Life According to Jake, Christina & Lizzy.

I have a rather odd new year's resolution - to use the microwave less. Let me explain why I chose this as my resolution.

It all started when I read in a baby book, and on my breast milk storage bags, "NEVER USE THE MICROWAVE TO HEAT YOUR BABY'S MILK!" At first, I just figured that it would create "hot spots" in the milk that could burn that baby. That's part of the reason, but the real reason is that the microwave changes the molecular structure of the milk. It kills most of the nutrients.

I then went to a "talk" at a local coffee shop about creating a healthy home. The lady that gave the talk mentioned that one major improvement you could make is to get rid of your microwave. She said that microwaving your food kills the majority of the nutrients. There once was an advertisement where they said you could just stick your dish sponge in the microwave in order to kill the bacteria. Well, the microwave can't differentiate between harmful bacteria and healthy nutrients. It kills everything. People who eat nothing but microwaved food can become ill because of a lack of proper nutrients.

I decided to research this more. I found this article:  The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking

It is a little bit lengthy, but here are some highlights:
"Nevertheless, some excellent scientific data has been gathered regarding the detrimental effects of microwaves on the nutrients in your food:

• A study published in the November 2003 issue of The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that broccoli "zapped" in the microwave with a little water lost up to 97 percent of its beneficial antioxidants. By comparison, steamed broccoli lost 11 percent or fewer of its antioxidants. There were also reductions in phenolic compounds and glucosinolates, but mineral levels remained intact.
• A 1999 Scandinavian study of the cooking of asparagus spears found that microwaving caused a reduction in vitamin C.
• In a study of garlic, as little as 60 seconds of microwave heating was enough to inactivate its allinase, garlic’s principle active ingredient against cancer.
• A Japanese study by Watanabe showed that just 6 minutes of microwave heating turned 30-40 percent of the B12 in milk into an inert (dead) form.
• A recent Australian study showed that microwaves cause a higher degree of “protein unfolding” than conventional heating.
• Microwaving can destroy the essential disease-fighting agents in breast milk that offer protection for your baby. In 1992, Quan found that microwaved breast milk lost lysozyme activity, antibodies, and fostered the growth of more potentially pathogenic bacteria." 

.......
"Dr. Hertel concluded that microwave cooking changed the nutrients in the food, and that changes took place in the blood that could cause negative health effects.
Hertel’s conclusions were that microwaving food resulted in:

• Increased cholesterol levels
• Decreased numbers of leukocytes (white blood cells)
• Decreased numbers of red blood cells
• Production of radiolytic compounds
• Decreased hemoglobin levels, which could indicate anemia"

I know that sometimes it's almost "necessary" to microwave stuff. At school, I don't have an oven to heat up my lunch if I decide to bring last night's leftovers. My goal isn't to cut out the microwave completely, I am just going to try to use it less. So far, our past few dinners have consisted of NO microwave use! :) I'm pretty proud. We've even been reheating things in the stove instead of the microwave. We'll see how it goes and how long we can keep this up! :)