Microwaves and cancer?

But... I totally forgot that every single time I drop a spoon into my cereal, I’m basically getting a hit of steel... and iron... and zinc too...

And just one more thing for those who aren't quite sure about this:

A microwave oven is NOT radioactive. That means the electromagnetic (EM) waves aren't sitting anywhere near the UV, X-ray, or Gamma spectrum; instead, they operate at roughly 2.5GHz, which simply isn't enough energy to tear apart atomic bonds.

banderas said:Don't tell me there isn't any—milk's got iron, steel, you name it—but if you toss it in the microwave, there won't be anything left after that.🤣
It’s common knowledge that microwaves disintegrate iron, which is why you shouldn't put iron in a microwave.🤣

LOL... that is hands down the dumbest thing I've ever heard!!! Microwaves disintegrate iron... Ha hahahahah

You don't put metal in the microwave because it heats up to insane temperatures in a matter of seconds. That's it. It doesn't "disintegrate" things. This isn't a nuclear reactor; it's just a standard kitchen appliance.
Besides, microwaves are everywhere. Radar beams are basically microwave radiation. The waves carrying signals to your smartphone? Also microwave radiation. By your logic, there wouldn't be a single piece of metal left on the planet.

placidfalcon said:Look, I don't have the time to read through everything you just wrote right now (though I'm glad I gave you a laugh)
The whole point is that I was sharing my own bad experience with using microwaves all the time, which is something I later looked up online. There are tons of different studies on the internet about the potential risks of microwave use, so if anyone's interested, go ahead and do some digging.
Best,

So, you’ve got plenty of time to read up on nonsense regarding how microwaves are dangerous, but suddenly you're too busy to read actual Science? Just endless rambling at that point... 😬

Brandon Thomas89 said:LOL... this is hands down the stupidest thing I've ever heard!!! Microwaves disintegrate iron... Ha hahahahah

Yeah, they do. Sorry. Actually, iron in a microwave turns into Pac-Man and just eats all the metal. You're straight up lying.

Brandon Thomas89 said:LOL... this is hands down the dumbest thing I've ever heard!!! Microwaves disintegrating iron... Ha hahahahah

Professor Brandon Thomas89, did we just forget to bring our sense of humor to work today? 😁

Banderas is just messing around, and you're out here acting all serious on him... man, just take a deep breath! 🙂

Brandon Thomas89 said:Look, you’ve got plenty of time to read all the nonsense about microwaves being dangerous, but you can’t be bothered to actually look at the Science, just endless streams of garbage... 😬

And what "scientific facts" can you point to right now that guarantee you won't get cancer? I know people who stuck to a strict macrobiotic diet for years and still ended up sick.
At the end of the day, you just have to trust your gut and learn from your own experiences, or what others go through.

Here’s the first thing that popped up on Google regarding microwave risks (in English); there are tons of sites out there talking about this.
Cheers

http://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html

placidfalcon said:What actual Science facts can you point to today that guarantee you won't get cancer? I mean, there are plenty of cases where people stick to a macrobiotic diet for years and still end up getting it.
I guess you just have to trust your gut and learn from your own mistakes—and everyone else's too.

This was basically the first thing that popped up when I Googled microwave radiation risks (in English), and honestly, there are tons of sites all over the web talking about this.
later

http://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html

So why don't you tell us how you ended up with an iron deficiency just because you drank milk heated in a microwave...

I mean, I drink a fair amount of it, so maybe I should worry that the iron in my milk is gonna leach the calcium right out of my teeth or bones.😉

Brandon Thomas89 said:Look, you've got all the time in the world to read nonsense about how microwaves are dangerous, but zero time to actually look at the Science. Just endless, mindless chatter. 😬

I've got a question that needs some explaining. I read online that microwaves actually change the molecular makeup of whatever you're heating—like water, for instance. I even ran a little experiment to test it out:

Picked up 10 little violet seedlings at the nursery. Split them into two groups of five. One group gets straight tap water. The other gets water I microwaved for five minutes then let cool down. Seven days later and the results are already showing.
The first batch—just tap water—looked totally fresh, obviously.
The second batch—microwaved water that was supposed to be chilled—turned out totally limp and flat.

Since I spend my weekends messing around with horticulture at my place out in the suburbs, I made sure to give all my plants the exact same setup—full sun, wind protection, everything—just to kill off any known variables. The only thing I changed was the water.

Three weeks in and I used microwave water on that group. Now everything’s dead. Total washout.
The group watered with tap water kept growing just fine.

Someone please explain what actually happened here and why the water turned toxic enough to kill off the plants...

placidfalcon said:There are cases where people follow a macrobiotic diet for years and still end up getting it.

Even modern medicine can't pinpoint cancer causes with total certainty... we know there's a genetic predisposition, sure, but that doesn't mean every descendant is doomed to get a tumor!
Take tar, for example—it causes lung cancer. But the percentage of susceptibility is basically the same for smokers and non-smokers. Why? Because non-smokers spend half their lives as passive smokers. You can't isolate smoking as the sole cause of lung cancer, otherwise how would you explain the cases in rural areas of Montana where people have never touched a cigarette?

Microwaves might cause tumors, but only through direct contact with an organ... which is impossible with a microwave. I already said this in my last post!
I don't think microwaving food is good, but I have no clue how much it actually harms humans. I do know it's devastating for plants, though...

