Fight Age and Disease from Your Kitchen

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Fight Age and Disease from Your Kitchen

JoAnn Guest Jan 01, 2005 22:45 PST

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Fight Age and Disease from Your Kitchen

 

By Alan R. Gaby, MD

 

Healthnotes Newswire (September 16, 2004)—A group of chemical compounds

that form during cooking are believed to accelerate the aging process

and to contribute to heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and the organ

damage caused by diabetes and kidney disease.

 

Now, researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have measured the

concentration of these toxic compounds in 250 commonly consumed foods

and published their findings in the Journal of American Dietetic

Association (2004;104:1287–91). This information will allow people to

make relatively simple changes in their diet that have the potential to

greatly improve their health.

 

The chemicals in question, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), are

created when a sugar molecule hooks onto one of the amino acids of a

protein or when a sugar combines with certain fats or other compounds in

food.

 

AGEs also form within the human body when glucose fuses to proteins,

fats, or DNA. There is strong evidence that AGEs produced within the

body contribute to the aging process and to organ damage in people with

diabetes.

 

Research performed over the past several years by the Mount Sinai group

has shown that about 10% of the AGEs in food are absorbed into the body

and remain in various tissues for considerable periods of time.

 

Food-derived AGEs have some of the same adverse effects as the AGEs

manufactured in the body.

 

In animal studies, restriction of dietary AGEs slowed the progression of

atherosclerosis and diabetes.

 

A study in humans found that a low-AGE diet reduced blood levels of

C-reactive protein, which is a measure of inflammation and a known risk

factor for heart disease.

 

AGEs form as food browns during cooking, primarily when foods high in

protein or fat are subjected to high temperatures. Cooking at a higher

temperature for a shorter period of time creates more AGEs than cooking

at lower temperatures for longer periods of time.

 

Also, exposure to dry heat produces more AGEs than cooking in liquid.

Thus, broiling, frying, or grilling of meats creates more AGEs than

boiling, poaching, or stewing. For example, a chicken breast broiled for

15 minutes contains more than five times as many AGEs as the same food

boiled for one hour.

 

A typical American diet contains an average daily AGE intake of

approximately 16,000 kilounits. Some of the foods evaluated in the study

include (kilounits and serving size in parentheses):

 

pizza (6,825 for 3.5 ounces), toasted cheese sandwich (4,333 per 3.5

ounces), hamburger fried for 6 minutes (2,375 per 3 ounces), fast food

hamburger (4,876 for 3 ounces), chicken broiled for 15 minutes (5,245

for 3 ounces), chicken boiled for one hour (1,011), hot dog broiled for

5 minutes (10,143), hot dog boiled for 7 minutes (6,736), homemade

french fries (694 per 3.5 ounces), fast food French fries (1,522 per 3.5

ounces), potato chips (3,028 per 3.5 ounces), and baked potato (218 per

3.5 ounces).

 

Cream cheese (3,265 for 1 ounce), butter (1,324 per teaspoon), and

margarine (876 per teaspoon) contain fairly large amounts of AGEs.

 

Most fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are low in AGEs (for

example, 18 for an apple, 10 for 3.5 ounces of canned carrots), unless

they are grilled or subjected to other harsh processing methods. Sugary

baked goods contain moderate amounts of AGEs.

 

This study makes it possible for people to deliberately reduce their

daily intake of toxic AGEs by choosing particular foods and altering the

way they prepare their food.

 

The Mount Sinai researchers have shown previously that it is possible to

vary the AGE content of the diet by as much as five-fold, by varying the

cooking time and temperature.

 

While additional research is needed to determine how much value there is

in decreasing AGE intake, the evidence so far suggests that the benefit

could be substantial.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/centers/int/article.jhtml?relativePath=%2Fcontent%2\

Fnewswire%2Fcurrent%2Fnewswire_2004_09_16_1.htm & title=Healthnotes+Newswire%3A+Fi\

ght+Age+and+Disease+from+Your+Kitchen & description=

 

 

Alan R. Gaby, MD, an expert in nutritional therapies, testified to the

White House Commission on CAM upon request in December 2001. Dr. Gaby

served as a member of the Ad-Hoc Advisory Panel of the National

Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine. He is the author of

Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis (Prima, 1994), and co-author of

The Natural Pharmacy, 2nd Edition (Healthnotes, Three Rivers Press,

1999), the A–Z Guide to Drug-Herb-Vitamin Interactions (Healthnotes,

Three Rivers Press, 1999), Clinical Essentials Volume 1 and 2

(Healthnotes, 2000), and The Patient’s Book of Natural Healing (Prima,

1999). A former professor at Bastyr University of Natural Health

Sciences, in Kenmore, WA, where he served as the Endowed Professor of

Nutrition, Dr. Gaby is the Chief Medical Editor for Healthnotes, Inc.

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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