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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#1
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Safety of microwave cooking
I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and
he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. I understand that molecules are vibrated during microwave exposure and I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? I will never trust manufacturers who's agendas are purely financially driven to tell me the truth and I still don't believe that irradiating oneself with a blue tooth headset for hours on end or even using a cell phone for that matter can ever be in the least bit healthful...Lenny |
#2
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Safety of microwave cooking
klem kedidelhopper wrote:
I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. You're probably more at risk from the hormones and other "enhancements" they put in the food chain than you are from microwave cooking. Jeff -- “Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.” Frank Leahy, Head coach, Notre Dame 1941-1954 http://www.stay-connect.com |
#3
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Safety of microwave cooking
On 4/13/2010 9:47 AM, klem kedidelhopper wrote:
I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. I understand that molecules are vibrated during microwave exposure and I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? No. I will never trust manufacturers who's agendas are purely financially driven to tell me the truth and I still don't believe that irradiating oneself with a blue tooth headset for hours on end or even using a cell phone for that matter can ever be in the least bit healthful...Lenny You are exposed to many times the radiation walking in the sun as you are to *ANY* low output source of EM radiation. Don't like radiation? Stop eating banana's. Stop laying next to your spouse. Both put off radiation. I guess that separate beds thing has a benefit, after all... |
#4
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Safety of microwave cooking
In article , Jeffrey D Angus wrote:
klem kedidelhopper wrote: I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. You're probably more at risk from the hormones and other "enhancements" they put in the food chain than you are from microwave cooking. As well as heating plastics. greg |
#6
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Safety of microwave cooking
On 13/04/2010 15:47, klem kedidelhopper wrote:
I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. That argument is put forward for gamma irradiation of food, and has some following there. If bombarding me with gamma makes me grow two heads, there is no telling what it will do to food. However this is different. Yes, microwaves cook by molecularly exciting water, which then heats the food by conduction. Making water get hot does not release poisons to my knowledge. However, if there are materials in there that are non-food, and they get overheated, or if you burn your food and create carbon (like when too long on the camp fire) then that is not too healthy to eat. And equally if the food is unevenly heated, and parts remain still frozen, you can bet that that will cause some stomach upset. Unless it's about burning food to charcoal, your friend has misheard something and is wrong. Regarding RF, have irrational phobias by all means if they make you feel better. Sure too much exposure IS harmful, but there are SAR limits that are waaaaay below that. There is also the inverse square law of physics and our logarithmic relationships to sensory stimulus. Trying to reason with reference to the 'evils of corporate concerns' is frankly a smoke screen to something else that you haven't yet understood, and is not really a sensible starting point to a serious debate about product safety. -- Adrian C |
#7
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:47:52 -0700 (PDT), klem kedidelhopper
wrote: I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. I understand that molecules are vibrated during microwave exposure and I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? I will never trust manufacturers who's agendas are purely financially driven to tell me the truth and I still don't believe that irradiating oneself with a blue tooth headset for hours on end or even using a cell phone for that matter can ever be in the least bit healthful...Lenny Tell your friend to do a little research on the differences between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Also, studying the molecular changes caused by conventional cooking will give many more reasons for baseless fears. The fact is, humanoids have been on Earth for over 4 million years. The best accepted evidence for the earliest use of fire is 790,000 years ago. I'd say that in the 40,000 generations that humans have been cooking their food we've pretty well adapted to whatever changes cooking causes. You should also point out to your friend the health problems associated with living in a constant state of fear. PlainBill |
#8
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Safety of microwave cooking
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#9
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Safety of microwave cooking
Hi!
