Not only what we eat but how the food is prepared can either help us or hurt us

Advanced glycation end products are compounds that can be found in food and they also can be formed when the food is cooked.

Glycation takes place when sugar reacts with fat and protein, and can also be formed when the blood glucose is high.  

These products accumulate intracellularly and extracellularly in all tissues and body fluids and can cross-link with other proteins and affect their normal functions (Chen JH, et.al., 2018). Glycation end products can interact with specific cell surface receptors and alter intracellular signaling, gene expression, the production of reactive oxygen species and activate several inflammatory pathways.

High levels of these products in the diet as well as in tissues and the circulation are pathogenic to a wide range of diseases.

When glycation end products accumulate in bones and joints, they can contribute to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis and also affect mobility.

Since glycation end products contributes to increased oxidative stress and inflammation, they  also contribute to cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Uribarri J, et.al., 2010).

It’s important to avoid glycation as much as possible, and the these researchers also tested a lot of common foods and the way the preparation of these food affected the accumulation of glycation.

They found that dry cooking at high temperature like frying, grilling and baking was producing the most glycation.

They also documented that animal source protein was higher in these products and the more fat they contained the worse it was.

Plant based foods were the lowest in glycation end products and did not accumulate much of these products when cooked.

The best way was to boil or steam the food, that was less damaging. Marinating food in lemon or vinegar to lower the the ph was also found to reduce glycation.

What else can you do to reduce the damage of glycation?

You can use curcumine which helps reduce free radical damage and inflammation (Yamagishi SI, et.al., 2017).

If you are going to use curcumine, be sure is is in a better absorbed form since regular curcumin is not well absorbed.

References

Chen JH, Lin X, Bu C, Zhang X.Role of advanced glycation end products in mobility and considerations in possible dietary and nutritional intervention strategies. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2018 Oct 10;15:72.

Uribarri J, Woodruff S, Goodman S, Cai W, Chen X, Pyzik R, Yong A, Striker GE, Vlassara H. Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12.

Yamagishi SI, Matsui T, Ishibashi Y, Isami F, Abe Y, Sakaguchi T, Higashimoto Y.Yamagishi SI,Phytochemicals Against Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and the Receptor System. Curr Pharm Des. 2017;23(8):1135-1141

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