The great iScot Microwave Bake-off

by Fiona Nicholson, Science Writer

Christmas is in sight and in many families, the chef will be planning the festive fare. At this busy time the humble microwave oven comes into its own, in the kitchens of more than 86% of Scottish households, according to Scottish Government figures for household energy use, published in 2006.

Until the 1990s, there was much debate on the dangers of non-ionising radiation produced by microwave ovens and other devices such as mobile phones. However, CancerResearch UK informs us that to date, research studies on links between microwaves and cancer are inconclusive, and by the end of the 1990s the debate fizzled out. This seems in part to be due to a gagging order being placed on the results of a study by Swiss scientist, Hans Hertel, who worked with a global food processing company.

Hertel, and Bernard H Blane, a scientist employed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University Institute for biochemistry, conducted a small but controlled study on the effects of microwaved nutrients on human physiology and haematology. They found significant changes in the blood of study participants who had eaten microwaved foods. These changes included a decrease in haemoglobin, the molecule which carries vital oxygen in the blood, and carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, toxic waste products which we excrete from the lungs. HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol was also decreased and there were fewer of the infectionfighting white blood cells, suggesting compromise of the immune system.