I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. I believe that is correct, but you can burn food to that point with any sort of cooking device. Burnt food is not good, but I don't know that it will do much harm. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? No. The FAQ for this group discusses it further. I will never trust manufacturers who's agendas are purely financially driven to tell me the truth That's somewhat true, but one must consider the inverse: a company that kills or injures all of its customers soon doesn't have any! And those that do, whether intentionally or not, get found out at some point. and I still don't believe that irradiating oneself with a blue tooth headset for hours on end or even using a cell phone for that matter can ever be in the least bit healthful...Lenny The last I knew, the effects of this were not fully understood (although they have been researched). It has been shown that there is some reaction (an excitation, if memory serves) of tissue in close proximity to an active cellular telephone or similar device. What this may or may not be doing at the same time is unclear. I don't do the whole cell phone thing just because of the rudeness factor--and the fact that it's little more than an electronic leash. I know from having used a communications radio with an earphone that I become really "weirded out" by not hearing ambient sounds clearly out of one ear...so much so that I could not use the radio. So there's that, and there's also my opinion that there isn't a Bluetooth earset in the world that doesn't make one look like a dork. William |
#10
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Safety of microwave cooking
I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave
cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. This is true of any process that heats food! I understand that molecules are vibrated during microwave exposure... As they are when heated in a regular oven. Or home on the range. and I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? Probably not. Microwave heating (you can't very well call it "cooking") has been around for 60 years. If there were a risk, it probably would have been discovered by now. I particularly like the way microwave ovens handle bacon. |
#11
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Safety of microwave cooking
"klem kedidelhopper" wrote in message ... I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. I understand that molecules are vibrated during microwave exposure and I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? I will never trust manufacturers who's agendas are purely financially driven to tell me the truth and I still don't believe that irradiating oneself with a blue tooth headset for hours on end or even using a cell phone for that matter can ever be in the least bit healthful...Lenny http://www.relfe.com/microwave.html |
#12
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Safety of microwave cooking
gonzo wrote:
http://www.relfe.com/microwave.html "Standing in front of a microwave is also highly damaging to your health. Perhaps you have already felt this intuitively? We know that cells explode in the microwave - just fry an egg in your microwave. We are made up of trillions of cells. So work out how many are getting damaged if you stand in front of your microwave for 5-10 minutes." Pfffft. That was the sound of your credibility going up in smoke. You obviously don't want to hear it, so I'm not going to waste my time explaining how a microwave oven works. Jeff -- “Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.” Frank Leahy, Head coach, Notre Dame 1941-1954 http://www.stay-connect.com |
#13
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Safety of microwave cooking
snip Probably not. Microwave heating (you can't very well call it "cooking") has been around for 60 years. If there were a risk, it probably would have been discovered by now. Why can't you call it "cooking" ? If the device changes the structure of the food in some way by the process of heating it, then I would call that cooking. I make scrambled eggs in the microwave. When I take them out, they have changed from raw eggs to cooked eggs, exactly the same as if they had been cooked in a pan ... Canned soup is a different matter. That has already been cooked at the factory, and in that case, the microwave oven does not change the structure any further. It *does* merely heat it. I particularly like the way microwave ovens handle bacon. So, how's that then ? Is your bacon still raw when it comes out ? Merely heated ? Arfa |
#14
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Safety of microwave cooking
"Standing in front of a microwave is also highly damaging to
your health. Perhaps you have already felt this intuitively? We know that cells explode in the microwave -- just fry an egg in your microwave. We are made up of trillions of cells. So work out how many are getting damaged if you stand in front of your microwave for 5-10 minutes." This shows a complete non-understanding of how a microwave oven heats food -- or why an egg explodes. In case anyone is wondering... All microwave ovens have a perforated metal window that reflects microwaves back into the cavity. Virtually no microwave energy leaks out. |
#15
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Safety of microwave cooking
