Does microwaved water kill plants?

Do microwaves poison food? One Marshall Dudley posted the results of what was supposedly a granddaughter's science project, in which the kid watered two plants (geraniums? the leaves on the clippings look different from the plantings). One sprout sipped microwaved water while the other got stove-boiled water--after it chilled, I assume. It's not a double-blind study, peer-reviewed in Nature. Yet one glance at the results are enough to make any microwave-wary folks gulp. Dudley followed up:

We have seen a number of comments on this, such as what was the water in the microwave boiled in. The thinking is that maybe some leaching took place if it was in plastic.  It was boiled in a plastic cup, so this could be a possibility.

Yeah, everyone says that plastic is safe, and microwaves don't cause cancer (although popcorn bags definitely leach teflon into your munchies). But does nuking food and water make it less healthy for living things, if not deadly? Was this a case of radiation sickness or plastic poisoning, was this test too sloppy to tell, or is it a hoax?

technorati tags: radiation environment health microwave

Comments

[Samuel]

I have been working on an experiment after I saw some shocking photos on a site called execonn the url for the site is http://www.execonn.com/sf/ so I decided to try the experiment myself.
I was surprised to find that the results were in fact the opposite so I went to a few forum sites and found that their was already forums started where I found some good sites some of which there are quotes below

(As you can tell my favorite is the greener side)

“We have seen a number of comments on this, such as what was the water in the microwave boiled in. The thinking is that maybe some leaching took place if it was in plastic. It was boiled in a plastic cup, so this could be a possibility.”

Dudley from the greener side

“It plain to see that leaves were cut off. It is possible that every plant may behave differently, but this was not killed with microwaved water. In fact, there is no record of plant or man killed by microwaved water/food. Looking at your TV/monitor gives you more radiation than food that was once in the microwave ( even if it is LCD ) and I did my own experiment. I brought water to a boil andOk.. I have been saying this for a long long long time.. anyone who knows me knows I never eat microwaved food... it not something I read somewhere its something that made sense when I thought about it.. Im probably going to live longer than all you 'suckas'. seriously when I go to restaurants I ask if anything is microwaved, if it is I dont eat it, I eat my left overs cold when Im too lazy to warm it on the stove, it might not be nice and warm but it wont be all nasty nuked microwaved and slimy.. see, I told all of you.. and it took a little girl and her science project to bring attention to it boiled it for six minutes each time I needed to water my geraniums. I then cooled the water to room temperature and then only watered one particular pot with the microwaved water. The plants in that particular pot actually look better than the rest, probably because it gets a little more shade.”

Aaron from the greener side

I found a different site where I found a conflicting opinion on the matter they got the person who originally did the experiment to answer a question and his answer dug him a deeper hole here is his response

We have seen a number of comments on this, such as what was the water in the microwave boiled in. The thinking is that maybe some leaching took place if it was in plastic. It was boiled in a plastic cup, so this could be a possibility. Also it was not a double blind experiment, so she knew which was which when watering them. On top of that she was wanting the microwaved ones to do poorly, and although most scientists would dismiss the idea, it is possible that her thoughts toward each plant had an effect as well. Bottom line is, the results are interesting, and duplicate the results that others have reported (try Googling '"microwaved water" plants') more experiments need to be done with better controls and as a double blind study. But this was a simple 6th grade science fair project, and was never intended to be anything more than that. The plants were genetically identical, they were produced from graphs from the same parent plant, so that variable can be eliminated.

Yes but that crates a whole new problem with the experiment graphs will die a lot eseyer than Evan diseased plants. For me that ends it

[aaron]

hi

[koll]

As it was said above, it plain to see that leaves were cut off. It is possible that every plant may behave differently, but this was not killed with microwaved water. In fact, there is no record of plant or man killed by microwaved water/food. Looking at your TV/monitor gives you more radiation than food that was once in the microwave ( even if it is LCD ) and I did my own experiment. I brought water to a boil andOk.. I have been saying this for a long long long time.. anyone who knows me knows I never eat microwaved food... it not something I read somewhere its something that made sense when I thought about it.. Im probably going to live longer than all you 'suckas'. seriously when I go to restaurants I ask if anything is microwaved, if it is I dont eat it, I eat my left overs cold when Im too lazy to warm it on the stove, it might not be nice and warm but it wont be all nasty nuked microwaved and slimy.. see, I told all of you.. and it took a little girl and her science project to bring attention to it boiled it for six minutes each time I needed to water my geraniums. I then cooled the water to room temperature and then only watered one particular pot with the microwaved water. The plants in that particular pot actually look better than the rest, probably because it gets a little more shade. So I'm assuming the

