Is it possible to heat food for children in the microwave?

A microwave oven is a convenient thing in the kitchen, especially when you need to quickly heat up food for a restless baby. But is this miracle of technology really safe? Is it dangerous to heat food in the microwave to feed a baby? These questions plague the minds of many new mothers and force them to make difficult choices.

Is it harmful to heat food in the microwave?

There are various theories and speculations surrounding microwave ovens that cast doubt on their safety. It is difficult for an ordinary person who understands kitchen appliances only at the user level to determine what is true and what is false. This causes many to refuse to use a convenient device.

Today, people's opinions regarding heating food in the microwave are almost equally divided:

• one part believes that there is no harm in such a technique, moreover, food from a microwave oven is healthy, as it cooks quickly, which means it does not lose useful vitamins and microelements, does not contain harmful fats and other substances that are not beneficial for the body;
• the second believes that microwaves negatively affect the condition of the product and residual radiation is present in heated food and enters the body.

Important! The statement that the microwave is completely safe and allows you to eat practically the right diet is just a ploy by advertising agents and manufacturers of household appliances. In fact, the situation is not so simple and clear.

The benefits of food cooked or heated in a microwave oven can be debated. And when it comes to children, doubts arise even more often and a difficult choice arises between convenience and safety.

Microwaves and baby food

The opinion of experts regarding heating breast milk in an oven is categorical - this should not be done. Exposure of the mother product to microwaves will lead either to the death of the living components of milk or to a change in their structure. In any case, such food should not be included in the child’s diet.

Manufacturers of microwave ovens do not indicate in the instructions the possibility of heating baby food. However, pediatricians and home appliance experts advise against doing this. The thing is that modern formulas are as close as possible to natural breast milk, and electromagnetic waves can destroy their structure, making the product unsuitable for infant nutrition.

Important! The food does not absorb any harmful substances, but at the same time becomes absolutely useless. All beneficial substances disappear, as a result of which there is no benefit to the child’s body.

Making a choice: safety or convenience?

People's opinions are divided almost equally in favor of safety or convenience. Therefore, every mother must make a choice on her own. The main thing is to remember some features of proper heating in a microwave oven:

• food should be heated for a short time, literally for half a minute, then mix thoroughly and repeat the procedure;
• it is important that the food is ready when it is heated in the oven;
• If you have time and the opportunity to heat up food the “old-fashioned” way, it’s better to do it this way.

Important! Bottles with baby food or breast milk are perfectly heated in a water bath. If you don’t want to heat it up, you can use special thermos containers. Breast milk can be stored in them for up to 10 hours.

It should also be noted that the popular assertion that constantly heating food in microwave ovens leads to cancer has not been proven by science. Just as the absolute harm of a household appliance has not been proven. Making a choice is quite difficult, but every mother must decide for herself what is best for her baby.