What Doctors Don't Tell YouTen year old evidence, suppressed by the Swiss courts, shows that food from a microwave can cause worrying changes in your blood. More recent studies add to the mounting evidence that microwave ovens pose a hazard to your health.
In 1989, a Swiss food scientist called Dr Hans-Urich Hertel made some worrying discoveries about microwave ovens. Nevertheless, for more than a decade he has been fighting for the right to let the world know what he has found.
The point that he has been desperately trying to make public is vital to consumer interests: Any food eaten that has been cooked or defrosted in a microwave oven can cause changes in the blood indicative of a developing pathological process that is also found in cancer.
Nevertheless, for all this time, Hertel has been effectively gagged by the manufacturers of microwave ovens who have effectively used trade laws and the Swiss court to muzzle him even to threaten him with personal ruin.
In March 1993, the Canton of Bern Commercial Court, following a complaint filed by the Swiss Association of Dealers for Elec-troapparatuses for Households and Industry, prohibited Dr Hertel from publicly declaring or writing that microwave ovens were dangerous to health. Flouting the order could incur a fine of up to SF5000 or even land him up to a year in prison.
The Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne confirmed the verdict in 1994. The court based its verdict on the Swiss Law Against Unfair Competition, which prohibits “discriminating, untrue, misleading and unnecessarily harming statements against a supplier or his products” (J Nat Sci, 1998; 1: 2-7) a law that solely considers the inhibition of trade per se and not malicious intent.
That law effectively muzzles the Swiss press as well, as any statements which could be viewed as critical of microwave ovens could easily lead to litigation. The view of the Swiss on Dr Hertel’s findings are not shared by the rest of Europe. In August 1998, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the gag order issued by the Swiss courts against Dr Hertel was contrary to the right of freedom of expression. The European court also ordered Switzerland to pay a compensation of SF40,000.
Despite his victory, which is two years old, Dr Hertel is still waiting for the Swiss courts to reverse their earlier decision and lift a SF8000 fine against him. In the meantime, his explosive discoveries are being corroborated by evidence cropping up here and there all over the world.
Hertel’s research
Eleven years ago, Dr Hertel, a food scientist who had worked for several years for one of the international Swiss food companies, joined forces with Professor Bernard Blanc of the Federal Institute of Technology to conduct an extensive research programme on the effects of microwaved food on humans. Although the programme was turned down by the Swiss National Fund, the two scientists decided to fund a smaller research programme themselves.
They selected eight people from the Macrobiotic Institute at Kientel in Switzerland, all, including Hertel himself, adherents to strict macrobiotic diets to minimise the presence of confounding elements affecting blood measures. Except for Hertel, who was 64 at the time, all were aged between 20 and 40.
As Hertel told WDDTY: “We all lived in the same hotel for eight weeks and there was no smoking, no alcohol and no sex.” At intervals of two to five days, the volunteers received one of eight possible food sources on an empty stomach: raw milk from a biofarm; the same milk conventionally cooked; the same raw milk cooked in a microwave oven; pasteurised milk from conventional sources; raw vegetables from an organic farm; the same vegetables cooked conventionally; the same vegetables frozen and defrosted in a microwave; and the same vegetables cooked in a microwave.
Blood samples were taken from each volunteer immediately before eating, then at specified intervals after eating the above preparations.
Significant changes were observed in the blood of those who had consumed microwaved food, which included a reduction in all haemoglobin and cholesterol values, both
the high density lipoproteins (‘good’ cholesterol) and low density lipoproteins (‘bad’ cholesterol). (Nexus, 1995; April/May: 25-7).
Lymphocytes (white blood cells) showed a more noticeable short term decrease after the ingestion of microwaved food than after the intake of the other foods. In addition, Hertel discovered a strongly significant association between the amount of microwave energy in the test foods and the brightness of those bacteria which light up (when looked at under a special light) on exposure to blood from those who’d eaten the food. Hertel concluded that such energy may be passed to those eating microwaved food.
Besides these effects of microwave heating of food, Hertel also noted non thermal effects which, he claims, alter the cell membrane’s permeability by changing the electric potentials between the outer and inner sides of the cell. The damaged cells then become easy prey to viruses, fungi and other microorganisms.