snip Regarding RF, have irrational phobias by all means if they make you feel better. Sure too much exposure IS harmful, but there are SAR limits that are waaaaay below that. There is also the inverse square law of physics and our logarithmic relationships to sensory stimulus. This is an interesting one, Adrian. My father-in-law worked for many years for a government wireless department, which included overseas postings. He worked in the proximity of moderately high powered HF transmitters - but not so close to the antenna systems that you would imagine that the radiated RF could be any kind of problem. Over the years that I knew him, I lost count of the number of his colleagues that literally dropped dead from heart attacks. No warnings. No previously known health problems. Sadly, my father-in-law also finally succumbed to the same fate. He was only in his mid fifties, reasonably trim and fit, didn't drink and didn't smoke. There had been no warnings prior to the event, that anything was wrong. He simply dropped down on the golf course from a massive coronary, and died a few hours later in hospital, after suffering two more. Rationally, as a person of science and a licensed ham radio operator who has a fairly good working understanding of RF and its dangers, I should be saying that it is pure coincidence, but I've always had this nagging doubt that maybe *prolongued* exposure to even weak field strengths, even at the relatively low frequencies of the HF bands, may do more physiological damage than we believe ... Arfa Trying to reason with reference to the 'evils of corporate concerns' is frankly a smoke screen to something else that you haven't yet understood, and is not really a sensible starting point to a serious debate about product safety. -- Adrian C |
#16
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Safety of microwave cooking
Probably not. Microwave heating (you can't very well call it
"cooking") has been around for 60 years. If there were a risk, it probably would have been discovered by now. Why can't you call it "cooking"? If the device changes the structure of the food in some way by the process of heating it, then I would call that cooking. Try making a cake sometime in a microwave, and you'll understand. I make scrambled eggs in the microwave. When I take them out, they have changed from raw eggs to cooked eggs, exactly the same as if they had been cooked in a pan... Most foods are "cooked" by the external application of heat (either conduction or convection). A microwave oven heats the food directly, which produces rather different results. The one thing microwaves do very well is to denature protein (that is, coagulate it). This is why scrambled eggs come out okay. It's also the reason your eyes have to be protected from microwaves. I particularly like the way microwave ovens handle bacon. So, how's that, then? Is your bacon still raw when it comes out? Merely heated? Mostly the latter. I like the way you can easily choose the amount of "doneness", and it's almost impossible to burn the bacon. |
#17
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:47:52 -0700 (PDT), klem kedidelhopper
wrote: I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. It's fairly easy to prove that something is dangerous and unhealthy. It's almost impossible to prove that something is *NOT* dangerous and unhealthy. For example, walking down the road is potentially dangerous because you might stumble and fall. Plenty of slip and fall statistics are available to demonstrate the point. However, just try to prove that walking down the road is perfectly safe. You can't because someone will invariably suggest that this exposes you to various things falling from the sky, sunburn, and automobile attack. There's ALWAYS a way to make something unsafe, thus making it impossible to prove that anything is really *NOT* dangerous and unhealthy. You might also notice that food safety is a question of degree. Drinking water is safe in reasonable quantity, but drinking too much water is potentially a problem. Same with many foods. Well, that also applies to microwave, barbeque, or nuclear cooking. All of these are safe in small quantities, but if you microwave everything you eat, you're going to have a problem. I understand that molecules are vibrated during microwave exposure and I think that I've heard that if you heat something until it is a hard unrecognizable crunchy lump then maybe that could be true. But for general reheating of food or beverages is there a concern? That's not a very good description of how a microwave oven works. I'm lazy and don't want to get into that. Suffice to say that you will get the same hard unrecognizable crunchy lump no matter what method you use to heat the food. I will never trust manufacturers who's agendas are purely financially driven to tell me the truth I have the same problem with online medicine. The hype is everywhere. My method is similar to yours. If those offering the advice have a financial or political agenda, I ignore it. That means that medical advice from someone selling a procedure, pill, treatment, or religion, is probably biased in some way. The problem is that this doesn't leave much in the way of proper research. Do you trust universities and institutes to get it right when they are funded by the same manufacturers and groups that have a vested interest in producing their favorite result? All that's left is the government, which usually outsources their studies to the same universities and institutes. That essentially leave nobody worth trusting. and I still don't believe that irradiating oneself with a blue tooth headset for hours on end or even using a cell phone for that matter can ever be in the least bit healthful...Lenny Well, please look at this graph: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/brain-CNS-cancer.jpg It's the incidence of new brain and central nervous system cancers between 1975 and 2006 taken in 5 metro areas. Note that it's almost flat. During the same time period, the use of cell phones, BlueGoof headsets, and wireless devices have increased quite dramatically. One would expect to see a rise in the incidence of brain and CNS cancers if the stories are to be believed. Interestingly, I see a decrease in the incidence over most of the time period (mostly caused by improved early diagnosis through PET scans). As before, it's impossible to prove the Bluetooth, cellular, Wi-Fi, and other forms for personal irradiation are safe. It's easy enough to prove that they're not safe, but somehow, the statistics don't seem to follow. Incidentally, age has a big effect in braind and CNS cancers. See: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/brain-CNS-cancer-by-age-1992-2006.jpg which is the incidence of brain and CNS cancers from 1992 to 2006 by age. Note that the overwhelming number of cancers are in older people starting at about age 59. Interestingly, it's the younger age group that spends all day yacking on the cell phone. If RF caused cancer, one would expect it to show a much higher incidence rate among the heavy users. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
