There are a slew of different methods to reduce the nutritional value of the food you consume, which in turn, have a ripple effect on your health. That said, according Ed Bauman, PH.D. in “Studies Show Microwaves Drastically Reduce Nutrients In Food" published on Green Med Info, no method comes close to destroying the nutritional value in your food.

The days of patiently preparing or warming food using an oven or stove are long gone and have been replaced by using a microwave. The reasons behind this shift are a no-brainer: convenience and time-saving.

While it is hugely convenient, microwaving your food leaves it tasteless, bland, and tough in texture which makes it rubber-esque and often lacking in its original aroma. Worse still, it distortsthe balance of ingredients and the different flavours therein which would otherwise be present if the meal was prepared by using a stove or oven.

“Foods cooked or reheated in microwave ovens became rubbery and lacked the savoury smells and layered flavours that come from cooking foods slower and longer", says Dr Ed Bauman.

There has been an unsettling lie peddled by the stakeholders in the food industry which claims that microwaving your food doesn’t affect its nutritional value. However, different studies show that microwaved food loses beneficial components of food such as vitamins, fatty acids amino acids and phytonutrients. All these studies show a degree of depletion of the nutritional value of food.

Studies that Show Depletion of Nutrients in Food Microwaved

A study published by the University of Texas Review in 2008 concluded that 40% of minerals and proteins found in fresh food are depleted when microwaved.

Another study published by the Journal of Nutrition in 2001, concluded that exposure of garlic to microwave energy for as little as a minute deactivates allinase. Allinase is thermos-labile enzyme the most potent bioactive compound that fights and checks the spread of cancer.

CEBAS CSICpublished a research in 2003 showed that microwaved broccoli was depleted of 97% of its antioxidants and other important phenolic compounds and glucosinolates. Glucosinolates are packed with fiber, minerals and vitamins that aid in preventing lifestyle diseases such as cancer. The research also showed that steamed broccoli contains 89% of antioxidants.

There are other non-thermal effects include the unfolding of proteins which have an affinity to bind to chaperones as they unfold. This study was published by the University of Sydney in 2008. It compared heating food using the conventional method of using ambient heat to that of a microwave.

Most people opt to put the microwave the food indirectly by putting it in a plastic container. This method too has its disadvantages. Toxins such as polyethylene terephthalate, toluene, benzene and xylene are commonly found in plastics. Food with fat will release carcinogens and other toxins when heated using a microwave.

The solution to avoiding the side-effects of heating food by using a microwave is simply using the conventional means of a stove or an oven.To get the most out of dairy products such as cheese and milk, consume them raw.