Toxins Made From Sugar Linked to Aging and Diabetes

Toxins Made From Sugar
by Craig Weatherby

(The following is a guest article from health reporter Craig Weatherby, who writes the Vital Choice newsletter. Vital Choice is our favorite source for the highest quality wild salmon in the world. Check them out here.)

Cooking foods that contain sugars and protein at high temperatures results in a “browning” effect called the Maillard reaction.

In this process, sugars and oxidized fats react with proteins to form pro-inflammatory, cell-damaging compounds called “glycotoxins.”

The chief dietary glycotoxins are carbonyl compounds and advanced glycation end products or AGEs … which stimulate ongoing internal production of the damaging, unstable oxygen compounds known as free radicals.

AGES and other glycotoxins: Agents of premature aging and disease

Normal aging actually resembles a slow cooking process, since glycotoxins form gradually in skin, arteries, eye lenses, cartilage, and other tissues over time.

But eating lots of food high in AGEs and other glycotoxins puts the metaphorical aging pedal to the metal, because they induce low-grade, chronic inflammation while damaging cells.

In addition, AGEs in food promote the formation of more glycotoxins in our tissues, which generate on ongoing stream of inflammation-inducing free radicals.

Sodas sweetened with corn syrup are high in carbonyl compounds … though this is not true of drinks sweetened with cane sugar.

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AGEs are formed when proteins (in any foods) are cooked with sugars at high temperatures, in the absence of water. Water prevents sugar molecules from binding to protein molecules.

The foods highest in AGEs include browned breads and pastries, meat or fish that’s been deep-fried or grilled with a sugary basting sauce, and heat-processed prepared or packaged foods … that is, many packaged and takeout foods.

Because fish cooks so much faster than meat or poultry, grilled, broiled, roasted, or baked fish will be much lower in AGEs, versus meat or poultry cooked those ways … while providing ample omega-3s.

Don’t overreact … the danger only comes from too-frequent consumption of higher-AGE foods. … occasional enjoyment won’t hurt in the context of an overall healthful diet.

To minimize formation of AGEs, follow these guidelines (Goldberg T et al. 2004; Uribarri J et al. 2010):

The formation of new AGEs during cooking is reduced significantly by cooking with moist heat, using shorter cooking times, cooking at lower temperatures, and by use of acidic ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar.

Avoid processed carbohydrates and browned foods – Food manufacturers take steps to increase caramelization and browning in their foods, thereby raising the levels of AGEs.

Cook meats at lower temperatures – Higher temperatures produce more AGEs than lower-temperature, longer cooking times. Rare and medium-rare meats will have fewer AGEs than fully cooked meats, like barbeque or well-done steak.

New York team finds high AGE levels in infants

Last year, scientists from New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine found high levels AGEs in infants (Mericq V et al. 2010).

This phenomenon could significantly raise children’s risk of developing diabetes and other degenerative, inflammation-fueled disorders … everything from dementia and arthritis to cardiovascular disease.

“AGEs can overwhelm the body’s defenses, a worrisome fact especially for young children,” said lead author Helen Vlassara, M.D. (MSH 2011)

The Mount Sinai group said that fetuses acquire AGEs in the womb from mothers whose blood is high in AGEs, while infants get them from over-heated formula … and from over-heated baby foods containing substantial amounts of sugars and proteins.

The infant study showed that blood levels of AGEs can be elevated even at birth, making infants highly susceptible to the inflammation and insulin resistance associated with developing diabetes.

Helen Vlassara, M.D., working with Jaime Uribarri, M.D., and colleagues looked at 60 women and their infants to see if there was a passive transfer of AGEs from the blood of mothers to their babies (Mericq V et al. 2010).

They found that newborn infants – expected to be practically AGE-free – had levels of AGEs in their blood as high as the levels in their mothers.

After switching from breast milk to commercial formula in the first year of life, the infants’ AGE levels had doubled to those seen in people with diabetes … and many also had elevated insulin levels.

Formulas processed under high heat can contain 100 times more AGEs than human breast milk, delivering a huge AGE load to vulnerable infants.

