Myth Blaster: Microwave Cooking

Quills, Iowa, sends an e-mail with the subject line: Microwaved Water – See What it Does to Plants and asks“Does this hold water?” Pun aside, Quills, here is the result of my research examined in sections of the e-mail. (Snopes):

Note – We received the following link from Ms. Nenah Sylver and found it of such importance that we are posting it hoping that the author will contact us so we can give full attribution. –ed. Below is a science fair project that my granddaughter did for 2006. In it she took filtered water and divided it into two parts. The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave. She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave. As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference. 

This paragraph comes from a website called Chain Breaker’s Community, and attributed to the following link:http://www.holisticbodyworker.com/news.htm#Microwaved%20Water

The link above is to a Healthcare News website. It is an undocumented experiment that would not stand up to ethical standards of scientific research.

The second part of the e-mail is referenced to a person by the name of William P. Kopp.

FORENSIC RESEARCH DOCUMENT
Prepared By: William P. Kopp
A. R. E. C. Research Operations
TO61-7R10/10-77F05
RELEASE PRIORITY: CLASS I ROO1 

William P. Kopp is described as a “U.S. researcher.” Who wrote an article in 1996 claiming that Cold War research in the Soviet Union had proven the dangers of microwave ovens, in which he wrote:

People who ingested microwaved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues and a gradual breakdown of the function of the digestive and excretory systems.

The Soviet research was never published and the institute where it was conducted, in what is now the Republic ofBelarus, no longer exists. Kopp reportedly changed his name and vanished. Another claim at the time was made by a fellow by the name of Hans Hertel. Lawrence Livermore Institute, associate director for cancer control, Jim Felton says “there is nothing solid.” This may explain why scientists have not spent money nor the time to look for any cancer leak via the microwave. There hasn’t been a reason to do such testing. In the link, the author writes like William Kopp is still alive and part of something called “Forensic Research Document of AREC Research.”

Ten Reasons to Throw out your Microwave Oven

From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following:

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term – permanent – brain damage by “shorting out” electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].

2). the human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.

3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.

4). the effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.

5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.

6). the minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in America.

8). the prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.

9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.

10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence. 

Have you tossed out your microwave oven yet? After you throw out your microwave you can use a toaster oven as a replacement. It works well for most and is nearly as quick. The use of artificial microwave transmissions for subliminal psychological control, a.k.a. “brainwashing”, has also been proven. We’re attempting to obtain copies of the 1970’s Russian research documents and results written by Drs. Luria and Perov specifying their clinical experiments in this area.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is an osteopathic physician that practices in Schaumburg, Illinois. He runs a popular website and authored 16 books, as well as articles and columns in alternative medical publications. Dr. Mercola is sometimes criticized for being too commercial, since he promotes food, mechanical and information products at his website. Dr. Mercola is critical of new drugs and distrusts the FDA. His most controversial views “are his expressed concerns that too many vaccines are used too soon during infancy.” He promotes alternate immunizations and strongly criticizes flu vaccines which he claims that some chemicals used to control fungi and bacteria in certain vaccines are 

“toxic to infants and can harm young children if too many shots containing Thimerosal are given within a period of time.”

Myth Blaster Verdict:

Inconclusive. Microwaves can be unhealthy in certain situations and manufacturers warn consumers of this fact, as well as the FDA – mostly concerning cooking with plastics that are not designated to be used in microwave ovens. However, except for recent findings concerning microwaving food in plastic containers, there is no established evidence that food cooked in a microwave oven (in itself) is harmful to anyone’s health. The e-mail that Joan received and information thereof is a series of jumbled hypothesis, and at least two of the so-called “experts” are not even qualified to make any such assumptions, much less “scientific evidence.” Global Healing website states that their declaration of dangers are proven.

Proven Dangers …. Global Healing

Snopes article