#18
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:01:21 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: Over the years that I knew him, I lost count of the number of his colleagues that literally dropped dead from heart attacks. No warnings. No previously known health problems. Sadly, my father-in-law also finally succumbed to the same fate. He was only in his mid fifties, reasonably trim and fit, didn't drink and didn't smoke. There had been no warnings prior to the event, that anything was wrong. He simply dropped down on the golf course from a massive coronary, and died a few hours later in hospital, after suffering two more. Well, you can add one more person to the collection. I didn't drop dead, but came close. In 2002, I narrowly missed having a heart attack by having a triple bypass operation. I've been exposed to all manner of RF for the previous 45 years. I don't drink or smoke. Other than kidney stones, I had no previous maladies. Sounds like a parallel to your father-in-law. However, we both left out some details. My parents and family have a history of cardiac issues. Those that died a natural death invariably died from a stroke, heart attack, or similar cause. The family also has a history of high blood pressure, which is largely invisible to the casual observer. If I dropped dead today from a stroke or coronary infraction, would you blame my genetics or my exposure to RF? Moral: Pick you parents wisely. Rationally, as a person of science and a licensed ham radio operator who has a fairly good working understanding of RF and its dangers, I should be saying that it is pure coincidence, but I've always had this nagging doubt that maybe *prolongued* exposure to even weak field strengths, even at the relatively low frequencies of the HF bands, may do more physiological damage than we believe ... Yeah, it's something to worry about. Of the approx 8 members of our local radio club that have died in the last 10 years, none died from coronary problems. The cause was usually cancer, emphysema, medical screwups, diabetes, or some nasty disease. Almost everyone had a heart condition, a dictated by todays fairly low blood pressure standards. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
#19
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Safety of microwave cooking
GregS wrote: Heating food can make it taste damm good. It usually makes eating dead animal meat more tolerable. You prefer your meat still be alive? -- Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!' |
#20
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Apr 13, 10:59*pm, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote: GregS wrote: Heating food can make it taste damm good. It usually makes eating dead animal meat more tolerable. * *You prefer your meat still be alive? -- Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!' My original question concerned the food however since we're on the subject, it is a well known fact that living tissue undergoes biological changes, even if minute changes when exposed to RF energy. This especially holds true for microwave. Several years ago beat patrolmen used VHF portable radios before they came equipped with external microphones. These kluges were big and heavy, had six watt finals and were nicknamed "bricks". You held them up to the side of your face to communicate. Beat cops used these for years. I believe that it was a city in Connecticut where a high incidence of eye problems were noticed among this group of patients. The only logical common denominator was the RF exposure. Perhaps this is a matter of semantics but getting back to my original comment, aren't "biological changes" the very definition of cancer? Lenny |
#21
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Safety of microwave cooking
klem kedidelhopper wrote: On Apr 13, 10:59 pm, "Michael A. Terrell" wrote: GregS wrote: Heating food can make it taste damm good. It usually makes eating dead animal meat more tolerable. You prefer your meat still be alive? -- Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!' My original question concerned the food however since we're on the subject, it is a well known fact that living tissue undergoes biological changes, even if minute changes when exposed to RF energy. This especially holds true for microwave. Several years ago beat patrolmen used VHF portable radios before they came equipped with external microphones. These kluges were big and heavy, had six watt finals and were nicknamed "bricks". You held them up to the side of your face to communicate. Beat cops used these for years. I believe that it was a city in Connecticut where a high incidence of eye problems were noticed among this group of patients. The only logical common denominator was the RF exposure. Perhaps this is a matter of semantics but getting back to my original comment, aren't "biological changes" the very definition of cancer? Lenny I've never seen a radio like that. The only 'brick' I'm familiar with is the old Motorola the military & railroads used. They used transistors and miniature 1.5 volt tubes. They weighed several pounds. It had a handheld microphone on a short coiled cord, and snapped onto the handle of the radio. It would take a very heavy battery to get through an eight hour shift with a six watt unit. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells. 'Biological Change' is a vague definition. -- Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!' |
#22
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:45:49 -0500, Jeffrey D Angus
