Advanced glycoxidation end products (AGE)
Advanced glycoxidation end products (AGEs), the derivatives of
glucose-protein or glucose-lipid interactions, are implicated in
the complications of diabetes and aging.
Unfortunately, the AGE content of some foods rises when they're
cooked in certain ways. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
in New York City recently conducted a study to determine the variations
of AGE content of 250 common foods when cooked by different methods.
• Fats tended to have a higher AGE content than carbohydrates.
• The amount of AGE in all types of foods was related to
cooking temperature, length of cooking time and moisture content.
• Broiling and frying created the highest levels of AGE
(with the least amount of moisture).
• Roasting and boiling created the least AGE (with greater
moisture).
• In general, lower cooking temps for longer periods of
time resulted in lower levels of AGE.
• Cooked fruits and vegetables have very low AGE levels
- but those levels rise when they're heavily processed.
The Mount Sinai research, as reported in the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, makes it clear that a few alterations
in the ways that foods are prepared can make a big difference when
it comes to AGE content.
For instance, the daily AGE average in a typical U.S. diet is
about 16,000 kilounits (KU), according to the Mount Sinai team.
About half of that average daily AGE intake is contained in a single
slice of pizza. So eating two or three slices of pizza is not the
best meal choice in terms of AGE. Chicken broiled for 15 minutes
contains five times the AGE of chicken boiled for an hour (about
1,000 KU).
A typical fast food hamburger contains more than twice the AGE
as a burger pan-fried at home for at least six minutes (about 2,400
KU). And 3.5 ounces of potato chips (which is barely enough to get
most people started) has a whopping 13 times more AGE than 3.5 ounces
of baked potato (just 218 KU).
People with diabetes may risk damage to the kidneys and the heart
when AGE intake is high. But you don't have to have diabetes to
benefit from a low AGE intake.
For instance, one AGE study found that subjects with low-AGE diets
also had low levels of C-reactive protein; the inflammation marker
that's associated with an increased risk of heart disease. And a
high intake of AGE is also believed to play a role in the development
of Alzheimer's disease.
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Reference
Goldberg T, Cai W, Peppa M, Dardaine V, Baliga BS, Uribarri J, Vlassara
H. (2004). Advanced glycoxidation end products in commonly consumed
foods. Journal
of the American Dietetic Association, 104, 1287-1291
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