Are Microwaves Harmful to Your Health?

I don't own one & you may not want to either after you hear my reasoning. 

In full disclosure, I have holistic wellness training, I am not a scientist, I am not an engineer, I am not a doctor. I will not go into mechanics or chemistry. This perspective, this video editorial, if you will, is strictly my interpretation of my experience. 

So, the big question is, are microwaves harmful? There’s some info floating around that there’s some radiation involved or that the process microwaves use to heat the molecules of the food changes cellular structure. And no. Just no. It doesn’t. Microwaves are not harmful to use. You will not get cancer from standing too close nor is your food somehow no longer food after being zapped. 

I am not the person to get into exactly how they work - there are better blogs & sources for that depth of information - but simply put - if you are pursuing a healthful household, owning a microwave will not compromise those efforts. 

Here's my favorite source on the topic: 
http://www.thepaleomom.com/are-microwaves-safe-to-use/

I don’t own one for couple of reasons.

Mainly, I don’t like the texture of food when I use a microwave. The heating isn’t always even; things can get dry or soft. If a microwave happened to show up in my kitchen, I’d use it for defrosting only when I HAD to. But I would not use it for warming up leftovers or cooking eggs. It makes food, to me, gross. 

I’ve had to figure out the best ways to reheat food without a microwave, but as a result, I know more about creating appetizing textures using steam or a double boiler or pan-frying. 

The second, more stubborn reason, is that I schedule my time better knowing I need more time to warm up food from the fridge. Here’s how I work: if I know it could only take five minutes to prep leftovers, I’ll only give myself 10 minutes to prep & then eat a meal. Most likely, I’ll have less time than that, so now I’m rushing through eating. Even though food is in my stomach, it’s not really like I ate. But, if I know I need 20 minutes to prep & eat, I’m much more likely to respect that time slot & will make sure I have ample time to heat up some food on the stove & sit down for a proper meal. I’ll make it happen because I know I can’t rush it. I make myself slow down and respect my meal time. 

In summary, microwaves are a convenient marvel for our modern times. For this slow food foodie, I’ll resist a microwave as long as I can.

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