I'm running the same experiment right now (see my previous post) using a boxwood plant. It's incredibly hardy and survives drought or pretty much any hardship... so, we'll see!

wiredmarlin20 said:I’ve got a question that needs some explaining... I read online that microwaves actually change the molecular makeup of whatever they're heating—like water. I even ran a little experiment:

I picked up 10 small violet seedlings from a garden center and split them into two groups of five. One group got regular tap water, while the other got water that had been nuked in the microwave for 5 minutes and then cooled down... after just 7 days, the results were already showing...
...the first group (tap water) looked totally fine, nice and fresh...
...the second group (cooled microwave water) looked wilted and limp...

Since I dabble in horticulture at my weekend cabin, I made sure all the plants had identical conditions—same sunlight, same wind protection—to rule out any known variables... the only difference was the water...

By the third week, the group watered with the microwave stuff had completely dried up, every single plant...
The tap water group kept growing normally...

Can someone explain why this happened and what exactly happens to water to make it toxic for plants?

So, the experiment wasn't exactly airtight. One batch of water was heated to 100°C, and the other wasn't. To do this right, you'd need to heat one batch in the microwave and the other on a stovetop, cool them both down, and then hit the plants with them.

placidfalcon said:What "scientific facts" can you actually point to that guarantee you won't get cancer? I know plenty of people who stuck to a strict macrobiotic diet for years and still ended up sick.
At the end of the day, you just have to trust your gut and learn from your own mistakes—and everyone else's too.

Here’s the first thing that popped up when I Googled microwave radiation (in English); there are tons of sites out there talking about this.
Best,

http://www.cancersalves.com/articles/Microwave.html

Look, you can find anything on Google. You can find junk about microwave dangers, life on Mars, the benefits of weed, or even the merits of ecstasy... Just because it's online doesn't make it a reliable source of Science. If you had sent me a link to an article in Nature or Science, we'd be having a different conversation.

Brandon Thomas89 said:LOL... this is hands down the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Microwaves disintegrating iron? Give me a break.

Don't put metal in the microwave. It’s not because you're going to trigger some catastrophic disintegration event—this isn't a nuclear reactor at a power plant. It's just a standard kitchen appliance. Metal heats up to extreme temperatures in a matter of seconds. That's the whole story.
Besides, microwaves are everywhere. Radar beams are just microwave radiation. The waves carrying signals to your cell phone? Also microwave radiation. If we followed your logic to its natural conclusion, there wouldn't be a single piece of metal left on the planet.

So, you really don't get sarcasm, do you? Even when the original post is practically covered in emojis just so nobody mistakes it for something serious.
😵

Brandon Thomas89 said:Look, the experiment was flawed. One water source was heated to 100°C while the other wasn't. He needs to redo it—heat one in a microwave, the other on a stove, let them both cool down, then water the plants.

Both waters were cold...

I'll redo it!
Setting up three groups of three plants each:

a) Group one - distilled (won't matter much, doesn't kill them, just slows growth)
b) Group two - water from the oven (cooled down from about 100°C)
c) Group three - water from the microwave (same as b)

In 2-3 weeks, I'll see results. Might even prove which water kills the plant and which doesn't... depends on the species, obviously...

wiredmarlin20 said:Both waters were cold...

Time to run the experiment again!
I’m setting up three groups with three plants each:

a) Group one—distilled water (won't really matter since distilled doesn't kill them, it just stunts growth)
b) Group two—water boiled in an oven (obviously cooled down from about 212°F)
c) Group three—water heated in the microwave (same deal as group B)

In two or three weeks, I should see some results, if not figure out which water actually kills the plant and which doesn't... though obviously, it depends on the species...

It doesn't matter if they were cold. One was thermally treated and the other wasn't. 👍

banderas said:So, you're really struggling with sarcasm, aren't you? Even when the original post had emojis just so nobody would take
seriously. 😵

Sorry, I missed the emojis... My deepest apologies. 😘

Brandon Thomas89 said:Doesn't matter if they were cold. One water was heat-treated and the other wasn't. 👍

True, we gotta rule out thermal processing as the culprit. Let's heat both leads to the same temp using different methods—microwave vs. oven.

Thanks...

Brandon Thomas89 said:You can find anything on Google. Whether it's about microwave radiation, life on Mars, or the benefits of marijuana and ecstasy... just because it's online doesn't mean it's a reliable scientific fact. If you'd actually given me a link to an article in Nature or Science...

Look, it’s stupid to assume everything in life has been mapped out and proven by science. I’m telling you, I had a bad experience using my microwave way too much—multiple times a day—and my iron levels tanked so hard I couldn't even donate blood for the first time in years. Once I cut back to just a few times a week, things leveled out. I've read about other people having similar issues, too. (And that story about the woman who died after being given warmed blood via IV instead of a standard drip? I'm pretty sure that's legit, since you see it mentioned all over the place.) My takeaway was simple: using that thing too often isn't smart for me, so I don't. We aren't all built the same, and different things might affect us differently. Peace.

Man, you definitely read some garbage on Reddit if you think heating up an IV in a microwave is a thing.

I mean, I don't even get why anyone would even want to heat up an infusion in the first place?

To keep going... you're as stubborn as hell, I swear...
So tell me then, if you're so right, why aren't we seeing some massive anemia epidemic right now when half the population is out here heating up their milk in microwaves?