Grilling, Frying Likely Contribute to Early Aging, Alzheimers, etc.

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April 24, 2007 Mount Sinai Press Office

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Study Shows Food Preparation May Play a Bigger Role in Chronic Disease

than was Previously Thought

 

How your food is cooked may be as important to your health as the food

itself. Researchers now know more about a new class of toxins that might soon

become as important a risk factor for heart disease and metabolic disorders as

trans fats.

This class of toxins, called advanced glycation end products (AGEs), are

absorbed into the body through the consumption of grilled, fried, or broiled

animal products, such as meats and cheeses. AGEs, which are also produced when

food products are sterilized and pasteurized, have been linked to inflammation,

insulin resistance, diabetes, vascular and kidney disease, and Alzheimer's

disease.

A new study at Mount Sinai School of Medicine reveals that AGE levels are

elevated in the blood of healthy people, and even more so in older individuals

than in younger people. Of particular interest was the finding that a major

determinant of the blood levels of AGEs is the amount of AGEs in the diet, not

dietary calories, sugar, or fat. The study, which was done in collaboration

with, and supported by, the National Institute on Aging ( NIA), is published in

the April issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

" AGEs are quite deceptive, since they also give our food desirable tastes and

smells, " says Helen Vlassara, MD, senior study author, Director of the Division

of Experimental Diabetes and Aging, and Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at

Mount Sinai School of Medicine. " So, consuming high amounts of grilled, broiled,

or fried food means consuming significant amounts of AGEs, and AGEs in excess

are toxic. People should be given information about their AGE intake and be

advised to consider their intake in the same way they would think about their

trans fats and salt intake. They should be warned about their AGE levels the way

they are about their cholesterol levels or cigarette smoking. "

Inflammation and oxidative stress are more common in older age, so the goal of

the study was to assess whether AGEs played a significant role in age-related

inflammation and oxidative stress by measuring AGE levels in both young and

older individuals. The study involved 172 healthy men and women who were divided

into two age groups—those between the ages of 18 and 45 and those between the

ages of 60 and 80. Dr. Vlassara and her team also wanted to assess whether AGE

levels correlated with dietary intake. To do this, her team recorded the

patient's body weight, body fat, three-day dietary information, and collected

blood samples to measure biomarkers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein

(CRP). Blood samples were used to test for two common AGEs, called

carboxymethyllysine (CML) and methylglyoxal (MG), which latch on to proteins and

fats.

The blood tests showed that AGE levels were 35 percent higher in individuals

age 65 and older compared with those younger than age 45. The study also showed

that in all of the participants, the higher the consumption of foods rich in

AGEs, the higher the blood levels of AGEs, and higher the levels of CRP and

other markers of inflammation.

Much to the researchers' surprise, the study also showed that AGE levels could

be very high in young healthy people. In fact, high AGE levels found in some

healthy adults in this study were on par with AGE levels observed in diabetic

patients in their earlier studies. The fact that healthy adults had levels

similar to those seen in diabetic patients may suggest that early and prolonged

exposure to these substances in the diet could accelerate the onset of diseases.

Dr. Vlassara notes that the availability and consumption of AGE-rich foods is

high and correlates with rising rates of diabetes and heart disease.

" Excessive intake of fried, broiled, and grilled foods can overload the body's

natural capacity to remove AGEs, " Dr. Vlassara notes, " so they accumulate in our

tissues, and take over the body's own built-in defenses, pushing them toward a

state of inflammation. Over time, this can precipitate disease or early aging. "

Once AGEs enter the body, it becomes more difficult to get them out, especially

as people age. Older people have a reduced capacity for removing AGEs from the

body, the researchers explain, most likely because kidney function slows down as

the body ages.

As Dr. Vlassara cautions, " although the accumulation of AGEs pose an immediate

and significant health threat to the older adult population, they are also an

invisible, lingering danger especially for younger people and this needs to be

addressed. AGE levels should be shown on nutrition labels so everyone is aware

of them when buying or preparing meals – and our studies explain why. "

A Simple Solution: Steam, Boil, Stew Despite the ubiquity of AGEs, Dr.

Vlassara and her team offer simple, safe, and economic solutions that echo the

recommendations given concerning trans fats—watch what you eat. New methods of

cooking to reduce AGE intake, particularly steaming, boiling or making stews,

can make a difference. " Keeping the heat down and maintaining the water content

in food reduces AGE levels, " Dr. Vlassara says. A 50 percent reduction in AGE

intake could have a significant and positive impact on overall health and may

even help extend one's lifespan, according to Dr. Vlassara. In other studies,

the team has found that cutting AGE intake in half, but maintaining a diet

comprised of the same calories and fat, increased the lifespan of animals when

compared with animals fed their usual diet.

At the moment, changing one's approaches to cooking is the only defense

against excessive AGE consumption. There is no routine clinical test to inform

individuals of their blood or dietary AGE levels nor established treatment to

reduce high AGE blood levels. " The concept that food-related AGE intake is

harmful is new to the general public, " says Dr. Vlassara, " and scientists are

now seeing how AGE intake fits with the current trends of disease epidemics.

Hopefully, these wake-up signals, together with other gathering evidence at the

cellular and molecular level, will accelerate our efforts to develop effective

measures against excessive dietary AGEs. This issue, however, should be dealt

with as an important health hazard now, rather than later. "

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center The Mount Sinai Medical Center

encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The

Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected

voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed

tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence

in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as

inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical

Center .

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in

groundbreaking clinical and basic-science research, as well as having an

innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in

38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among

the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH)

grants.

 

 

 

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