The natural repair mechanisms of cells are also disturbed, which eventually forces cells to respond to a ‘state of emergency’ energy supply by switching from aerobic (oxygen based) to anaerobic (no oxygen) respiration. Instead of producing water and carbon dioxide, they produce hydrogen peroxide and carbon monoxide. In such a situation, Hertel asserts, cells revert from ‘healthy oxidation’ to an unhealthy ‘fermentation’ process of energy generation.
Hertel goes on to state that when food is microwaved, the oven exerts a power input of about 1000 watts or more. The resulting destruction and deformation of food molecules produces new compounds called ‘radiolytic’ compounds, unknown in nature. The current received wisdom in scientific circles is that microwaved and other irradiated food does not contain significantly higher levels of radiolytic compounds than that cooked conventionally, but Hertel’s results suggest the contrary.
Blood analyses from the participants also confirmed that all was not well in those eating microwaved food. Samples taken at 7.45 each morning, at 15 minutes after food intake and two hours later showed that erythrocyte, haemoglobin, haematocrit and leucocyte measures were all at the lower limits of normal in those eating the microwaved food.
These results are akin to those of individuals with a tendency towards anaemia; the results were more pronounced and statistically significant in the second month of the study. Furthermore, as these values decreased, blood cholesterol levels correspondingly increased.
It is not hard to see why the publication of such results in 1992 might produce a furore in Switzerland. Nevertheless, the reaction of the Swiss authorities and industry which took him to Court and convicted him under their Unfair Competition law remains a shameful chapter in Swiss history. Such was the pressure on Professor Blanc that he felt forced to publicly dissociate himself from the interpretation given in their joint report shortly after publication. Privately, he admitted to Dr Hertel that he feared for the safety of his family (J Nat Sci, 1998; 1: 2-7).
Despite attempts to shut him up publicly, Dr Hertel’s research remains available to the public outside of Switzerland through the post or his website (copies available from The World Foundation for Natural Science, Box 632, CH-3000, Bern, Switzerland, tel: 0041 33 438 1158; fax: 437 4816. Website: http://www.wffns.org).
Russians ban microwave ovens
After World War II, the Russians also experimented with microwave ovens. From 1957 up to recently, their research has been carried out mainly at the Institute of Radio Technology at Klinsk, Byelorussia. According to US researcher William Kopp, who gathered much of the results of Russian and German research and was apparently persecuted for doing so (J Nat Sci, 1998; 1: 42-3) the following effects were observed by Russian forensic teams:
Heating prepared meats in a microwave sufficiently for human consumption created:
D-Nitrosodiethanolamine (a well known cancer causing agent)
Destabilisation of active protein biomolecular compounds
Creation of a binding effect to radioactivity in the atmosphere
Creation of cancer causing agents within protein hydrolysate compounds in milk and cereal grains;
Microwave emissions also caused alteration in the catabolic (breakdown) behaviour of glucoside and galactoside elements within frozen fruits when thawed in this way;
Microwaves altered catabolic behaviour of plant alkaloids when raw, cooked or frozen vegetables were exposed for even very short periods;
Cancer causing free radicals were formed within certain trace mineral molecular formations in plant substances, especially in raw root vegetables;
Ingestion of microwaved foods caused a higher percentage of cancerous cells in blood;
Due to chemical alterations within food substances, malfunctions occurred in the lymphatic system, causing degeneration of the immune system’s capacity to protect itself against cancerous growth;
The unstable catabolism of microwaved foods altered their elemental food substances, leading to disorders in the digestive system;
Those ingesting microwaved foods showed a statistically higher incidence of stomach and intestinal cancers, plus a general degeneration of peripheral cellular tissues with a gradual breakdown of digestive and excretory system function;
Microwave exposure caused significant decreases in the nutritional value of all foods studied,
particularly:
A decrease in the bioavailability of B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotrophics
Destruction of the nutritional value of nucleoproteins in meats
Lowering of the metabolic activity of alkaloids, glucosides, galactosides and nitrilosides (all basic plant substances in fruits and vegetables)
Marked acceleration of structural disintegration in all foods (Perceptions, 1996; May/June:30-3).
As a result, microwave ovens were banned in Russia in 1976; the ban was lifted after Perestroika.
Recent research
While some of the above findings remain to be replicated, other research in Britain and the US has unearthed other possible hazards. In 1990 at the University of Leeds, two scientists in the Department of Medical Microbiology studied the uneven heating that can be caused by microwave ovens. They found that the salt content in a specified portion of mashed potatoes influenced its inside temperature the greater the salt content, the lower the temperature.
