Microwave oven heating food carcinogen experts said there is no scientific basis

Recently, there was a news circulating on Weibo that long-term foods heated by microwave ovens could cause cancer. In addition, the microblog titled “Please stop using microwave oven immediately” also listed several other major hazards of microwave ovens, such as the loss of food nutrients, microwave radiation, and damage to the brain.

Although it sounds unbelievable, this microblogging has received people's attention and forwarded more than 20,000 times.

In this microblogging entitled "Please stop using the microwave oven immediately", several major "crimes" of the microwave oven are listed. One of the most frightening ones is that long-term microwave oven-treated food can cause cancer. In this regard, the famous environmental chemistry expert, food safety expert Dong Jinshi and many other experts said that the principle of microwave heating is that the use of food contains a certain amount of water, the frequency of electromagnetic waves generated by it is similar to the natural frequency of water molecules, in the role of resonance, food The inside releases a large amount of heat and heats it from the inside. Dong Jinshi said that there is no scientific basis for the concept of cancer.

Dong Jinshi: Heating food with microwaves has been used for many years at home and abroad. In principle, it does not cause cancer. The claim that microwave heating may cause cancer has no scientific basis in the scientific and technological community, and consumers need not panic.

The well-known popular science website Huiyao is also publishing an article on the “carcinogenic theory” of microwave ovens.

Shell Web science editor Yan Zhitao: Microwave heating will not cause cancer. In general, we are worried that the idea that microwave heating may cause cancer is that microwave heating can produce harmful substances. There is no scientific support for this. Including a widely-discovered article, a carcinogenic substance was mentioned. There is no official research article that found that this substance is related to microwave ovens.

Because microwaves are a form of radiation, many people naturally assume it can cause cancer. In this regard, Nguyen Zhitao said that although microwaves are electromagnetic waves, they are essentially the same as those used by radios and telegraphs, infrared rays, and visible light. Their difference is only in frequency. The frequency of microwaves is higher than that of radio waves and lower than that of infrared rays and visible rays. Radio and visible light do not cause cancer. Naturally, it is easy to understand that microwaves with a frequency between them will not cause cancer.

Zhai Zhitao: There are all kinds of radiation in everyday life. Radiation is divided into two types, one is ionizing radiation, which is harmful to the human body, and is more typical of radioactive materials such as X-rays and nuclear power plants. However, the radiation of microwave ovens is the same as the radiation of mobile phones, computers, and televisions. It belongs to non-ionizing radiation. The harm to human bodies is far less than that of ionizing radiation. They are all under the scope of safety to the human body. Every microwave oven is tested at the factory, and the leaked radiation has not reached the point where it is harmful to the human body. It is possible to sell it out of the absolute safety range.

Although microwave heating foods will not cause cancer, is it really safe to use a microwave oven? Zhai Zhitao said that scientists have done a lot of research for us and found the microwave power that has the least harm to the human body. In an intact microwave oven, the leaked microwave power is far from the human body. The U.S. regulation is that the power per square centimeter does not exceed 5 milliwatts at a distance of about 5 centimeters from the microwave oven; and the standard in our country is more stringent, at 1 milliwatt. Moreover, the microwave energy is reduced according to the square of the distance. If it is 1 milliwatt at 5 centimeters, it will be reduced to 1 milliwatt at 50 centimeters, which is no harm. At the same time, Min Zhitao also reminded everyone that when it comes to microwave heating, there are many safety factors to be aware of.

Zhai Zhitao: There are things that are not suitable for heating in microwave ovens, such as metal, eggs, baby food, and foods that are harsh on heating conditions. They cannot be heated by microwave ovens. This is not because the microwave oven itself is not good, but these foods have stricter requirements for heating temperature, and the microwave oven can easily overheat.

Many experts and scholars have said in an interview that there are rumours that microwave ovens “carcinogenically” “produce harmful substances”. Although it is difficult for microwave ovens to help us make delicious foods, the convenience and quickness it brings is a great advantage.