What You Don't Know Can Kill You
What You Don't Know Can Kill You
Our world is dangerous and full of chronic disease, that's no secret. We know about cancer, autoimmune, and heart disease and how these diseases take the lives of millions. You likely have either been affected or know someone who has been affected by one of these illnesses. However, what you may not know is that there are compounds called advanced glycation end-products, or AGEs for short, that are causing irreversible damage to cells and tissues, hardening your blood vessels, and causing wide-spread inflammation which leads to diseases like heart disease, autoimmune, and cancer. Let's shed light on what AGEs are, how they affect us, and how we can keep our AGE levels low.
What is an AGE?
AGEs are sticky, highly oxidized compounds made of protein or lipids in our bloodstream that collect in our tissues over time and cause significant, often irreversible damage. They are a natural by-product of metabolism and this is something we largely can not control. However, due to our modern, highly processed, and meat-rich diet we have been getting a massive excess of AGEs from our food products. Animal-derived foods that are high in fat and protein are prone to new AGE formation while cooking in dry heat. In contrast, carbohydrate rich foods such as vegetables, grains, and legumes do not typically form AGEs even after cooking.
However, even plant-based foods, such as nuts, that are high in protein and fat are also susceptible to AGE formation when cooked in dry heat, such as roasting.
What's the Problem?
The pathologic effects of AGEs are related to their ability to promote oxidative stress and inflammation by binding with cell surface receptors or cross-linking with body proteins, altering their structure and function. This lays the foundation for all manner of chronic illness. Intensive research has demonstrated a strong link between cancer and high levels of AGEs in the body due to the disruption of normal cell function and the wide spread inflammation that they cause. High levels of AGEs are also associated with all manner of cardiac dysfunction and heart disease by negatively impacting blood pressure and damaging the collagen in blood vessels, making them stiffer and bone-like. Naturally, autoimmune disease also thrives in conditions of inflammation and high oxidative stress so it is no surprise that there is a strong link between autoimmune disease and AGEs.
How Do We Avoid Them?
Now that we know that AGEs are toxic substances that form from cooking foods high in fat or protein in dry heat, we have a good idea of how to structure our diet to minimize them.
1) Abstain from animal products which are already inflammatory and high in both protein and fat.
2) Plant-based foods that are high in proteins and fats should not be roasted, grilled, or otherwise cooked in dry heat. These will also form AGEs.
If you adopt a balanced, whole-food, plant-based diet and are careful to not cook your proteins and fats in dry heat, you'll be cutting out this silent killer at the source.
God Bless,
Mercy Ballard