Microwave Oven! Is it safe?

Microwave ovens have become a basic necessity in any home...people in the western countries get shocked when they hear..'someone doesnot have a microwave at home!'.....i heard many say..'is it possible to live without a microwave?'....i have also personally seen Ladies who cant do anything in the kitchen or make any item of food without it. Our India is comparitively better..but even here, people consider it as a luxuzious appliance, and many are considering to buy microwaves to make things easier in the kitchen. I was fascinated with them while i was in India, but coming to USA, it has also become a necessity for me until the day i read very shocking and alarming facts about its use and side effects. Its been over 3 months only that i stopped using it completely, yet its a challenge.

Microwaves work on the principle of Kinetic energy. To make things pretty simple in terms, a microwave spoils the molecular structure of a food item, making it easy to consume. Many of us would agree, when said that food cooked on stove top or a conventional oven tastes good compared to food heated or cooked using microwave ovens. Another concern is the usage of BPA free plastic ware in microwaves. The containers are marked to be microwave -safe but is there a guarantee?... If a particular Tupperware or Rubbermaid BPA free container has been used to heat food in microwaves for quite some time, its color changes and there appear scratches of melted plastic, have you ever noticed? Sometimes, people turn the microwave on to heat something and stand right infront of it, waiting for the item to be ready. Even this is dangerous, though there is a double leafed strong door acting as a barrier, the waves are not safe.

Food that is heated in microwaves have hot pockets, means, that only certain areas of the food item get heated, so you will notice that the milk at the surface and the bottom is cold, and that at the Center is hot, which might cause burns...many of us are feeding babies and children, foods heated in microwaves....i sincerely request to avoid using microwaves when it comes to baby foods and for kids. If you cant handle the longer cooking times, atleast,keep the children safe.

My only advice is to do more reasearch on microwave ovens and their side effects, if the reviews are convincing to you, either stop using them or continue using, instead use Toaster ovens or Conventional ovens to heat cold food items....however, reducing the dependency on microwaves might give us all a better quality of health...

- Prathyusha Talluri