I remember when my family got our first microwave.

It was 1979, and we were one of the first families in my neighborhood to have one. They'd been available since the 1960's but the technology was somewhat cost prohibitive.

It was amazing! Anything we wanted heated up, it took just moments, and seemed to heat it pretty evenly. Wow!

By 1986, about 25%  of American homes had one. Years later, it was the rule not the exception.

A nuclear device in every home? Hooray! What could be better?

When I was a kid, I didn't realize that it was electromagnetic radiation. I was just happy that I didn't have to clean an extra dish when reheating food. It's funny how convenience makes us forget to question things.

Then, a few years ago, a friend of mine said something to me that gave me pause.

Flies won't eat microwaved food.

What? Those gnarly little insects that love poop and rotting carcasses won't eat microwaved food? Why would that be?

It started me thinking. Is it a good idea to have a device that uses radiation in our homes? Would just having it turned on affect us?

Then, studies started coming out that showed that microwaved food loses its nutritional value.

In 2003, a Spanish governmental study elaborated in Murcia demonstrated that the vegetables and fruits cooked in a microwave lost a percentage of 97% of the substances that contribute to reducing the incidence of coronary heart diseases.

After seeing opening articles like this on Facebook, I learned how the microwave actually works. It's complicated, but the gist of it is that it doesn't actually heat the food through any type of conduction or convection. Rather, it causes water molecules to rotate inside the food, and that friction is what 'heats' the food. This manipulation of the molecular structure changes the properties of the food.

Another study found this.

A Swiss study led by biologist and food scientist Dr. Hans Hertel identified the effects of microwaved food. For eight weeks, eight people lived in a controlled environment and intermittently ate raw foods, conventionally cooked foods and microwaved foods. Blood samples were tested after each meal. The microwaved food caused significant changes in blood chemistry.

This news, like many other things that have been coming to the public's awareness lately, has shown that just because we can doesn't mean we should.

Yes, we can radiate our food. It doesn't mean it's good for us.

I think the issue is that we confuse the fact that something is on sale with the fact that it is safe. We are lucky to have organizations like the Food and Drug Administration. But confusing FDA approved with healthy is a mistake.

You know all those prescription drug commercials? The ones that have disclaimers that are longer than the pitch? Those are all FDA approved.

Just as with those drugs, and with foods that, if we ate them all the time would render us nutritionally deficient, it is up to us to do our own research and make our own decisions.

I personally have stopped using the microwave a while ago, except for one item. I love to use it to heat up peanut butter to put on my ice cream. As with many other things, I believe that rare use of the microwave and other things that aren't good for us, or even moderation, is the key.

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