wrote: gonzo wrote: http://www.relfe.com/microwave.html "Standing in front of a microwave is also highly damaging to your health. Yep. Most of the small amount of RF leakage comes out the sides of the oven, around the door seal and hinges. I have several microwave oven leakage detectors. There's next to nothing coming out the front. Perhaps you have already felt this intuitively? That explains my growling stomach. However, it may also have been my cooking, which I suspect is equally as dangerous as RF. We know that cells explode in the microwave - just fry an egg in your microwave. We are made up of trillions of cells. Ummm... cooking is the art of breaking down cellular structures by removing most of the water. Whether the water is removed by microwave or incineration, the results are similar. Oddly, boiling in water, the method of cooking that results in the minimum water loss, also results in the largest vitamin loss, all by dilution because most vitamins are water soluble. Incidentally, on the vitamin front: http://www.thedietchannel.com/Microwave-Cooking-And-Food-Vitamins.htm So work out how many are getting damaged if you stand in front of your microwave for 5-10 minutes." You have somewhere between 10 and 100 trillion cells. You can afford to lose a few. http://ask.yahoo.com/20020625.html Pfffft. That was the sound of your credibility going up in smoke. You obviously don't want to hear it, so I'm not going to waste my time explaining how a microwave oven works. Dielectric heating. Jeff Chef Jeff. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#23
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Safety of microwave cooking
"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ... On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:01:21 +0100, "Arfa Daily" wrote: Over the years that I knew him, I lost count of the number of his colleagues that literally dropped dead from heart attacks. No warnings. No previously known health problems. Sadly, my father-in-law also finally succumbed to the same fate. He was only in his mid fifties, reasonably trim and fit, didn't drink and didn't smoke. There had been no warnings prior to the event, that anything was wrong. He simply dropped down on the golf course from a massive coronary, and died a few hours later in hospital, after suffering two more. Well, you can add one more person to the collection. I didn't drop dead, but came close. In 2002, I narrowly missed having a heart attack by having a triple bypass operation. I've been exposed to all manner of RF for the previous 45 years. I don't drink or smoke. Other than kidney stones, I had no previous maladies. Sounds like a parallel to your father-in-law. However, we both left out some details. My parents and family have a history of cardiac issues. Those that died a natural death invariably died from a stroke, heart attack, or similar cause. The family also has a history of high blood pressure, which is largely invisible to the casual observer. If I dropped dead today from a stroke or coronary infraction, would you blame my genetics or my exposure to RF? Moral: Pick you parents wisely. Obviously, genetics need to play a part in any considerations here, as you say. I didn't know his father, but did know his mother, who went on well into her eighties, and smoked literally 'like a chimney', and it was lung disease which finally got her, as you might imagine. He had several brothers, all older than he was and, although they have died off one by one now mostly, they were all well advanced in years when they went (it's been 20 odd years now since the F-i-L died - actually on my son's birthday). I believe there is one brother still left alive now. So general genetics don't seem to have been a major player for coronary heart disease, in the case of his family, although obviously, it's a complex subject, and quirks of fate in these respects, clearly happen. Interesting though, how closely he seems to parallel you. I wonder if your other radio club members who died, were 'casual' radio users just from a ham perspective, or professionals working around this stuff for 10 hours a day for many years. I wonder if there's any research or collated statistics on this out on the big bad interweb ? Arfa |
#24
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Safety of microwave cooking
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... Probably not. Microwave heating (you can't very well call it "cooking") has been around for 60 years. If there were a risk, it probably would have been discovered by now. Why can't you call it "cooking"? If the device changes the structure of the food in some way by the process of heating it, then I would call that cooking. Try making a cake sometime in a microwave, and you'll understand. It is perfectly possible to 'cook' a cake in a microwave oven. What you can't do, easily, is to produce the external crust, which is a product of water removal and scorching, by direct application of heat to the outside. This is a specialised way of cooking, called baking. In order for it to work, it's a case of carefully balancing the heat and duration of application that's being used, such that it penetrates all the way to the centre of the cake mix, thus cooking it, before it has scorched the outside to the point where it becomes a heat insulator, and stops enough heat penetrating. It is the heat only that cooks the food, and it doesn't matter whether this gets into that food by radiation, convection, steam, blowtorch or whatever. Baking, frying, steaming, griddling, charbroiling, pressure cooking and so on, are all just variations on a theme, producing different nutritional and taste variations. The common theme to them all is heat. Further, many microwave ovens also contain a conventional oven, which can be used in combination with the microwave part. In this type of oven, the cake will be cooked very quickly, and have a crust ... I make scrambled eggs in the microwave. When I take them out, they have changed from raw eggs to cooked eggs, exactly the same as if they