The authors concluded that “the poor penetration of microwaves into the test food with high ionic concentrations may result from the induction of electrical/ionic flow in the surface of the food. This would also explain why commercial food heated in microwaves commonly boils on the surface but is cool on the inside” (Nature, 1990; 344: 496).
A case was reported in 1991 of a patient in hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who died of anaphylaxis after receiving a transfusion of blood which had been warmed in a microwave oven. The irradiation appears to have altered the blood in some way and caused the patient’s death (J Nat Sci, 1998; 1: 2-7).
In August 1989, British Government research showed that Listeria and other potentially fatal bacteria can survive in microwave cooked food, even if instructions are followed (Food Business, 1989; 20: 12).
Other US research has shown that the practice of reheating leftover food in a microwave is potentially dangerous. Researchers investigating an outbreak of Salmonella among those attending a picnic in 1992 discovered that, of 30 people who took home leftover meat, all ten who used a microwave became ill. None of the ten persons who used a conventional oven or skillet to reheat the pork became ill.
The researchers concluded that, compared with conventional methods of reheating food, microwave ovens offered no preventative protection from illness (Am J Epidemiol, 1994; 139: 903-9).
Not all evidence has been negative. Scientists at a nutrition and food research institute in Zeist, The Netherlands, carried out a 13 week study of the effects of microwaved food on the blood chemistry and other health indicators in rats and apparently found no adverse effects (Food Chem Toxic, 1995; 33: 245-56). Nevertheless, these were animal studies and may not necessarily apply to human health.
Beware additives leaking
Another problem with microwaved food is that it is low in colour and flavour compared with conventionally cooked food, expecially in foods containing pastry. This has encouraged the development of microwavable food additives to artificially produce the colours and flavours consumers have come to expect. As Australian academics Ashton and Laura state in their strongly recommended book The Perils of Progress (Zed Books, London, 1999):
“An example of one new type of flavour producing technology designed for use in microwave ovens is susceptors. These devices are usually glued to the packaging of microwavable foods and are used to achieve local areas of high temperature. This has the effect of browning the food during microwave cooking. A subtle side effect of some of the pre 1992 susceptor devices involved the release of small amounts of a toxic chemical, bisphenol-A-diglycidyl ether (BADGE), into the food during microwaving. BADGE was a component of the cold cure adhesive used to fix susceptors to packaging.”
The authors cite a 1992 study of 52 samples of pizza in which nine samples of susceptors used in one brand contained BADGE at concentrations between 0.2-0.3 per cent. The chemical was found to migrate into the pizza when they were cooked in their packaging according to the instructions (Food Additives and Contaminants, 1995; 1: 779-87).
Other research has shown that a large number of chemicals are released from susceptors packed together with foods such as pizzas, waffles and French fries intended for a microwave. One study identified 44 different volatile chemicals, including the carcinogen benzene (AOAC Int 1993; 76: 1268-75). Another toxic chemical observed to migrate from packaging into food when microwaved is benzophenone, a component of the ink on the printed paperboard (Food Add Contam, 1994; 11: 231-40).
Bread and breakfast cereals are often sold in waxed bags for easy heating in a microwave. However, a recent study showed that following the instructions on the packaging resulted in 60 per cent of the wax being transferred to the food (Food Add Contam, 1994; 11: 79-89).
The PVC plastic films that cover food during microwave cooking have been found to release plasticisers into the food to such a degree that a 1996 study recommended that PVC should not be used in direct contact with food during cooking (AB Badeka , MG Kontominas, 1996; cited in Ashton and Laura, 1999, page 68).
The message seems clear. Don’t cook food in a microwave oven, especially for children, unless there is a genuine need for urgency. Resist the slick and misleading advertising offering the ‘quick fix’ for your ‘busy life’. Realise that the body requires wholesome food prepared in as wholesome a way possible to function optimally. To the degree that you consume less than wholesome food, your body organs and processes will be adversely affected, leading to degeneration and disease. Treat your body like a Rolls Royce not a waste disposal bin.
Simon Best
Simon Best edits and produces the quarterly news report Electromagnetic Hazard & Therapy. SAE to: Box 2039, Shoreham, W Sussex BN43 5JD, or see Website:
HYPERLINK http://www.perspective. co.uk
E-mail: simon@best89.freeserve.co.uk
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD
