Advanced glycation end products: the glycation process, health effects, and the low AGEs diet.

AGEs is short for advanced glycation end products, which is coincidentally an ominous warning because that's exactly what they'll do to your body. 

AGEs will age you! 

A more technical term for advanced glycation end products or AGEs is "glycotoxins" because they are very harmful to the human body. 

Sadly, these harmful compounds will be found in some of your favorite foods and will usually increase as the flavor of your food increases.

Don't worry because you'll learn how to win the battle against AGEs!

Advanced glycation end products may be in your favorite foods!

Fast Foods

Hamburger and French Fries

Frankfurters or Hot Dogs

Processed Meats

Barbecued and Charred Meats

Grilled Meats

Full Fat American Cheese

Commercial Parmesan Cheese

Commercial Cheeses

Thin Crusted Pizza w/Toppings

Cheese Melt Sandwiches

Commercial Cream Cheese

Pasteurized and Cooked Butter

Fried Snacks like Pork Rinds

Doughnuts and Chips

Bacon!!!

Deep Fried Meats and Seafood

Air Fried Meats

Pan Fried Meats and Eggs

Broiled Meats and Seafood

Roasted Meats

Browned and Sauteed Meats

Roasted Cashews and Nuts 

Peanut Butter and Roasted Nut Butters

Roasted Sunflower Seeds

Toasted Sesame Oil

Broiled and Sauteed Tofu

Rice Krispie Treats

Foods high in protein and fat as well as tasty treats high in sugar that are cooked, heated, or processed at high temperatures will be loaded with AGEs!

Cooking your foods using high heat and without any water or other liquids will cause sugars to bind non-enzymatically with proteins or fats to form AGEs or glycotoxins. 

• AGEs can also be produced from the oxidation of proteins and fats!

A significant amount of advanced glycation end products or AGEs come from the foods you ingest every day!

The glycation process creates damage to protein structures!

AGEs are the result or end products of the glycation process.   Glycation happens when sugar binds to proteins, lipids, or nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) without an enzyme to control the binding.

In the cooking world, this is called the Maillard or browning reaction.

The glycation process is what will turn your very expensive Thanksgiving turkey to a brown color.

Shockingly, that's exactly what can happen to the proteins inside your body.  Glycation doesn't just happen to your food - it can also happen internally!

Glycation will result in the formation of damaged protein structures.

It's a big problem for your collagen and elastin that results in wrinkles or aged looking skin.

High levels of AGEs are known to cause oxidative stress and inflammation.

Carbs can produce advanced glycation end products!

As you have learned, a lot of your favorite and regular meals will be loaded with advanced glycation end products or AGEs!

Did you know high blood sugar will also increase the formation of AGEs in your body?  

If you eat too many carbohydrates, this increases advanced glycation end products.  And it's not just from the candy, cookies, soda, and other treats.

Be aware, too much sugar or carbohydrates from any source can create AGEs.

In other words, your body can undergo glycation with the sugars that are left in your bloodstream to produce AGEs internally.

When you consume too much sugar or carbohydrates, the glycation process that occurs in the body creates proteins that will be cross linked and barely functional.

Glycation of your cellular proteins will produce a change in their structure and loss of enzymatic activity.

When a protein is bound to a carbohydrate and its structure gets altered to the point that enzymes can no longer break it down - these altered proteins start building up in your body.

These altered proteins will accumulate all over your body along with free radicals and inflammation.

Other factors that increase AGEs internally.

You're now aware that too much sugar in the blood can increase AGEs, but too much fat in your blood can also increase this toxin.

One of the ketone bodies (acetone) that's formed when you go on a low carb diet "can under certain conditions" increase the advanced glycation end products.

Acetoacetic acid that is a type of ketone body will promote the production of reactive oxygen species, which is what happens when you grill meats at high temperatures.

This involves protein glycation to produce N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine, one of the advanced glycation end products.

Advanced glycation end products can also be produced in your body from cigarette smoking and dehydration. 

Oxidative stress from radiation, environmental pollution, medications, alcohol, drugs, and other toxins creates free radicals and the decline of antioxidants like glutathione.

This scenario will also increase the formation of advanced glycation end products internally.