had been cooked in a pan... Most foods are "cooked" by the external application of heat (either conduction or convection). A microwave oven heats the food directly, which produces rather different results. Not really it doesn't, in terms of the actual process of "cooking" ... The one thing microwaves do very well is to denature protein (that is, coagulate it). This is why scrambled eggs come out okay. It's also the reason your eyes have to be protected from microwaves. I particularly like the way microwave ovens handle bacon. So, how's that, then? Is your bacon still raw when it comes out? Merely heated? Mostly the latter. I like the way you can easily choose the amount of "doneness", and it's almost impossible to burn the bacon. Hmmm. I'm not sure that I would like my bacon to be merely heated, and I'm frankly surprised that you, as an American, like it that way. Everywhere that I've ever eaten breakfast in the U.S., the bacon has needed a chainsaw to get through it, and you had to be careful not to take another diner's eye out with a flying shard when it shattered under your knife and fork ! Don't get me wrong - I actually like it like that ... My wife owns several cafes (that's cafe as in U.K. not U.S.) and we go through a lot of pounds of bacon every day. It is cooked daily, a little in advance, by grilling, and then kept refrigerated. When it is needed, it is quickly microwaved to the correct temperature, before being used in whatever dish it is needed in. This is a good example of the bacon already being fundamentally 'cooked' by the original grilling process, such that the microwave is merely reheating it. Very little additional cooking takes place by the application of the microwaves. You would not tell the difference in the hot product, between it having been reheated, or having just come off the grille. Arfa |
#25
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:39:02 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:01:21 +0100, "Arfa Daily" wrote: Over the years that I knew him, I lost count of the number of his colleagues that literally dropped dead from heart attacks. No warnings. No previously known health problems. Sadly, my father-in-law also finally succumbed to the same fate. He was only in his mid fifties, reasonably trim and fit, didn't drink and didn't smoke. There had been no warnings prior to the event, that anything was wrong. He simply dropped down on the golf course from a massive coronary, and died a few hours later in hospital, after suffering two more. Well, you can add one more person to the collection. I didn't drop dead, but came close. In 2002, I narrowly missed having a heart attack by having a triple bypass operation. I've been exposed to all manner of RF for the previous 45 years. I don't drink or smoke. Other than kidney stones, I had no previous maladies. Sounds like a parallel to your father-in-law. However, we both left out some details. My parents and family have a history of cardiac issues. Those that died a natural death invariably died from a stroke, heart attack, or similar cause. The family also has a history of high blood pressure, which is largely invisible to the casual observer. If I dropped dead today from a stroke or coronary infraction, would you blame my genetics or my exposure to RF? Moral: Pick you parents wisely. Almost exactly the same story as Jeff (even the triple bypass at 48). Bad choice in parents certainly contributed in my case, but heart problems were not common in the family until my generation: my older sister and I both have had bypass operations, with a low HDL being the main problem for me. |
#26
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Safety of microwave cooking
In article , "William Sommerwerck" wrote:
"Standing in front of a microwave is also highly damaging to your health. Perhaps you have already felt this intuitively? We know that cells explode in the microwave -- just fry an egg in your microwave. We are made up of trillions of cells. So work out how many are getting damaged if you stand in front of your microwave for 5-10 minutes." This shows a complete non-understanding of how a microwave oven heats food -- or why an egg explodes. In case anyone is wondering... All microwave ovens have a perforated metal window that reflects microwaves back into the cavity. Virtually no microwave energy leaks out. There is always waves leaking out. A little food in the seal will help that. It might be damaging to the eyes if you were looking in, but you would feel heat on an other body parts if it were really high. Thats not common at all. My HeathKit microwave had a conductive plastic outer seal that would be heat damaged from microwaves. I don't thing the HeathKit used the 1/4 wavelength seal common on all todays machines. It used a capacitive seal. I have several leakage detectors, and all microwaves leak. greg |
#27
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Safety of microwave cooking
In article , "Michael A. Terrell" wrote:
GregS wrote: Heating food can make it taste damm good. It usually makes eating dead animal meat more tolerable. You prefer your meat still be alive? A fresh kill might be considered live. When I say its dead, is it not dead ? I always like to stir up some thought. I eat meat. Many nutritionists stress eating live plants. Plans food is alive. Would you eat dead plants ? It looks pretty bad. I guess dried is dead, and looks Ok. greg |
#28
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Safety of microwave cooking
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#29
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Safety of microwave cooking
A fresh kill might be considered live. When I say it's
dead, is it not dead? I always like to stir up some thought. I eat meat. Many nutritionists stress eating live plants. Plant food is alive. Would you eat dead plants? It looks pretty bad. I guess dried is dead, and looks Ok. As Spock once said... "Even vegetarians live on death." |
#30
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Safety of microwave cooking
