Is it harmful to heat food in a microwave oven?

There is absolutely no harm in using a microwave oven to heat up rice. We always see similar rumors on the Internet. In fact, there is absolutely no harm in using a microwave oven to heat up rice. The heating method is to use a microwave oven, which will not pollute or affect the ingredients, nor will it cause carcinogenic problems to the ingredients. It is relatively safe and effective. Experts tell us that the safety of microwave ovens is the same as sunlight, and it is harmless to the human body.

1. Why can microwave ovens heat food?

Let’s start with water. A water molecule is composed of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The oxygen atom has a strong attraction for electrons, so the electrons in the water molecule are more concentrated on the oxygen atom side, and there are fewer on the hydrogen atom side. Overall, water molecules have one end that is positively charged and the other end that is negatively charged. In chemistry, such molecules are called "polar molecules".

2. Does microwave heating cause cancer?

Because microwaves are a form of radiation, many people naturally think that they can cause cancer. Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic wave, essentially the same thing as the radio waves used in radio and telegraph, infrared rays, and visible light. The only difference between them is the frequency. The frequency of microwaves is higher than that of radio waves, but lower than that of infrared and visible light. Since radio waves and visible light do not cause cancer, it is not difficult to understand that microwaves with frequencies between them will not cause cancer either. In fact, the "radiation" mentioned here only refers to the energy of microwaves that can be emitted, which is different from the radiation produced by X-rays and radioactive isotopes. Although X-rays are also electromagnetic waves, their frequency is much higher than that of microwaves, so their energy is also high. Radioactive isotopes emit particles during the decay process, so they can cause cancer in organisms.

Microwaves do not cause carcinogenesis to humans, nor do they produce carcinogens in food. It even helps avoid the production of carcinogens. For foods such as fish and meat, traditional heating methods, especially grilling and frying, can easily cause the meat to burn, thereby producing some carcinogens. A scientific review published in 2004 introduced the production and carcinogenicity of this type of carcinogens, and finally pointed out that heating in a microwave oven can effectively reduce the production of this type of carcinogens.

3. Is the microwave oven safe?

Sunlight is an electromagnetic wave with higher energy than microwaves. Is sunlight safe?

The safety of microwaves is the same as that of sunlight - whether it harms the human body depends on the strength of the energy. The warm sunshine makes people feel comfortable, but the scorching sun can cause severe skin burns. The same is true for microwaves - if they can heat food, they can naturally heat the human body. The key to the problem is: how much microwave energy is left when it reaches the human body?

Scientists have done a lot of research for us and found the minimum microwave power that can cause harm to the human body. For an intact microwave oven, the leaked microwave power is still far from being strong enough to harm the human body - the US regulation is that the power per square centimeter at a distance of about 5 centimeters from the microwave oven shall not exceed 5 milliwatts; and my country's standard is more stringent, which is 1 milliwatt. Moreover, the energy of microwaves decreases according to the square of the distance. That is to say, if the power level is 1 milliwatt at 5 centimeters, it will be reduced to 0.1 milliwatt at 50 centimeters, which is even more "harmless to humans and animals."