Is it safe/good/bad to microwave food?

[Neo]

On the one hand:

Microwave heated foods retain moisture on the surface, preventing a desirable appearance, such as a golden-brown crust, from developing on certain foods.

Some research favors microwaving and baking over pressure cooking and boiling methods for preserving vegetable antioxidants. Vitamins A and C, for example, hold up particularly well in microwaved foods. And microwaving raw trout causes quantities of vitamin K to increase.

The International Microwave Power Institute also dispels a common rumor—that countries such as Japan and Russia banned microwave ovens due to radiation. There is no evidence supporting these claims, which went viral on social media within the last few years amid the rising interest in the microwave-free lifestyle movement—which continues unabated.

On the other hand looks like eg Bryan Johnson might be avoiding micro waving - or at least every video has him using the stove to warm someone up that could easily have been microwaved (@AnUser ?)

And:

Nonetheless, the findings of a study published in 2020 emphasize the advantages of short processing times, low heating temperatures, and relatively low power levels, all of which prevent nutrients from being lost.

@约瑟夫_拉维尔 @AlexKChen @Bicep and everyone what are your thoughts?

Should you be concerned about your microwave? — National Geographic

[Joseph_Lavelle]

I do worry about microwaving plastics. I never cook in a microwave (I don’t like how it tastes), and I never put plastic in the microwave. It’s a habit from childhood.

[Bicep]

I concur with that , Never put plastic in the microwave. Also paper plates have a plastic coating and that can be just as bad (depending on the plate). So food in the microwave might be safe but the container could be killing you slowly. I think glass is safe, some ceramics could have metal in them that might be unhealthy in the microwave. I don’t have evidence, it just makes me nervous.

[KarlT]

I don’t see any problems directly related to microwave.

[AnUser]

I don’t think I am a health optimizer to be honest, I’ll switch to the western pattern diet and eat like I did as a child, and use pharmaceuticals and some exercise.

Some people are living like this and some people are worried about microwaving food.

Alone in The World's Maddest City, Dhaka 🇧🇩

[ng0rge]

@AnUser

I don’t think I am a health optimizer to be honest, I’ll switch to the western pattern diet and eat like I did as a child, and use pharmaceuticals and some exercise.

I thought you were eating better now? And gave up on the fast food diet?
But what’s the deal with hiding your public profile? Are you now an AI chatbot? You don’t sound like Scarlett Johansson.

[AnUser]

No, no more eating healthy. It is a distraction. What people need are longevity therapies, drugs.

But other people can do as they wish, of course.

[ng0rge]

Scarlett would never do that…she’s healthy.
You need to settle down…find you a nice chatbot…stop being so mercurial.

[AnUser]

Checkmate.

[ng0rge]

That’s exactly what you need…someone to watch over you…and tell you what to do.

[Neo]

Ok, so far it seems like we have

• be mindful of containers - avoid plastics (metal, paper that may have plastic lining and perhaps ceramics)

• otherwise the microwave fields per se are not something to worry about

—

Other thoughts? What do you think about some of the studies on that microwaving might actually retain nutrients more than other often used methods of preparing warm food? (Also suggested here: Ergothioneine found to increase lifespan in mice by 21% - #7 by LVareilles)

@约瑟夫_拉维尔 when you were studying glycation effects of food did you come across anything on whether micro would be worse or better than other forms of heating food?

[Joseph_Lavelle]

Anti-AGEs Foundation

It’s a good question. I think microwaving does have potential for reducing AGEs in our diets. The problem with microwaving (and the reason I don’t cook with one) is that while they are great for warming up / defrosting food or heating water (tea) but they bad at cooking food. Uneven heat distribution and other problems seem to make microwave cooking mostly useful for processed food prep. Eating processed food comes with its own problems.

I also try to avoid standing in front of the microwave while I make my tea… just in case.

[Steve_Combi]

There are microwave ovens and then there are Panasonic inverter microwave ovens.

Panasonic uses an inverter style of control that actually modulates the power levels.

Other brands use an on/off technique so it goes High, then off. That is why you can’t get good results from most microwave ovens. You have no real control over the power.

Having said that we use ours mostly for reheating leftovers in a glass container.

I remember when the hydro company brought a microwave to our class in 1966 and cooked hot dogs for us LoL! they had a nice tech presentation to go along with it.