On 14/04/2010 18:56, Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:
More so with plain old cooking (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosamine) It says on that page "The presence of nitrosamines may be identified by the Liebermann's reaction" Er, Jeff ?? -- Adrian C |
#31
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Safety of microwave cooking
GregS wrote: In article , "Michael A. Terrell" wrote: GregS wrote: Heating food can make it taste damm good. It usually makes eating dead animal meat more tolerable. You prefer your meat still be alive? A fresh kill might be considered live. I wouldn't. It no longer has blood flowing, or a heart beating. When I say its dead, is it not dead ? I always like to stir up some thought. I eat meat. Many nutritionists stress eating live plants. Plans food is alive. Would you eat dead plants? Once they are picked, they are dead. They get no water or nutrients to continue growing. It looks pretty bad. I guess dried is dead, and looks Ok. You've never used dried onions, or tried banana chips? -- Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!' |
#32
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:45:17 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: So general genetics don't seem to have been a major player for coronary heart disease, in the case of his family, although obviously, it's a complex subject, and quirks of fate in these respects, clearly happen. Agreed. Interesting though, how closely he seems to parallel you. Well, it is possible that a career in RF causes so much stress from overwork and company politics that a heart attack is probable. However, that's conjecture. I wonder if your other radio club members who died, were 'casual' radio users just from a ham perspective, or professionals working around this stuff for 10 hours a day for many years. Mostly casual but there were two broadcast engineers among the mix. One of these died from liver cancer, the other from a nasty virus that literally ate his heart. If you want to get some real RF exposure, there's nothing like working in a broadcast studio (near the xmitter tower), or on a mountain top radio site, or at a military radar station. I had a few years of such exposure back in the 1970's, but mostly, it's been ocassional yacking on VHF/UHF with minimal power. Basically, the sample of local hams that have died is not sufficient to get a decent correlation. The only factoid that're really relevent is that none of them died from coronary issues. Although I have some obvious coronary problems, I expect to meet my end in the supermarket parking lot, run over by some lunatic driving diagonally across the lanes, thinking all the rules of the road are suspended in the parking lot. I wonder if there's any research or collated statistics on this out on the big bad interweb ? Actually, yes. There was a study about 10 years ago attempting to correlate cancers with RF exposure using hams as a population sample. The results indicated that there was a greater probability of contracting leukemia if one was involved in ham radio, than the control group (non-hams). The study was horribly flawed, both in it's data gathering and sampling methods. I'm too lazy to find it. http://www.hamradio-online.com/faq4.html Other than mess, I don't know of any studies. 45 years ago, when I first got into ham radio, I had a full head of hair, a positive attitude, a steady hand, and a fairly decent bank account. After 45 years of RF exposure, the hear is almost gone, my attitude is very pessimistic, my hand shakes, and my bank account is depleted. Obvious, all this must be caused by RF exposure. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
#33
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:38:36 -0400, PeterD wrote:
On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:39:02 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote: Moral: Pick you parents wisely. Almost exactly the same story as Jeff (even the triple bypass at 48). Hmmm... I'm 62 now and had the operation in 2002, so I made it to 54. Bad choice in parents certainly contributed in my case, but heart problems were not common in the family until my generation: my older sister and I both have had bypass operations, with a low HDL being the main problem for me. I'm not all that convinced that cholesterol and coronary heart disease are directly related. I know of several individuals (including my former GP doctor) who have fairly high cholesterol levels, but no sign of any problems (which included an angiogram just to be sure). In my case, the common thread among the family was high blood pressure. I'm also not sold on the consensus that statins are a good thing. I've had 8 years of continuous aches and pains from the statins and finally decided it was a bad idea. If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. However, now that I've made it this far, why ruin my decadent and lavish lifestyle. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
#34
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Safety of microwave cooking
On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:11:14 +0100, Adrian C
wrote: On 14/04/2010 18:56, Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote: More so with plain old cooking (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosamine) It says on that page "The presence of nitrosamines may be identified by the Liebermann's reaction" Er, Jeff ?? He was a distant cousin in Germany. Most of his useful work was done in the 1880's. He died just before WWI. It's more correctly the Liebermann–Burchard reaction used to test for the presence of cholesterol and steroids. Nitrosamines are formed from the heating of sodium nitrite, used for red food coloring. Any kind of heating will cause it's production. However, the "cause" is not the heating. It's the artificial adulterants added to the meat that are the problem. Note that the human body can convert nitited (procarcinogens) into nitrosamin, even if the cooking process does not produce any. I vaguely recall that barbeque cooking is the worst for nitrosamines, while microwave cooking produces the least. MICROWAVE COOKING AND FOOD SAFETY http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/files/microwave_ra_e.pdf Well, that doesn't detail it, but it's still interesting reading. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
