Nexus - 0225 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

- The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking Continued from page 29 snuff out credential-based conjecture. If you wanted to introduce a herbal sup --- - - ----------- heating.' Lysozyme and antioody degrada tion in the coo~est samples may simply reflect the develop men t of smaill hot spots-potentially 60°C or above-during microwaving, noted Madeleine Sigman Grant of Pennsylvania State University, University Park. And that's to be expected, she said, because microwave heating is inherently uneven-and quite unpre dictable when volumes less than four milli litres are involved, as was the case in the Kerner's study. "Goldblum considers use of a microwave to thaw milk an especially bad idea, since it is likely to boil some of the milk before all has even liquefied. Stanford University Medical Center no longer microwaves breast milk, Kerner notes. And that's appropriate, Sigman-Grant believes, because of the small vo~umes Researcher Quan, in a phone interview, plement into the American mainstream and said that he believed the results of research make any health claims for it, you would so far warranted further detailed study of be subjected to exhaustive documentation the effects of microwave cooking on nutri and costly research. Yet the microwave ents. The summary sentence in an abstract oven industry had only to prove that !,he of Vhe research paper is very clear: danger0us microwaves could, indeed, be "Microwaving appears to be contra-indi contained within the oven and not escape cated at high temperatures, and questions 4nto the surrounding area where t\ite radia regarding its safety exist even at low tem tion could do dlamage to people. the peratures." ind"ustry must admit that some I1ljcrowaves The final statement of the study conclu escape even in the best-made ovens. S'o sion reads: far, not one thought has been given by the "This preliminary study suggests that industry to the possibility that the nutrients microwaving human milk could be detri could be so altered as to be deleterious to men taN. Further studies are needed to health. determine whether and how microwaving "Well, ,this makes sense in a land that cou1ld safely be done." Unfortunately, fur encourages farmers to poison crops and ther studies are not scheduled at this time. soils with massive amounts of synthesised n there are so many indications that the chemicals, and encourages food processors effects of microwaves on foods can to use additives that enhance shelf-life of of milk that degrade the ,foods far above the !known foods regardless of the potential for hospitals typically serve newborns-espe breakdowns of standard cooking, is it not degrading the lhealth of Ithe consumer. cially premature infants." reasonable to conduct exhaustive stu"dies on How many hundreds of pounds of CHASING A STORY living, breathing human beings to deter microwaved food per capita is consumed in Journalist Tom Valentine, after chasing mine if it's possible that eating microwaved America each year? this story, found it interesting that 'scien foods continuously, as many people do, can Are we going to continue to take it from tists' have so many 'beliefs' to express be significantly detrimental to individual established authority, without question, on rather than prove fact. Yet facts eventually health? the premise that they know best? 00 ,(cid:1) .-\. APRIL - MAY 1995 NEXUS • 77