Microwave cooking

Microwaves are very short waves of electromagnetic energy travelling at 186,282mps (that is the speed of light). They are used to transmit telephone-, radio-, television- and computer signals around the world. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the energy. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths, X- rays and gamma rays have the shortest. But if we think about microwaves at all, we will think of them in terms of that great kitchen appliance, the microwave oven; fast, convenient and energy-efficient. The radiation from microwave ovens has a longer wavelength than infrared radiation and visible light, but shorter than that of the VHF and UHF broadcasting bands.

When I Googled ‘microwave safety’ I got over 9.5 million results in 0.15 seconds. Obviously, I haven’t read them all (and don’t intend to!). A lot of these links are re-iterations, mostly concerned with the radiation produced by microwave oven magnetrons, and the possible leakage of radiation from the ovens – which no-one seems terribly alarmed about. Some of them state safety considerations that one normally thinks of in connection with any kind of cooking anyway: which type of container to use, use of oven mitts, caution with high temperature foods and liquids, uneven heating etcetera.

But how do microwaves actually work?

Food molecules – or the water molecules in food – are polar; like a magnet has a north and south pole, water molecules have a negative end and a positive end. Microwave radiation interacts with food molecules. All radio wave energies change polarity from positive to negative with each wave cycle. In microwave ovens these changes occur millions of times per second. It is these changes which generate friction, and friction generates heat; that’s how your food gets cooked. But friction causes substantial damage to food molecules, tearing them apart or forcefully deforming them (only with microwave cooking? I'm not sure.); this is called ‘structural isomerism’. Doesn’t sound too healthy, does it?

I’m interested in the work of Dr. Hans Hertel (food scientist with a major Swiss food company) and Dr. Bernard H. Blanc (of the Swiss Federal Institute of Biochemistry). They collaborated and made (supposedly) in-depth studies of the effects on the human body of eating microwaved foods. Their findings were published in “Search for Health” in the spring of 1992 (and then withdrawn). Because of the very negative nature of their findings , a ‘gag’ order was placed on their report. They were told that they would face heavy fines and up to one year in prison if they tried to publish their report again. In response to this, Blanc recanted but Hertel stood his ground and went on a lecture tour, giving talks about his results. The gag order was rescinded in 1998. You can read an article here which covers Hertel’s results and some of the other research that has been conducted. Russia did extensive research along similar lines – and even banned microwave ovens in 1976, though the ban was lifted in 1985.

The problem with scientific research is that, at a minimum: the experiment must be repeatable; the variables must be controlled; the results must be verifiable; there must be a ‘control group’. In the write-ups I have read of  Hertel’s work, there are too many unknowns. And I can’t find the original research report to get clarification. The test group (which was also the control group) consisted of only eight male vegetarians, tested over a period of two months. Is that long enough? Large enough? This article is slightly less alarmist. And this one pretty much decries the other two. (I hope you follow these links and read at least some of the information, otherwise you won't really know what I'm talking about.)

So who do we believe? We’re often told not to believe everything we read – but that goes for negative AND positive reports. I don’t think I’m going to toss out my microwave just yet, but I will limit my usage (not that I use it that much now), and I certainly won’t use it for heating my grandson’s food any more. Maybe I’ll unplug it for a week, and see if I feel any healthier. I’m sure that eating only foods that have been microwaved doesn’t constitute healthy eating.
And it never hurts to err on the side of caution.

Habitual eating

Last week I talked about emotional eating - eating to compensate for something that's lacking in our lives or to comfort ourselves. But we often eat from habit, too. Actually, I'm not talking about eating as in eating a well balanced meal (as in breakfast or lunch - both of which I hope are established habits in your day), but eating as in snacks and treats.

If you think about it carefully, you will probably realise that there are rituals associated with your in-between meal snacks and treats. Perhaps you habitually have a couple of biscuits with your tea or coffee: always munch on chips while you read a book; usually eat sweets while driving; reward yourself with chocolate for a job completed.

Habits can be difficult to break. So maybe try modifying the habit instead - have only one plain biscuit, and only with your afternoon tea or coffee: munch on grapes while you read: sing along to the radio or CD while you drive (good for coping with traffic stress, too): move on to the next challenge when you've completed the job (or tick the job off your to-do list). These new strategies are wiser choices for your mental health and your waistline. It is really not a good idea to eat anything while you are doing something else anyway. Your attention is diverted, and you consume far more than you realise.

We should be aware of every morsel that passes out lips - do we really need it? Definitely not. Do we really want it? Probably not.

Striving to thrive

We all want to thrive and succeed. We all want to be valued for who we are and what we do, at home, at the office and in the community. Very often we feel we are not thriving, succeeding or valued in any area of our lives. A lot of this comes down to our own lack of regard for ourselves.

We are last on our list of priorities, whether our needs are spiritual, mental or physical, everyone and everything makes the top of the list while we leave ourselves trailing behind. And no matter how much time, effort and money we expend on the front-runners they never seem to move off the list entirely and make room for us at the number one position.

One thing we can do is take five minutes in the evening to assess our performance for the day. Even if we have had an 'unproductive' day, we nevertheless completed some important tasks. We prepared meals, made at least one bed, dropped and fetched children from school or creche, supervised homework, listened to a friend, spouse or colleague with attention and sympathy, made somebody smile.

All of the above - and plenty more - are worthy of recognition and appreciation. They are all everyday tasks that you complete without even thinking about them, they are second nature. Value yourself for them, even if nobody else seems to.

Bear in mind, we all feel this way. We also need to show others that we appreciate and value them - we don't do this often enough. It only takes a hug, a smile and a 'thank you'.

Wouldn't a hug, a smile and a 'thank you improve your self esteem?

Emotional attachment

Working from home can make weight loss and maintenance quite difficult. The kitchen is right there, and it is oh, so easy to make a cup of coffee and get out the biscuit box whenever I feel. Yes, that is the way I intended to write that last sentence.

I used to think that I wasn't an emotional eater, but, hey, it turns out I am! And we all seem to have a similar comfort attachment to food. As soon as we feel bored, lonely, unhappy, worried, stressed, tired, dissatisfied, disappointed or overworked - I bet you can add another dozen adjectives to this list, some even positive! - we tend to comfort or reward ourselves with food (and/or alcohol). And I'm not talking sensible portions of good, nutritious food. It's a case of "what can I eat to feel better?"

While eating for comfort may make us feel better - carbohydrates are naturally calming - the feeling is very temporary, and soon swamped out by other feelings... of guilt.

So we need to take control. We always have a choice. We can choose to eat a whole bar of chocolate / bag of pretzels / litre of ice cream. Or we can make a more responsible choice. Instead of indulging in empty calories and lots of fats - which we'll regret later - we can clean or tidy something. At home there is always some little job that needs doing, and even at the office we can tidy and reorganise desk drawers, or make a to-do list. Take a walk, even if it is only to the bathroom. Any distraction like these will improve our mood, and give a sense of achievement. (As long as we then don't then congratulate ourselves with food for a job well done!) If you must eat, have a piece of fresh fruit.

Objectivity helps, too. Mentally take a step back from the situation. Will it (the situation) really matter in a week's time? a year? Stretch. Really stretch. Breathe deeply and slowly. Now, back to work.