As Dr. Vlassara said, “This clinical study begins to expose the double role food AGEs play in obesity and in diabetes, a major concern for everyone today, particularly young children … a simple intervention such as AGE-restriction … could have a positive effect on these epidemics.” (MSH 2011)

She went on to make a key point: “Given the rise in the incidence of diabetes in children, safe and low cost AGE-less approaches to children’s diet should be considered by clinicians and families.” (MSH 2011)

AGEs in adults … diet changes help

This past summer, the Mount Sinai team published a study in adult diabetics who’d been getting standard treatments for insulin resistance – which promotes and sustains diabetes – to little effect (Uribarri J et al. 2011).

For four months, 18 overweight people with type 2 diabetes and 18 healthy adults were assigned to an AGE-restricted diet or a standard diet consisting of the same calories and nutrients they ingested before beginning the AGE-restricted diet.

The AGE-restricted diet featured poached or stewed foods such as…

mashed potatoes instead of fries
stewed chicken instead of grilled chicken
boiled eggs instead of fried eggs

The results showed that even a modest cut in consumption of AGEs improved insulin resistance in adults with diabetes.

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Surprisingly, these benefits were seen even though the participants did not reduce their total intake of fats or carbohydrates.

The diabetics assigned to the AGE-restricted diet enjoyed a 35 percent drop in blood insulin levels … well beyond the decreases achieved by their previous therapeutic regimen.

This drop in insulin resistance was associated with improved markers of inflammation and a restoration of compromised immune-system performance.

As the first study to show that AGEs promote insulin resistance, its findings could signal the need for dramatically different dietary advice for the management of diabetes.

Dr. Vlassara offered this advice: “The tenets of the diet could not be simpler; turn down the heat, add water, and eat more at home.” (MSH 2011)

Sources

Goldberg T, Cai W, Peppa M, Dardaine V, Baliga BS, Uribarri J, Vlassara H. Advanced glycoxidation end products in commonly consumed foods. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Aug;104(8):1287-91. Erratum in: J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Apr;105(4):647.
Mericq V, Piccardo C, Cai W, Chen X, Zhu L, Striker GE, Vlassara H, Uribarri J. Maternally transmitted and food-derived glycotoxins: a factor preconditioning the young to diabetes? Diabetes Care. 2010 Oct;33(10):2232-7. Epub 2010 Jul 13.
Peppa M, He C, Hattori M, McEvoy R, Zheng F, Vlassara H. Fetal or neonatal low-glycotoxin environment prevents autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. Diabetes. 2003 Jun;52(6):1441-8.
Sandu O, Song K, Cai W, Zheng F, Uribarri J, Vlassara H. Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in high-fat-fed mice are linked to high glycotoxin intake. Diabetes. 2005 Aug;54(8):2314-9.
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine. New study shows inflammatory food toxins found in high levels in infants. October 5, 2011. Accessed at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/tmsh-ns100511.php
Torreggiani M, Liu H, Wu J, Zheng F, Cai W, Striker G, Vlassara H. Advanced glycation end product receptor-1 transgenic mice are resistant to inflammation, oxidative stress, and post-injury intimal hyperplasia. Am J Pathol. 2009 Oct;175(4):1722-32. Epub 2009 Sep 24.
Uribarri J, Cai W, Ramdas M, Goodman S, Pyzik R, Chen X, Zhu L, Striker GE, Vlassara H. Restriction of advanced glycation end products improves insulin resistance in human type 2 diabetes: potential role of AGER1 and SIRT1. Diabetes Care. 2011 Jul;34(7):1610-6.
Uribarri J, Woodruff S, Goodman S, Cai W, Chen X, Pyzik R, Yong A, Striker GE, Vlassara H. Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12.
Uribarri J, Woodruff S, Goodman S, Cai W, Chen X, Pyzik R, Yong A, Striker GE, Vlassara H. Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12.
Vlassara H, Cai W, Goodman S, Pyzik R, Yong A, Chen X, Zhu L, Neade T, Beeri M, Silverman JM, Ferrucci L, Tansman L, Striker GE, Uribarri J. Protection against loss of innate defenses in adulthood by low advanced glycation end products (AGE) intake: role of the antiinflammatory AGE receptor-1. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Nov;94(11):4483-91. Epub 2009 Oct 9.