Microwave Cooking is Radiation and Makes Food Poisonous

Not to worry. Yes, microwave ovens use radiation to heat your food, but not the dangerous kind of radiation. Microwave ovens are perfectly safe.

Microwave Ovens do Use Radiation to Cook, But...

Microwaves are radiation, but not the ionizing kind of radiation that makes food radioactive, damages your DNA, or causes cancer. Microwave radiation is non-ionizing radiation just like the light from the sun, the warmth from a cozy fire, or the signal that brings you cell phone calls. A microwave oven does not make food radioactive. It simply heats food from the inside out by exciting water molecules, and the oven is designed so the radiation stays contained while the oven runs.

What is Ionizing Radiation?

Radiation is called ionizing when it has enough energy to cause damage to molecules such as DNA. The x-rays that your doctor and dentist use are a good example. They are strong enough to penetrate your body and create a diagnostic image, but if overdone they can also cause damage to cells and tissue. This is why you are often given a heavy apron to wear when having an X-ray exam. The apron stops the x-rays and prevents the parts of your body that aren't being examined from receiving the x-ray radiation. Because microwave radiation is much lower energy it cannot cause damage to tissue and molecules beyond heating.