Does microwaving food really change the chemical composition of it?

Question

I'm trying to eat healthy for fertility (trying to get pregnant) and was told by a naturopathic doctor not to use the microwave because it changes the chemical composition of food and even water (???!!) so our bodies don't recognize the nutrients in food once it's microwaved. Is there any truth to this???

Answer 1

Truthfully any question regarding health tends to be more complex than any 1 or 2 sentence answer you may hear. There has been a great deal of research around this question and the answer is not a simple "yes" or "no".



For example here is a research paper published by The Journal of Food Science that states that chicken cooked in hot water will have lower bacterial counts than chicken microwaved.



http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119672967/abstract



And another by The Journal of Food Science that states different types of microwave cooking will change the antioxidant activity in Barley.



http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123208102/abstract



However other studies such as this one by Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition state, "The degree of destruction of vitamins and pigments during microwave processing is not greater than that observed in conventionally heated foods."



http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a915467945&db=all



In the end it is not a black or white answer. The statement, "Our bodies don't recognize the nutrients" is probably overstating the issue.



The types of food that get microwaved (pre-made, highly processed foods) are likely worse for you in quality simply due to heavy processing.



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Lastly just know that the education level of people who use the term, "Naturopathic Doctor" varies greatly. Always ask what type of education the person has. There is doctorate degree level Naturopaths. For more information on this level of education see: http://www.naturopathic.org

Answer 2

No. Your naturopathic 'doctor' is incorrect.



Microwave radiation (a type of light) does not have enough energy (per photon) to ionize atoms (which tends to scramble and rearrange them). Microwave radiation has less energy (per photon) than visible light does. If you're not worried about sunlight hitting your food, there is no reason to worry about microwave radiation. All it does is cause atoms to wiggle back and forth, heating the food. Now, if you cook your food until all the water evaporates and the food catches on fire, there will certainly be chemical changes. But for normal microwave operation, the only thing the microwave does is heat the food.



However, you should never heat plastic containers in a microwave. The heat can cause some unpleasant chemicals to leach out of the plastic.



As for changing the chemical composition of water, that is ridiculous. Water looks like this (only bent at an angle):



H---O---H



where H is a hydrogen atom, and O is an oxygen atom. There's really no way to rearrange water, even if you hit it with microwaves for 24 hours straight. Ask your naturopathic 'doctor' to explain exactly how the chemical composition is altered by a microwave. I guarantee they will be forced to evade the question, or make up some BS on the spot.

Answer 3

No. A microwave certainly can't change the structure of water--it's a liquid--unless it freezes it, 'cause liquids don't HAVE structure. And the molecules are only going to get given energy (motion) by the micro-waves (between infrared and radio), so they'll jump around, not change into different molecules. If they did, they'd stop being water.



Your "doctor"'s advice is naught but scaranoid propaganda.