Let's Settle This: Is Microwaving Plastics Ever Safe?

MicrowaveThough we aren’t quite sure yet what the effects of microplastics – tiny pieces of plastic that work their way into our bodies through, well, pretty much everything – are, scientists have been looking into their potential effects on our health. Some think the credit-card-sized amount we ingest a week could be linked to heart conditions, certain cancers, and strokes.While Kara Meister, an assistant professor of otolaryngology, tells Stanford, “Just because you have a little plastic in you doesn’t necessarily mean doomsday,” multiple experts still recommend limiting your exposure. Some research suggests that one simple way to do that involves your microwave. So, we thought we’d look at what the pros think.It’s all to do with packagingIn a 2023 paper, researchers tested plastic containers of both “slightly acidic” (3% acetic acid) solution, meant to mimic food, and water. They found that after ten days in either the fridge or at room temperature, “millions to billions” of nano and micro-plastics were released in both containers. But microwaving ramped those numbers way up.“The results indicated that microwave heating caused the highest release of microplastics and nanoplastics into food compared to other usage scenarios, such as refrigeration or room-temperature storage,” the researchers found.Within three minutes of microwaving, some containers released “as many as 4.22 million microplastic and 2.11 billion nanoplastic particles from only one square centimetre of plastic area.” So... what should I do? Again, we aren’t definite about how micro and non-plastics affect us. There’s a lot of debate among scientists. But writing for the American Journal Of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of the publication, Dr Joseph Alpert, and Professor of Pharmacology Dr Qin Chen shared their thoughts, having reviewed the literature.“In our home, we transfer food from plastic packages into glass or terracotta bowls before placing them into the microwave oven,” they write.“We never put any plastic containers in our microwave device to warm the food. Perhaps this is being a bit too cautious, but the extra effort is minimal.” In other words, the jury’s still out on whether and how much micro and nano-plastics actually hurt us; but for the sake of about 20 seconds’ work, why not be on the safe side?Related...The Only 3 Cooking Oils Mary Berry Says We NeedThe Secret Step Italians Use Before Cooking Gnocchi Makes Them 'Melt In The Mouth'We’ve All Been Cooking Potato Waffles Wrong — Here's How Birds Eye Does It

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