In the news

Never microwave eggs!! And watch those tea bags!

Microwave ovens have been around so long that perhaps some younger persons aren’t aware of the hazards that are associated with them. An example is the story about the 22-year old woman in the U.K. who suffered painful face burns when she made hard-boiled eggs in the microwave, following directions on a recipe website.

The website advised adding salt to the cooking water to prevent bursting. Nope! Microwaving a raw egg in the shell or a hard-boiled egg that has had the shell removed is dangerous. Either can explode after they have been removed from the oven. BTW – that “salted water” recipe is still on the Internet.

Does poking a hole in one end of the shell make it safe? Maybe, but there is also a problem with the yolk, which might still explode because it has a membrane around it. Some recipes advise poking a hole in the yolk after breaking the egg into a microwave-safe container. Others recommend poking several holes into the yolk AND the white (???). I found one recipe that suggests placing plastic wrap over the open container – another bad idea. Some plastic wrap is labeled “microwave safe” but even then it shouldn’t be in contact with the food.

And about those tea bags. When you boil water for tea in a microwave it gets superheated and when you touch the tea bag to the surface of the water in your cup it may erupt. (Ask me how I know!) Several people have suffered serious burns as a result – I was lucky.

FYI – microwave cooking was discovered by accident when an engineer working near a radar transmitter noted that a Mr. Goodbar in his shirt pocket melted during an experiment. And the second food they cooked in a newly-invented microwave oven was an egg – that exploded in an engineer’s face!!

Lifestyle

DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

       Is it pain or just soreness? When you work a muscle hard, especially if it’s the first time in a long while, you know how sore it feels the next day and possibly for several days. That is normal and it is known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). You can avoid it if you begin an exercise program – or a new type of exercise – with very low weight. I recommend that you go through a routine with no weight at all in your hands for at least two weeks to open up existing blood vessels and grow new ones. Walkers and runners should start with low speeds and short distances. That won’t completely eliminate DOMS but it sure will help.

The specific reason for starting with light weights and walking for only a few minutes is that you will rupture (yes – rupture) only a few muscle cells, so that there won’t be much pain. “Rupture” is meant in the healthy sense because by breaking down muscle cells it will lead to their regrowth that makes them larger and stronger.

Pain is different from soreness. It sometimes comes on suddenly during or after an exercise, and it’s usually asymmetric – involving only one side of the body, e.g., one shoulder.

Do not try to “work through” DOMS or pain. In the former it’s just not worth the discomfort and in the latter you are likely to make the injury worse.