AGE before beauty.
The latest hyperfixation among longevity experts appears to be Advanced Glycation End products (conveniently abbreviated as AGEs), the result of a chemical reaction between proteins and sugars.
Just as a chef caramelizes onions in a pan, new science shows that sugars are “caramelizing” our insides, prematurely aging us and potentially contributing to a host of health complications — from cognitive decline to cardiovascular deterioration and even increased cancer risk.
As researchers recently noted in the journal Advances in Orthomolecular Research, sugars create “chemical handcuffs” that “gum up your proteins, deactivate your enzymes, trigger unhealthy biochemical signaling in your cells and damage your DNA.”
The result? Aging. Or, more to the point, AGEing.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Dr. Pankaj Kapahi, professor at the California-based Buck Institute for Research on Aging, explained that AGEs are a group of toxins formed by any variations of sugar: fructose, sucrose or glucose.
That includes regular table sugar, fruit juice, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, carbs and processed foods — all will produce AGEs via glycation, the reaction of tissues in our muscles and organs when exposed to sugars in the bloodstream.
Consuming lots of sugar can affect a person’s appearance by eating away at their collagen reserves in the skin, leading to premature aging on the outside. The potential for internal damage is much spookier.
Glycation has been shown to warp any number of proteins in the body, causing issues with joints, muscles, tendons and cartilage. With long-term exposure, it can even soften the brain by damaging the lining of the arteries that provide it with oxygen — an effect demonstrated by some studies that show these outcomes after just 10 days of a diet high in sugar.
Too much sugar has also been linked to increases in dementia-causing proteins in the brain, which, when glycated, coagulate and start to build up.
One food in particular raises glycation red flags. Fruit juices have a long history as a health halo, from “balanced breakfasts” to wellness cleanses. It turns out the fructose in fruit juice is one of the worst AGE offenders.
It gets absorbed into the bloodstream quickly and spikes insulin, accelerating glycation up to seven times faster than glucose, according to Kapahi.
Whole fruits are in a completely different league because their copious fiber and nutrients actually slow down their absorption into the bloodstream, and the negative effects of the AGEs are mostly counteracted by the fruits’ vitamins and minerals.
Sugary foods aren’t the only AGE threat.
A lot of our cooking methods actually kickstart the glycation process in the foods we eat, leading to “preformed AGEs” that are especially common in things like grilled and seared meats that have been exposed to high heat.
The good news is that cooking foods low and slow — at lower temperatures and for longer — with lots of added moisture can do a lot to combat the threats of AGEs.
Soups, stews and steamed foods are good examples, and some research suggests that poached meats have only a quarter of the AGEs found in their roasted and grilled counterparts.
While the consequences of excess AGEs are enough to make anyone rethink their diet, many might gladly trade a few extra wrinkles for the occasional roast chicken.