What's scary is that the glycation of cellular and extracellular proteins will produce a loss of function or an acquisition of a new pathogenic function.  

Could AGEs be part of what creates zombie cells?  Hmmmm............

Health effects of AGEs: how the body deals with AGEs and how to remove AGEs.

Do you suffer from any of these health problems?  If so, you might want to start cutting down on advanced glycation end products.

AGEs can stimulate the AGE receptor known as RAGE which may activate an inflammatory response.

Please be aware that advanced glycation end products have been implicated in many age related health problems.

Health issues like inflammation and joint problems.

AGEs can accumulate in your joints and in other skeletal tissues, which will create mobility problems.

Sadly, obesity and chronic inflammation seem to go hand in hand.  It can happen when you switch from a traditional diet to a highly processed junk food diet.

Evidence from animal studies suggest that high AGE diets are associated with insulin resistance and the alteration of the gut microbiome.

High AGE diets showed a loss of the butyrate-producing bacteria that could impair the colonic epithelial barrier, increasing intestinal permeability. 

How your body deals with advanced glycation end products.

Unfortunately, your body will not be able to metabolize or get rid of AGEs very easily.  Your body will deal with advanced glycation end products or AGEs very slowly.

Prevention will be your best strategy!  Basically, do not accumulate more glycotoxins than your body can handle.  The half life of AGEs is about double the life of an average body cell.

Sadly, this means that damage will last for quite some time especially to your organs, arteries, nerve cells, brain cells, collagen proteins, and DNA.

Unfortunately, AGEs are highly resistant to protein renewal that is needed to maintain the healthy tone of body tissues and organs. 

Your body's ability to remove AGEs through excretion by your kidneys may be limited.  About 1/4 of the consumed AGEs will be able to be eliminated in your urine - at best.

FYI, fructose that is very abundant in fruit and galactose that is found in milk will undergo glycation at about 10 times the rate as glucose - Yikes!

How to remove AGEs from your body: what you can do to help get rid of them.

The good news is your body may have the ability to remove AGEs through antioxidant and enzymatic actions.

Whenever you consume foods that contain fructose or galactose, these foods should also come with antioxidants and enzymes, which you'll get from consuming raw milk, raw tropical fruits, and raw honey.

By enhancing the enzymatic activity of your body, your body will be better able to eliminate these harmful compounds.

Antioxidant enzymes like glutathione will help to combat oxidative stress caused by AGEs, which reduces their harmful effects.

Raw meat is known to be a great source of glutathione and the protease enzymes from raw meat and raw pineapple help to break down proteins, including AGEs, into smaller peptides or amino acids, facilitating removal from your body.

If enzymes are essential to manage AGEs in the body, this would be a good reason to consume raw foods that come with lots of enzymes.

Intermittent fasting may help with the accumulation of advanced glycation end products in the body.

I'm not a big fan of constantly fasting.  I'd much rather consume raw foods rich in antioxidants and enzymes.

Another approach is consuming a diet low in AGEs, which helps to reduce their levels in your body and I would also support activity of enzymes needed to eliminate them.

Low AGEs diet: calculating consumption of AGEs, cooking tips, and lifestyle tips.

Going on a low AGEs diet will improve health and lowers the risk of advanced glycation end products related health problems or diseases. 

For example: instead of cooking fish, make a fish ceviche instead.

Lowering the amount of AGEs by being conscious of the amount that you're consuming each day should help with premature aging.

The average AGEs consumption in New York may be somewhere around 15,000 kilounits per day.  That number is considered to be a relatively high number. 

A diet significantly below 15,000 kilounits per day would be considered a low AGEs diet.

How many AGEs do you consume daily?

Did you know that a 3 oz. portion of grilled chicken will give you over 5,000 kilounits of AGEs?

Did you also know that a 3 oz. chicken breast that's breaded and deep fried will give you over 10,000 kilounits of AGEs?

The following is an excerpt taken from this article, "Advanced Glycation End Products in Foods and a Practical Guide to Their Reduction in the Diet".

Article also contains the AGEs content of 549 foods.

"Modern diets are largely heat-processed and as a result contain high levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs).

