Re: Cancer comes from nuking things in plastic in your microwave!

February 28, 2006

Something sounded familiar and suspicious so I went to Snopes.com to check it

out. Entered “s Hopkins” and got back several links. Here’s a couple:

On microwaving plastic:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

On freezing plastic bottles: (My immediate thought here was the use of

plastic ice trays)

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp

Check them out…

Armstrong <hobbflorida@...> wrote: Subject: JOHN HOPKINS..CANCER

NEWS

>

> Cancer update: s Hopkins = Cancer News from s Hopkins:

>

> 1. No plastic containers in microwave.

>

> 2. No water bottles in freezer.

>

> 3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

>

> s Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This

> information is being circulated at Walter Army Medical Center.

>

> Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer.

>

> Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze

> your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from

> the plastic.

>

> Recently, Dr.. Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle

> Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He

> talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.

>

> He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using

> plastic containers. This applies to foods that contain fat. He said

> that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin

> into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

>

> Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware or ceramic

> containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without

> the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups,

> etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something

> else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's

> just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.

>

> He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants

> moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is

> one of the reasons.

>

> Also, he pointed out that Saran wrap is just as dangerous when placed

> over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the

> high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic

> wrap and drip into the food.

>

> Cover food with a paper towel instead.

>

> This is an article I believe you should forward to your family and

> friends--

> anyone who is

> important in your life!

FAIR USE NOTICE:

February 28, 2006

Thanks for casting a reasoned response to this scare letter. I received

the same letter a few weeks ago, and deleted it rather than forwarding the

fictional warning. Any letter received, claiming to be from some renowned

institution, should be met with skepticism unless that intitution's web site

is cited as the source.

Dioxin is a shortened name for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin. Some of

you who follow environmental chemistry may recall that it was the by-product

in Agent Orange (Viet Nam war, for those too young to remember) suspected,

though never proven, to be a cause of numerous illnesses. It was also at one

time in the civilian version of Agent Orange, Weed-B-Gone, and the

agricultural herbicide 2,4-D. It was also found in the manufacture of

hexachlorophene, in paper bleaching, and in the incineration of trash

containing polyvinyl chloride. As the name implies, chlorine is part of the

molecule. Few plastics, other than polyvinyl chloride contain chlorine.

Common bottles are polyethylene terephthalate (look for recycling symbol

PETE) and polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP). Others are

polycarbonates. Dioxin is nearly impossible to form in most of these, as all

the required precursers are not there.

Interestingly, there has been some concern with polycarbonate, since it is

made with bisphenol-A, a chemical which behaves as an estrogen mimic at low

exposure levels. This same chemical is used in plastic dental fillings, used

in place of amalgam. Perhaps in some instances we are simply trading one

problem for another.

Using glass or ceramic in a microwave might be a good idea, but do so for

the right reasons, or simply because you like it better.

Gil

Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 10:09:18 -0800 (PST)

From: Tazin Round <unitedstatesvet@...>

Subject: Re: Cancer comes from nuking things in plastic in your microwave!

Something sounded familiar and suspicious so I went to Snopes.com to check

it out. Entered “s Hopkins” and got back several links. Here’s a

couple: