are more energy-efficient than other cooking methods. But are they safe? And do they produce food that contributes to the health of our bodies?
While there is not enough evidence to require warning labels on microwave ovens, or to remove them from the market, there is concern both about the safety of our exposure to microwaves and the healthfulness of microwaved food.
THE DANGERS OF MICROWAVES
Even microwave ovens that are functioning perfectly emit microwaves. Safety standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allow microwave emissions of up to one milliwatt per square centimeter (1mW/cm2) when the oven is purchased, and up to 5mW/cm2 after the oven has been in use. Studies on industrial exposure recommend that daily exposure should not exceed one milliwatt for more than one minute. Average home use of microwave ovens far exceed this.
Workers who are exposed to microwaves on the job experience headaches, fatigue, irritability, sleep disturbances and other symptoms.
HOW MICROWAVES AFFECT FOOD
Advocates of microwaved food claim that it is healthier because it retains vitamins, but the University of Minnesota disagrees:
"Microwaves ... are not recommended for heating a baby's bottle...Heating the bottle in a microwave can cause slight changes in the milk. In infant formulas, there may be a loss of some vitamins. In expressed breast milk, some protective properties may be destroyed.... Warming a bottle by holding it under tap water or by setting it in a bowl of warm water...is much safer".
If heating formula in a microwave can cause it to lose vitamins and protective properties in breast milk to be destroyed, then it can do the same to the foods we eat. While the effects may not be immediately observable, a regular diet of microwaved food may have long-term health consequences.
Two Swiss researchers found that microwave cooking changes food nutrients significantly. Blood samples taken from eight individuals immediately after eating microwaved food
revealed, among other things, an increase in the number of white blood cells--often a sign of poisoning.
Safety tips for using microwave ovens
I personally have never had a microwave oven in my own kitchen and am finding that it had been difficult to get people to give up their microwave ovens. Some of the generation who grew up with microwave ovens apparently don't know any other way to heat food (really!).
If you choose to use a microwave oven, Consumer Reports magazine suggests you stay as far as possible from the oven while it is in operation.
In addition, operate and maintain the oven in ways that minimize leakage:
* make sure the oven door closes properly
* prevent damage to hinges, latches, sealing surfaces and the door itself, and make sure these are in good working order
* make sure no soil or food residues accumulate around the door seal
* avoid placing objects between the sealing surfaces.
For peace of mind, test your oven for leakage. Testers can be purchased online.
When cooking in a microwave, use heat-resistant glass, not plastic. The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA warns against using foam trays, plastic wraps, and cold-storage containers such as margarine tubs, whipped-topping bowls and cottage cheese cartons. According to the FSIS flyer "A Microwave Handbook," these containers "are not heat stable at high temperatures. They can melt or warp from the food's heat, possible causing chemicals to migrate into the food."
Read more about microwave ovens, the healthfulness of microwaved food, and where to purchase microwave oven testers at
http://www.debraslist.com/food/aboutmicrowaveovens.html
About the Author
Hailed as "The Queen of Green" by the New York Times,
Debra Lynn Dadd has been a consumer advocate for products
and lifestyle choices that are better for health and the
environment since 1982. Visit her website-- http://www.debraslist.com--for 100s of links to 1000s of nontoxic, natural and earthwise products, and to
sign up for her free email newsletters.
|
|
|
|
|
|