Dr. Mercola June 07 2007 20,884 views
According to professor Jane Wardle, the rapid rise in obesity rates could be related to the widespread ownership of microwave ovens.
Obesity rates started to rise soon after 1984, at about the same time as the microwave became a common household item.
This argument was proposed as one of three theories outlined during a debate on the subject at UK's Cheltenham Science Festival. Professor Tim Lang argued that the introduction of the supermarket was the cause.
Meanwhile, professor Ken Fox posited that the obesity epidemic can actually be traced back to 1945, when technology began to replace physical effort in work and leisure.
In 1980, 8 percent of women and 6 percent of men were classified as obese; by 2004, this had increased to 24 percent of men and women. Dr. David Haslam, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said that all three theories could be contributing factors, and that there was no single cause.
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
So what do microwaves have to do with obesity?
However, while microwaves may be associated with obesity, they are clearly not the cause. As much as I would like to report another large negative for microwaves, it is clear that they are not responsible for the obesity epidemic.
No, that is far more likely related to the fact that the number one source of calories in the United States is the high fructose corn syrup in soda, along with the epidemic of inactivity that causes desensitization of insulin receptors.
Most Americans are simply exchanging convenience for their long-term health. Yes, it tastes good and can save money and time by eating convenience foods, but the price you pay will be decreased time on this planet and loads of unnecessary suffering from chronic disease and premature disability.I completely understand that microwaves clearly can be tempting devices for those looking to save some time in the kitchen. But aside from perhaps making it too easy to access heated-up junk food, microwaves can turn even healthy food into a nutritional nightmare by:
I haven't had a microwave in my kitchen for over 20 years. When I do cook my food (I eat a significant portion of it raw), it may take a bit longer to make a meal, but the knowledge that my food is nutritious (and still in its intended chemical structure) is well worth it.
For an easy alternative to microwave cooking please be sure and view Lucy Locke's recent video. You can also read How to Cook Whole Food From Scratch -- and Keep Your Day Job for additional insights.
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C Ed Wright - I like your posts a lot, but have real difficulty with this one. I read the article and researched it on the web. I cannot figure out what qualifications the authors have, only that it was originally copy-righted on The Christian Law Institute & Fellowship Assembly website which no longer exists. It has no formal references and only mentions non peer-reviewed publications in the text.I do not doubt microwaves have deleterious effects due to direct changes to biochemicals. However, there is no need to postulate an unproven "unnatural energy field imparted to the food". Chemical changes to the food are quite enough. As far as glimpsing this "unnatural energy field" by dropping a teabag in a microwave heated cup of water and observing the sudden energy release, that is a well-known phenomena called superheating which you can look up on the web to learn about. The conditions in a microwave oven are conducive to superheating, which allows the temperature to exceed 100ºC until nucleation of a steam bubble occurs, caused by disturbing the water. It is purely a thermally driven phenomena, and is very well understood.
Please understand that I do agree with you in that microwave ovens can and do harm biochemicals. Dr. Mercola has posted a peer-reviewed article to that effect, recently. However, that other article should not be cited as scientific, since it lacks peer-reviewed substantiation and relies to some degree on pseudo-scientific concepts.
I look forward to your future posts. Thanks.
Ed is 100% right! Why do people have trouble seeing the obvious! What are we a nation of idiots? Forget the “Popular article everyone has read” and use your God given head! Here it is once again in “Sandbox": How do you think the food or water is warmed? The molecules are vibrated and moved around at close to the speed of light! Do you think this doesn't causes molecular changes? Do you think molecularly corrupted food can't cause cancer and strange digestive functions as well as lots of other abnormal changes including obesity? Come on, this isn’t rocket science!
Ed, I agree with you that microwaving food is not the most healthful option. I find your statement, "Keep "the goy cattle" confused (per The Protocols -- still believe they're ‘fake’...!? DUH!!!])," troubling. "The Protocols" was anti-Semitic propaganda created by people who were really attempting to control the masses by encouraging hate and mistrust of an "other" to make that "other" a scapegoat. Instead of finger-pointing, "divide and conquer" and fear-mongering tactics that play exactly into how "THEY" (The Hegemony Enslaving You) want you to behave, let's instead redirect the energies of our fear and anger to "love thy neighbor" and work together to spread education about health, taking the responsibility of our health into our own hands and making healthy choices more convenient and accessible.
I posted this before but someone X’d it out! (I really think someone has it out for me on this site! Come on whoever you are-I love you all- we are all in this together!)
Well here it is again! I believe colon cancer and many other epidemics also started after we were eating microwaved food a lot!
Think about it! How do you think the food or water is warmed? The molecules are vibrated and moved around at close to the speed of light! Do you not think this causes molecular changes? Do you not think molecularly corrupted food can cause cancer and strange digestive functions as well as lots of other abnormal changes? Come on, this isn’t rocket science!