[bhreanna]

ha ha ha you losers

[alg]

A mA microwave does nothing to water. Read and learn; http://www.snopes.com/science/microwave/plants.asp

[Tomas]

As it was said above, it plain to see that leaves were cut off. It is possible that every plant may behave differently, but this was not killed with microwaved water. In fact, there is no record of plant or man killed by microwaved water/food. Looking at your TV/monitor gives you more radiation than food that was once in the microwave ( even if it is LCD ) and still there is no evidence about people dying because of working with PC. In my opinion stress that you have because of avoiding microwaved food is higher danger for you than the food itself.

[tschimick]

i am happy to see that mimulus brought up microwaved food and longevity in this blog. i, too, do not use a microwave oven and have read numerous studies on the perils of microwaved food. i have to add that i think we live in a microwave society where there is no "cooking" anymore and therefore a subsequent lack of family life and values. i say throw the microwaves away and cook something healthy. if you want to save energy there are a multitude of ways to save more than switching to microwaves. just putting in my two cents. namaste.

[cute_me'_']

hmmm... i don't think so.... it doesnt have poison.... we have also a project like that next month.... so i'm searching for it.."investigatory project"

[ap gross]

This is a hoax
The leaves have been cut off the plant that is claimed to be the result of microwaved water..
ITS PLAIN TO SEE

Look at the plants the cut off stems are still there to see.

[Pat]

I'm doing experiment - very controlled, all parameters identical except watering with purified and microwaved. After ten days plants are both quite healthy. Will continue another month to see what happens. But, frankly, I doubt the microwaving hurts the plant. We'll see.

[J. Graham]

Just thought you might be interested in the results of another experiment inspired by the article you referenced above.

Go to http://www.eclecticreview.net then click on the article "Does giving plants cooled microwaved water kill them?"

[callipygian]

It is very possible that different plants react differently to microwaved water - some plants may be much more sensitive, while others take a very long time to show any effect. Some may even be able to neutralise the "poison" and thus not show any effect!
I don't eat anything out of a microwave either - I also ask at restaurants. I studied electrical engineering and don't let me start telling you about electromagnetic induction, electrolysis and radiolythic compounds. Microwaved food is toxic! I've said it for years!

[elsa]

Mary--Very cool! Thanks for sharing your experiment.

[Mary Wilson]

I did my own experiment. I brought water to a boil and boiled it for six minutes each time I needed to water my geraniums. I then cooled the water to room temperature and then only watered one particular pot with the microwaved water. The plants in that particular pot actually look better than the rest, probably because it gets a little more shade. So I'm assuming there is no difference at all in whether a person uses microwaved water or not. Too many people are too gullible and too lazy to do their own investigations, and too much of what comes to us over the Internet is a bunch of bunk. Next time you see something that looks incredible, believe me, it probably IS.

[mig]

good points. Either way I think you should stick to your intuition.. Im sorry but eating microwaved food vs conventionally heated food is a no brainer for your health.. however, as far as energy efficiency goes its a bummer but true that microwaves ovens use less energy... BUT.. the production of microwave ovens I bet might be more detrimental to the evironment than the production of a gas oven...we could also use electric ovens.
Finally, I am a bit inspired.. I think I will try this experiment at home.. I will make sure to use glass.. any suggestions..?

[mimulus]

I have had my suspicions too...but I was just reading the union of Concerned Scientists book "How to make effective environmental choices" and hands down they vote for microwaves in terms of energy efficiency...for cooking and reheating..especailly if you are generating your own electricity. This post does not mention if the water was boiled in plastic or glass. Actually the sample group was so small this study is not statistically significant.

[mig]

Ok.. I have been saying this for a long long long time.. anyone who knows me knows I never eat microwaved food... it not something I read somewhere its something that made sense when I thought about it.. Im probably going to live longer than all you 'suckas'. seriously when I go to restaurants I ask if anything is microwaved, if it is I dont eat it, I eat my left overs cold when Im too lazy to warm it on the stove, it might not be nice and warm but it wont be all nasty nuked microwaved and slimy.. see, I told all of you.. and it took a little girl and her science project to bring attention to it.