#35
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Safety of microwave cooking
In article , "Michael A. Terrell" wrote:
GregS wrote: In article , "Michael A. Terrell" wrote: GregS wrote: Heating food can make it taste damm good. It usually makes eating dead animal meat more tolerable. You prefer your meat still be alive? A fresh kill might be considered live. I wouldn't. It no longer has blood flowing, or a heart beating. When I say its dead, is it not dead ? I always like to stir up some thought. I eat meat. Many nutritionists stress eating live plants. Plans food is alive. Would you eat dead plants? Once they are picked, they are dead. They get no water or nutrients to continue growing. Funny how potatoes and onions sprount in the fridg. They may slow down but are not dead. They are officially dead if they dry out or are consumed by mold. It looks pretty bad. I guess dried is dead, and looks Ok. You've never used dried onions, or tried banana chips? |
#36
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Safety of microwave cooking
On 15/04/2010 14:04, GregS wrote:
Funny how potatoes and onions sprount in the fridg. They may slow down but are not dead. They are officially dead if they dry out or are consumed by mold. Those are seeds! That's life in them! -- Adrian C |
#37
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Safety of microwave cooking
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
45 years ago, when I first got into ham radio, I had a full head of hair, a positive attitude, a steady hand, and a fairly decent bank account. After 45 years of RF exposure, the hear is almost gone, my attitude is very pessimistic, my hand shakes, and my bank account is depleted. Obvious, all this must be caused by RF exposure. I still have my hair, but have followed a similar path. I attribute it to customers that think I should pay them for the privilege of repairing their equipment. Or for the other parasites in my life that thought, "He has some- thing, that I should have instead." Jeff -- “Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.” Frank Leahy, Head coach, Notre Dame 1941-1954 http://www.stay-connect.com |
#38
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Safety of microwave cooking
In article ,
GregS wrote: Once they are picked, they are dead. They get no water or nutrients to continue growing. Funny how potatoes and onions sprount in the fridg. They may slow down but are not dead. They are officially dead if they dry out or are consumed by mold. Or, consider the "Resurrection fern" (Polypodium polypodioides). Pick it, let it dry out, and it shrivels up, losing up to about 3/4 of their internal moisture during natural dry spells (and up to 95% or more under experimental conditions). The cell walls fold up, it ceases metabilizing... is it dead? Put it back in water, several years later... and 24 hours later it will have rehydrated itself, turned green, and it's growing healthily once again... is it alive? Or, for a more common example: take seeds. I've got over a dozen healthy tomato seedlings growing outside, about to be transplanted into the garden. Most of them were started in February, from seeds I saved from a previous generation of open-pollenated tomato plants... back in 1991! They've been in the freezer for almost 20 years, well dried and then frozen... and I got about 80% germination rates for most of the varieties. Were these seeds alive, or dead? How about the plants which sprouted from them after the seeds were planted? -- Dave Platt AE6EO Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |
#39
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Safety of microwave cooking
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:11:14 +0100, Adrian C wrote: On 14/04/2010 18:56, Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote: More so with plain old cooking (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosamine) It says on that page "The presence of nitrosamines may be identified by the Liebermann's reaction" Er, Jeff ?? He was a distant cousin in Germany. Most of his useful work was done in the 1880's. He died just before WWI. It's more correctly the Liebermann?Burchard reaction used to test for the presence of cholesterol and steroids. Nitrosamines are formed from the heating of sodium nitrite, used for red food coloring. Any kind of heating will cause it's production. However, the "cause" is not the heating. It's the artificial adulterants added to the meat that are the problem. Note that the human body can convert nitited (procarcinogens) into nitrosamin, even if the cooking process does not produce any. AFAIK Nitrites are used to *preserve* meats, not just add red color. It then becomes a question of people getting sick or dying from bad meat now, or possibly dying many years later of cancer. Personally I limit the amount of cured meats I eat, but do not avoid it entirely. I vaguely recall that barbeque cooking is the worst for nitrosamines, while microwave cooking produces the least. I thought the high temperature charring created allegedly cancer causing by-products. Jerry |
#40
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Safety of microwave cooking
In article nc,
Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote: klem kedidelhopper wrote: I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human consumption. More so with plain old cooking (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosamine) And if you google "french frys cancer" you get refered to Acrylamide. Mark Zenier Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com) |
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