Myth vs Fact: can microwaving destroy nutrient value of your food?

Microwaves can sometimes make life so much easier that people commonly wonder whether the mechanics of microwaving food might be too good to be true! There are generally two big worries associated with microwaving food.

Let’s address them both.  

The first thing people wonder is whether exposure to microwaves could harm our health. Despite the Internet conspiracy theories about microwaves making food radioactive, there is no evidence to back this claim. Several health studies have clarified that the waves used to warm food by these devices are perfectly safe.

The second worry is that whether microwaves kill all the nutritive values of our food. The truth is that any amount of heat applied to raw food depletes nutrients like vitamin C, omega fatty acids, and some antioxidants and the source of the heat does not matter. However, most other nutrients, including carbs, fats, proteins, fibre and minerals do not get affected and are rather made more digestible through heat.  

According to a World Health Organisation report, microwaving your food is a safe way to prepare it and retains almost the same level of nutrition as cooking on a stovetop or an oven. In fact, microwaving might be better than other cooking methods like boiling vegetables which can spill the soluble vitamins into the water.  

All in all, just because microwaves are a modern and convenient invention, it doesn’t make them an evil food monster.