Toxic microwave?? Anyone heard this?

[Emmas Mom]

I went to a play date a couple weeks ago at the house of a woman I really don't know well. My youngest DD needed to eat & I had brought a cold bottle that needed to be warmed up. I always stick it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, shake it & then another 10 or so...just to take the chill off (full 8 oz. bottle). Anyway, I asked her if I could borrow her microwave & she said that they had gotten rid of it. Apparently she'd read an article *somewhere* that said microwaving food & such somehow changes the molecules of whatever you put in it. There was apparently a test done somewhere on plants. Some plants were given regular water & some ONLY water that had been microwaved (& then allowed to cool), well the plants with the microwaved water had all died! Yikes! Has anyone heard of this?? I mean...sounds a little far fetched to me but I mean, if this is true & there's some big "cover-up" (only 1/2 joking here) I'd at least like to know about it. Honestly, we've been using microwaves since the 80's & no one I know has died from anything remotely linked to anything like this...but who knows. So...is she just a little paranoid or is there some truth to it?

[kristenk]

Here ya go:

http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave/plants.asp

[Sillygirl]

Rats, you beat me to it! I love Snopes. For the original poster, the link above directly addresses the "experiment" your friend referred to. It's a bunch of baloney.

Seriously, you were right to be skeptical. Water has three atoms: two hydrogens and one oxygen. We are not talking a complicated molecular structure here. Unfortunately, science education being what it is in this country, people are not confident in their ability to apply reasoning when confronted with techno-babble.

[tny915]

I just wanted to share a story I heard about this guy who was a smoker, but refused to eat any food that came out of a microwave. It made absolutely no sense to me. But now I know where he got that fear from.

[mik8]

To whoever did the microwave experiment as featured in snopes.com, I'd like to make "my" comment on her last statement below her pics.

The body could care less about DNA in food; it will be degraded by acids and bile, pancreatic enzymes etc. in the stomach/duodenum etc. anyhow, and the degraded DNA will be salvaged by enzymes of purine metabolism like adenosine deaminase. Body doesn’t need to “recognize it�, and it certainly wouldn’t wrap “unrecognizeable DNA� in fat cells!


ETA:

The science project is totally inappropriately controlled and only has a sample number (n) =1 for both experimental sample and positive control; the bare minimum for any relevance would be an experiment done in triplicate for each sample, and for statistical relevance would need much more. Was the water controlled for temperature before it was poured on the plants? Were the plants of equal size, age, identical potting soil etc. at the beginning? How did she ensure each got identical lighting & heat conditions etc..

[brittone2]

We have a microwave and use it, but personally I won't microwave in plastic. There is some concern about the safety of various plastics, particularly while heated. I'm not sure what number plastic bottle you are using, but we have had recent threads on here about the safety of heating plastic number 7, etc.

[jillc]

Yep, me, too. I never microwave in plastic. When DD eats something warm like oatmeal or soup, I have started using little pyrex bowls for her instead of plastic kids bowls.

Might not be necessary, but on the other hand, it can't hurt.

[Emmas Mom]

Brilliant! I LOVE Snopes! Now, how can I get that to her without her knowing I sent it? Wow, she actually got rid of her microwave after reading that. I usually immediately go to Snopes anytime anyone sends me a suspicious e-mail but didn't even think about it since it was word of mouth...my bad. :+

[Emmas Mom]

How can you tell what number a plastic is??

[jamsmu]

It usually has a number on the bottom. I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the "bad" numbers are 3, 6, 7. (7 being the worst.)

[denna]

You arent supposed to microwave formula are you? I thought that it was something w/ the vitamin C. We run refrigerated bottles under hot water until they are luke warm (ish).

About the microwave, my MIL refuses to own a microwave because of the frequencies they emit (sp?). She also refuses to ever carry her cell phone on her person (holder, pocket, etc.) only in her purse and she uses a hands free device always so that her head is not near the device (again b/c of the RF).

[DrSally]

I just bought some little anchor hocking glass bowls with lids for microwaving frozen baby food (based on info about plastic I learned on this board). I would do as pp stated and just run bottle under warm water. We actually put ours in a large measuring cup of warm water.

[Globetrotter]

That reminds me of a friend who only gave her kids organic foods but had the carseat installed so loosely (with loose straps, too) that it wouldn't have done a thing in the event of a crash! (and yes, I got her to correct the carseat situation)


I no longer heat up plastic in the microwave. Otherwise, no issues here.

Kris

[jennabear]

I had a co-worker like this. She refused to get a microwave because it was "dangerous" but smoked a pack a day. Go figure.