21/07/2023
High AGE Foods
AGEs are advanced glycation end products
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are proteins or fats that become caramelised or glycated as a result of exposure to sugars.
They are a bio-marker implicated to inflammation, oxidative stress, aging and the development, or worsening, of many degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, chronic kidney disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Foods exposed to high dry heat cooking, such as barbecuing, grilling, roasting, baking, frying, sautéing, broiling, searing, and increase the amount of AGEs by 10–100 times the levels of uncooked food. when we consume or create high levels of AGEs and our body can’t keep up and, they accumulate and create damage.
Antioxidants and intrinsic enzymes rescue the effects of AGEs
Certain foods that are high in fat and protein such as animal products are more susceptible to AGES
diet is the biggest contributor of AGEs RGS either food comparisons or actual sliding scale of levels
1 fried egg: 1,240 kU/l
1 scrambled egg: 75 kU/l
2 ounces (57 grams) of toasted bagel: 100 kU/l
2 ounces of fresh bagel: 60 kU/l
1 tablespoon of cream: 325 kU/l
¼ cup (59 ml) of whole milk: 3 kU/l
3 ounces of grilled chicken: 5,200 kU/l
3 ounces of poached chicken: 1,000 kU/l
3 ounces of French fries: 690 kU/l
3 ounces of baked potato: 70 kU/l
3 ounces (85 grams) of broiled steak: 6,600 kU/l
3 ounces of braised beef: 2,200 kU/l
How can AGEs be lowered in the foods we eat?
👉🏽 Aim to reduce cooking times and cooking temperatures.
Cooking with moist heat, lower temperatures, and for shorter periods, all reduce AGE formation
Better methods of cooking are stewing, poaching, boiling, and steaming.
Scrambling an egg at low-moderate heat versus quickly frying at high heat would be half the AGEs consumed.
👉🏽 Marinating foods, especially meats, is helpful as acids inhibit the production of AGEs. Use acidic ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, tomato juice for marinading and/ or cooking with these can reduce AGE production by up to 50%
👉🏽 Limiting consumption of grilled meat to special occasions this BBQ season while consuming more foods that are raw
