The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking

[snopes]

Comment: I'm pretty sure this is bogus, but decided to check it . . .

http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards.htm

[Tootsie Plunkette]

The purpose of this report is to show proof - evidence - that microwave cooking is not natural...

I'm shocked! I thought that's how the lions of the Serengeti warmed their morning coffee each day.

[Nick Theodorakis]

From the article:

"Microwaving baby formulas converted certain trans-amino acids into their synthetic cis-isomers. Synthetic isomers, whether cis-amino acids or trans-fatty acids, are not biologically active.

Further, one of the amino acids, L-proline, was converted to its d-isomer, which is known to be neurotoxic (poisonous to the nervous system) and nephrotoxic (poisonous to the kidneys). It's bad enough that many babies are not nursed, but now they are given fake milk (baby formula) made even more toxic via microwaving."

First of all, there are no such things as trans- or cis-amino acids. (Perhaps L- or D- amino acids were meant? In any case, prolyl peptide bonds, but not free proline, within a protein can assume a cis- or trans configuration, and there is an enzyme that regulates this)

Second of all, D-amino acids, icluding proline, can and do exist naturally in organisms at various levels. See this abstract (not written in the best English, but far better than my Japanese):

Life Sci. 2006 Mar 6;78(15):1677-81. Epub 2006 Feb 9.

The presence of high concentrations of free D-amino acids in human saliva.

Nagata Y, Higashi M, Ishii Y, Sano H, Tanigawa M, Nagata K, Noguchi K, Urade M.

Department of Materials and Applied Chemistry, College of Science and
Technology, Nihon University, Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 101-8308,
Japan.

Free neutral D-amino acids have previously been detected in human plasma, usually accounting for less than 2% of the total free amino acid concentration (D-amino acid ratio) ... In the present study to search for the source of free D-amino acids, D- and L-enantiomers of the major non-essential amino acids, i.e., the free form of serine, alanine, proline, aspartate and glutamate were analyzed by HPLC in human saliva, submandibular glands and oral epithelial cells. The D-enantiomer ratios to total of free alanine or proline were 35% and 20%, respectively, in saliva. [emphasis mine-NT] The ratios of the other D-amino acids were less than 11%. The effect of ingested food and oral bacteria on the saliva amino acid levels was suggested to be insignificant. D-Alanine and d-aspartate were also detected in the submandibular gland in ratios up to 5%, and D-alanine and d-proline were found in oral epithelial cells in ratios of 18% and 5%, respectively. The submandibular gland and oral epithelial cells are suggested to be possible sources of the saliva D-alanine and D-aspartate.

[geminilee]

The purpose of this report is to show proof - evidence - that microwave cooking is not natural...

Isn't that the case wiith any sort of cooking at all?
And didn't we have this a while ago? Or is this just a common theme?

My boyfriend mircowaves eggs.

[Sebbenth]

What a load of bull. Not a single credible source in a peer-reviewed journal; not even an understanding of what is going on. I would really like if someone could explain a horrific difference between "pulsing direct current" and "alternating current", since alternating, pretty much, stands for "pulsing", and "current" - for "direct current".

The only true part about the article is where it quotes that microwaving fluids doesn't produce uniformely equal temperature and may lead to all kind of side effects, so microwaving liquids for the sake of reaching uniform temperature should be executed with caution. The rest is just mumbo-jumbo about molecules "changing" under microwave radiation (anyone who ever fried or boiled an egg can testify that the molecules in yolk also slightly change) and, the worst part, the whole body "electrochemistry". The latter just quotes a bunch of tin-foil books, quack journals, a study with eight (!!!) test subject and some mysterious Russian experiments. OK, if you claim those experiments exist, why not tell us who told you about them? I can check, you know...

[Wicked Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by o4o3o4

My boyfriend mircowaves eggs.

So do I. No burnt eggs while I multitask.