Why You Should Eat an AGE-less Diet
Food cooked at high temperatures creates a byproduct that accelerates aging
When I think of summer, I think of grills. Nothing beats the smell of meat getting crispy on a grill. That process even has a name: the Maillard reaction. It happens in any food that contains sugars and proteins cooked at a high temperature, usually above 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). I am talking about the crispy perfection on a smash burger or a buttered piece of toast. Overdoing it can cause a bitter, burnt flavor.
The process alters amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, as they interact with sugar at high temperatures. The result is the creation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Glycation simply means “adding sugar to protein” which happens in the process of the Maillard reaction.
But this process also causes proteins to crosslink with one another, making them stiffer. If this happens repeatedly to the cells of our bodies they become damaged, which accelerates certain diseases and the aging process.
How AGEs are made in our bodies
The temperature in the human body is much lower than would allow for the Maillard reaction, but glycation still occurs slowly over time, as proteins keep coming into contact with…
