Convenience once was the only reason people used microwave ovens. Today scientists are finding that cooking with electromagnetic waves also may offer a health advantage.
In nearly 10 years of research, Gertrude Armbruster, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, has found that when certain foods are microwaved they remain more nutritious than foods that are boiled, baked, grilled or even steamed on conventional stovetops and ovens.
Vegetables microwaved in a teaspoon of water a serving, for example, retain up to 100 percent of their vitamin content. The same vegetables retain only 40 to 60 percent of their nutrients when boiled. In boiling and steaming, soluble nutrients escape.
Armbruster also has found that microwave-cooked meats contain higher levels of protein than baked, broiled or grilled meats. The explanation is that electromagnetic waves don’t brown food. Browning develops rich flavors, but it binds protein in a way that prevents absorption in the digestive tract.
Other advantages include the microwave oven’s quick defrosting time, which allows less time for nutrients to break down. And because no oil or butter is required to prepare food in a microwave, it also may help reduce fat.
Convenient though it is, Armbruster says that the outcome is not always satisfying. A microwaved potato does not have the same appeal as an oven-baked potato, she says. But with health in mind, the nutritional advantage adds incentive to heat more than just leftovers.