Dietary advanced glycation end products are known to contribute to increased oxidant stress and inflammation, which are linked to the recent epidemics of diabetes and cardiovascular disease."

"Based on the findings, dry heat promotes new dietary AGE formation by >10- to 100-fold above the uncooked state across food categories.

Animal-derived foods that are high in fat and protein are generally AGE-rich and prone to new AGE formation during cooking.

In contrast, carbohydrate-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and milk contain relatively few AGEs, even after cooking."

Cooking tips for a low AGEs diet: stop cooking with dry heat!

Remember, cooking by dry heat increases the amount of AGEs in raw foods by 10 to 100 times!  If you want to be on a low AGEs diet, you'll have to reduce or eliminate this cooking method.

Dry heat cooking methods include pan frying, searing, sauteing, grilling, barbecuing, roasting, broiling, stir frying, deep frying, air frying, and last but not least baking.

Try these cooking methods instead..................

Consider poaching, boiling, steaming, stewing, or even using slow cookers to cook your food.

Cooking methods that provide enough moisture will lessen the amount of AGEs produced.

Cook your foods with moist heat and at lower temperatures to help keep AGEs on the low side.

Water helps to prevent sugars from binding to protein and fat molecules in foods. 

Reducing AGEs especially from meats cooked at 300 degrees F. or higher is necessary for management of AGEs.

Using acid-based marinades that contain lemon, vinegar, or tomato juice will lower the amount of AGEs (up to 50%) when cooking your foods in the oven or grilling.

Cooking meats at temperatures less than 250 degrees F. (low setting on slow cookers) or cooking meats in a shorter time will minimize AGEs.

Studies have shown that certain antioxidants can inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end products. 

Spices like Jamaican allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and apple pie spice seem to provide a lot of protection against AGEs. 

Herbs like oregano, rosemary, ginger, tarragon, marjoram, and turmeric also offer protection against AGEs.

Lifestyle tips for a low AGEs diet: eat raw foods and lower glycemic foods.

Try raw meat dishes like carpaccio, kitfo, or steak tartare.  Raw meats will be significantly lower in AGEs.

Raw seafood like sashimi will help you to avoid consuming too many AGEs.

Consume meats cooked rare rather than a well-done steak to cut down on AGEs.

I would only consume raw dairy foods like raw butter, cream, and raw cheese to cut down on AGEs.

Try soft boiled or poached eggs to lower or reduce AGEs.

Or eat your eggs raw like "Rocky" or body builders for a low AGEs diet.

Try to lower the intake of sugar and high glycemic foods and stick to the low glycemic or medium glycemic foods to lower the amount of AGEs created in your body.

Be aware that a diet that's full of nutrient dense foods can be altered by the way you cook or process your foods.  If your not careful, you could end up with an unhealthy amount of AGEs, which is not healthy.

Raw animal and seafood will be much lower in AGEs.  Raw animal foods and seafood will also contain life giving enzymes as well as the master antioxidant glutathione. 

More lifestyle tips to lower AGEs.................

Drinking antioxidant teas like yerba mate tea with your cooked meals may actually help to reduce the formation of AGEs.

We regularly drank this tea at one of the farms that we stayed at for a few months because they had a yerba mate factory.  They came up with so many different and very tasty concoctions that involved this tea. 

My favorite was yerba mate lemonade with raw honey - delicious!  This tea has mateine, which provides a more balanced energy boost compared to caffeine from coffee.

However, I would not make a habit of drinking this tea with meals because it may interfere with the absorption of important minerals.

Please know, a sedentary lifestyle (coach potato, sitting at a desk, etc.) will promote the formation of advanced glycation end products.

Regular strength exercising can reduce the accumulation of senescent cells, also know as "zombie cells".  Coincidentally, regular physical exercise can also help to reduce the accumulation of AGEs in your body.

A more active lifestyle with enough sleep to recover will help to reduce the formation of advanced glycation end products in your body, so start doing some sort of physical activity and get a good night's sleep.

Resources

1. Reversal of Two Advanced Glycation End Products Achieved by Steve Hill, May 2, 2019, Lifespan Research Institute

2. Advanced glycation end products: Key players in skin aging? National Library of Medicine, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3583887/