In 1989, Swiss biologist and food scientist Dr. Hans Hertel studied the effects of microwaved food. Eight people participated in the study. For eight weeks, they lived in a controlled environment and intermittently ate raw foods, conventionally cooked foods and microwaved foods. Blood samples were tested after each meal. They discovered that eating microwaved food, over time, causes significant changes in blood chemistry:1 a decrease in hemoglobin and cholesterol values, in the HDL (good cholesterol) versus LDL (bad cholesterol) ratio and in white blood cells, weakening the immune system, and an increase in leukocyte levels, which tends to indicate poisoning and cell damage.

Overall, the study suggested that eating microwaved foods can cause degenerative diseases and/or cancer.2 "The measurable effects on man through the ingestion of microwaved food, unlike untreated food, are blood alterations, that can also be found at the beginning of a pathological condition, also indicative of a beginning cancerous process," wrote Dr. Bernard Blanc, who assisted in the study.3
Microwave ovens "cook" food by forcing the atoms, molecules and cells within the food to reverse polarity billions of times per second, causing friction-the more the friction, the more the heat. This oscillation tears and deforms the molecular structure of food. New compounds are formed, called radiolytic compounds, which are not found in nature.

Interestingly, microwaves are actually used in gene-altering technology to deliberately break cells and neutralize their "life-force" so they can be manipulated. Microwaves destroy the life-force that gives food its vitality and nourishment. When this life-force dissipates, microorganisms start breaking food down and it begins to rot.

In early 1991, a lawsuit was filed against an Oklahoma hospital because a patient died form receiving a microwaved blood transfusion. Hospitals routinely heat blood for transfusion, but not in a microwave.

The effects of microwaving breast milk have also been researched. John Kerner, M.D. and Richard Quin, M.D. from Stanford University said that "Microwaving human milk, even at a low setting, can destroy some of its important disease-fighting capabilities."4 After more research, Kerner wrote in the April 1992 issue of Pediatrics that "Microwaving itself may in fact cause some injury to the milk above and beyond the heating." And a radio announcement at the University of Minnesota said that "Microwavesare 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 milk, some protective properties may be destroyed."5 Another study in Vienna warned that microwaving breast milk "can lead to structural, functional and immunological changes," and that microwaves transform the amino acid L-proline into D-proline, a proven toxin to the nervous system, liver and kidneys.6

In Russia, microwave ovens were banned in 1976 because of their negative health consequences and many studies were conducted on their use. Here are some of their findings on microwaving food:
1. Microwaved foods lose 60-90% of the vital-energy field and microwaving accelerates the structural disintegration of foods.
2. Microwaving creates cancer-causing agents within milk and cereals
3. Microwaving alters elemental food-substances, causing digestive disorders
4. Microwaving alters food chemistry which can lead to malfunctions in the lymphatic system and degeneration of the body's ability to protect itself against cancerous growths
5. Microwaved foods lead to a higher percentage of cancerous cells in the bloodstream
6. Microwaving altered the breakdown of elemental substances when raw, cooked, or frozen vegetables were exposed for even a very short time and free radicals were formed
7. Microwaved foods caused stomach and intestinal cancerous growths, a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues, and a gradual breakdown of the digestive and excretive systems in a statistically high percentage of people
8. Microwaved foods lowered the body's ability of the body to utilize B-complex vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics.
9. The microwave field next to a microwave oven caused a slew of health problems as well.7
Aside form these studies, many people find that microwaving their food doesn't help them feel good. Stephanie Relfe, Kinesiologist, found herself feeling "grey and rather low" one day and discovered that she had inadvertently eaten microwaved food at a restaurant.8 In her practice, she found that all of her patients gave body signals of having allergic reactions to microwaved foods. Another Kinesiologist, David Bridgeman, said, "Of all the people I test for allergies, 99.9% so far show severe sensitivity to any microwaved food."

In conclusion then, the safest way to heat your food is to use your stove topand throw away your microwave!

Endnotes

1 The Swiss Association of Dealers for Electroapparatuses for Households and Industry complained quite loudly about the findings, which caused a court order to ban Hans Hertel from talking about his findings about the dangers of microwaved food to the public. In 1998, the European Court of Human Rights held that there had been a violation of Hertel's rights in the 1993 decision, lifted the gag order and sentenced Switzerland to pay compensation of F 40,000. See "H.U.H. against Switzerland" at http://www.dhcommhr.coe.fr/eng/huhvch.shn.html
2 The World Foundation for Natural Science : "Are Microwave Ovens a Source of Danger?," http://www.wffns.org/journal/artikel/mikro_en.html, and "The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking," http://www.nexusmagazine.com/microwave.html, from Nexus Magazine
3 The World Foundation for Natural Science : "Are Microwave Ovens a Source of Danger?," http://www.wffns.org/journal/artikel/mikro_en.html
4 Science News, 4/25/1992 issue and "The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking," http://www.nexusmagazine.com/microwave.html, from Nexus Magazine
5 Health, Wealth & Happiness, "MICROWAVED FOOD: It's Like Eating Nuclear Waste!." http://health.microworld.com/html/microwave.html
6 Lubec, G. et al. (1989): Aminoacid Isomerisation and Microwave Exposure. ­ The Lancet, 2 (8676): 1392-93; and The World Foundation for Natural Science : "Are Microwave Ovens a Source of Danger?," http://www.wffns.org/journal/artikel/mikro_en.html, and "The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking," e.html http://www.nexusmagazine.com/microwave.html, from Nexus Magazine; and "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford, pg. 20.