I often use a microwave to heat food for my children. Microwave ovens have been a source of health controversy for two very different reasons. Since one of these reasons is unrelated to food, I ll mention it first, but only briefly. Exposure to radiation leaked out of microwave ovens during use has been a first area of health controversy. If you want to measure leakage from your own microwave oven you ll need a microwave meter or a service person with one.
Microwave ovens emit two kinds of radiation.
The non-ionizing status of microwave radiation does not make it safe, but it does make it less likely to cause direct cellular damage through free radical formation, genetic alteration and other means. Although I have seen articles in the Journal of Microwave Power and Earthletter stating that microwave leakage can damage human tissue and alter body concentrations of vitamin C and glutathione, and I have no reason to doubt these possibilities, I have not seen research studies in indexed journals that demonstrate these effects. Keeping 5-10 feet away from an operating microwave oven can lower your ELF exposure. A second area of health controversy involves the effect of microwave radiation on food. Here the research findings are mixed.