Can microwave food cause cancer?

Mondo Health Updated on 2024-03-06

Microwave oven heating is a kind of physical heating, figuratively speaking, it is the use of polar molecules (water, protein, sugar and fat) in the food to produce heat by friction and cook yourself. There are concerns about the dangers of microwave heating food to the body, which needs to be looked at from two perspectives:

Normal use of microwave ovens does not cause cancer: I feel that many people use microwave ovens like firecrackers during the Spring Festival, and quickly escape from the kitchen after activation, fearing that getting close to the microwave oven will cause cancer to themselves. In fact, the microwave oven is closed during use, and a small amount of microwave leakage will be leaked out due to process problems, and the current international standard for microwave oven microwave leakage is no more than 5MW cm2, and the farther away from the microwave oven door, the lower the radiation intensity. As far as the current research is concerned, there is no clear conclusion that there is a direct link between low-intensity microwave radiation and cancer. Therefore, as long as you choose a reliable microwave oven and do not get too close to the door when the microwave oven is started, you do not have to worry about the health hazards caused by microwave radiation.

Microwave-cooked food is not carcinogenic: The principle of microwaving cooking food is to make the polar molecules in the food rub against each other to produce heat, in a way that obviously does not cause the food itself to produce carcinogens.

If the microwave oven is not used properly, the food is heated too high, and the protein may produce heterocyclic amine carcinogens when the temperature exceeds 200 degrees, such as when fish is fried and cooked; More than 300 degrees, the fat in the food will produce a large number of benzopyrene carcinogens, such as kebabs, barbecue, when the meat is not cooked properly, even if it is not cooked in the microwave, it will also appear, such as fried, grilled fritters, bread, biscuits, snacks, fries, potato chips, coffee beans and other foods will produce different amounts of acrylamide, which is not simply a microwave oven problem; Similarly, if the temperature of meat is too high or too long, local charring will also cause the protein to produce heterocyclic amines, but this situation occurs more often when using a wok or frying pan, such as when frying eggs, tofu, steaks, grilled meat, croquettes and other foods. If the heating temperature exceeds 300, the fat in the food will produce a large amount of benzopyrene carcinogens. High-protein and high-fat foods such as pork belly, pork ribs, butter, and cheese cooked in the microwave oven for a long time are prone to produce heterocyclic amines and benzopyrene carcinogens at high temperatures, so you need to set the heating time and intensity according to the prompts, and pay attention to turning.

In fact, many studies have shown that microwaving food retains more nutrients than traditional cooking methods, such as fruits and vegetables that are heated in the microwave for a short period of time, and vitamin C, glucoglycosides, plant flavonoids, and chlorophyll can be retained more than traditional methods.

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