Comments on: A Micro-Retraction and Sous Vide

By: Fred Hahn

Fred Hahn — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:25:50 +0000

Hi Sol -

The source is Dr. Ellington Darden’s research. He states that it takes about 150 calories to heat 50 degree water to 98.6 degrees before voiding. Go to http://www.drdarden.com for more info on superhydration.

By: Sol

Sol — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:57:23 +0000

I am in the middle of reading your excellent book Strong kids .you wrote there that drinking a gallon of water is Equivalent to running half an hour on a treadmill .Can you please direct me to the source of this ?

By: Hans

Hans — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:38:46 +0000

That’s exactly what the makers of plastic baby bottles keep telling us and then independent researchers find them leaking BPA into the milk…

I know that (liquid) fats react much easier with it’s surroundings then other foods.

By: Fred Hahn

Fred Hahn — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:51:35 +0000

If the plastic bag is food grade, you are not harming the food in any way according to the Eades and other folks that use sous vide style cooking. I’ll look into it further.

By: Hans

Hans — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:40:03 +0000

That’s why I don’t like Sous Vide cooking. IMO, heat, food and plastics should be kept apart at all times…

By: nadine

nadine — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:00:24 +0000

i don’t use plastic or wrap in the microwave nor ’special’ microwave dishes – it looks like plastic to me. i use good old fashioned glass/pyrex with lids.

By: Audley

Audley — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:58:21 +0000

Thanks Fred,
I also understand that the newer microwaves are safer than older versions, which according to a friend of mine, were banned in some European countries for radiation outside of the device at unsafe limits. another issue is cooking in the oven with plastic. Does a plastic bowl break down during the cooking process enough to be unsafe for human consumption? Makes you think about it.
For the record, I do have a microwave. I don’t cook in it, but it heats up my coffee just fine:)

By: Fred Hahn

Fred Hahn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:30:44 +0000

This is from a friend who is a biochemist:

“From a physical point of view, looking at the visible spectrum, we say that there are roughly three kinds of radiation. There is:

1. high energy radiation, ultrviolet radiation which is of sufficient energy to interact with the electrons in chemical bonds and therefore catalyze chemical changes, which is why you might not want too much sunlight.

2. In the visible range light interacts with the electrons (which is why things look different colors) but generally do not actually change the chemical bonds unless they are very high intensity as in a laser.

3. In the infra-red, the radiation causes molecules to vibrate leading to increase in thermal energy which is why you might keep food under IR flight in a restaurant where you didn’t want them to keep cooking but where they would be warm when the waiter comes back from texting to his girlfriend.

4. (continuation of 3). Microwaves are still lower energy and roughly speaking causes molecules to spin around, again raising their temperature but not changing their molecular structure, the way high energy radiation does. In an oven the waves have high intensity so the moleculaes heat up faster but the motion does not normally lead to chemical change unless the molecules themselves are very reactive.

So it is not impossible that something is wrong with microwaves but one has to have a mechanism (beyond the fact that cooking changes food anyway). “

By: Audley

Audley — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:27:09 +0000

What about the radiation factor of the microwave? I know we are constantly bombarded with toxins, be it through poor drinking water or drugs used in cattle and such, I can’t imagine a microwave would be safe.
Thanks for your thoughts.

By: Fred Hahn

Fred Hahn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:20:39 +0000

That is true Anne. I should read the book. Thanks for the tip.