Advanced Glycation End Products Cause You to AGE!

In the battle to slow the aging process you need to take aim at Advanced Glycation End products commonly referred to in the scientific community as AGEs. This article will help you understand how AGEs are formed , what impact they have on aging, and how they contribute to degenerative diseases. To start we need to focus on proteins and sugar.

Proteins are formed from amino acids and are essential for life. They serve two critical roles.

First, they provide structure for the body. One such structural protein is collagen, which accounts for approximately one third of your body’s total protein. It’s found in skin, muscles, organs and vascular structures. And it provides elasticity and cohesion to these structures.

Second, proteins provide function in the form of enzymes that enable all life-sustaining biochemical reactions to occur within your body.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It provides energy for your cells.

When properly controlled, proteins and sugars can interact without causing any damage to the body.

What are Advanced Glycation End Products?

As you age your structural proteins are damaged by a process known as glycation. This process is an uncontrolled, non-enzymatic reaction between proteins and sugars to significantly alter the structure and function of proteins.

In this process a sugar molecule attaches itself to a protein molecule resulting in the formation of a non-functioning glycated protein called Advanced Glycation End products or AGEs. Research over the last 30 years has implicated AGEs in most of the diseases associated with aging like:

• Alzheimer’s Disease

• Cancer

• Heart Disease

• Type II Diabetes

• Kidney Disorders

• Atherosclerosis

• High Blood Pressure

• Stroke

• Visual Impairment

• Skin Disorders

Because proteins are present throughout your body, the destructive capacity of Advanced Glycation End products is enormous. Understanding how to prevent the formation of AGEs is critical to slowing the aging process and reducing the risk for degenerative diseases.

Two Primary Sources for AGEs!

There are two primary sources for Advanced Glycation End products. The first source is the food we eat. The browning of food is a cooking technique that helps to give desirable flavor to food. It’s achieved by heating or cooking sugars with proteins in the absence of water, and in this process AGEs are formed. It’s estimated that 30% of food-borne AGEs are absorbed when ingested.

The following chart will help you understand how your cooking method can significant increase your consumption of Advanced Glycation End products:

The second source for Advanced Glycation End products happens inside your body. Carbohydrates, either simple or complex, are absorbed by your body to affect your blood sugar levels. Most of your blood sugar goes to providing the energy your body needs to properly function. However, a small proportion of your blood sugar is glycated to form AGEs.

Because of chronically elevated blood sugar levels, diabetics have consistently faced the challenge of AGEs.

Unfortunately this problem has now become an issue for the general population. Over the past 30 years sugar consumption has increased dramatically. Simple sugars like fructose and galactose undergo glycation at about 10 times a higher rate than glucose. Most sweeteners today are approximately 50% fructose or a fructose derivative.

How AGEs Affect Your Body!

Most of the current theory on aging centers on free radical damage caused by oxidative stress. It’s important to note that most Advanced Glycation End products are formed under similar oxidative conditions. This cross-linking between proteins and sugars seem to be a major contributor to the initiation and development of several degenerative diseases like:

· Alzheimer’s disease – This disease has become the greatest fear for aging adults because of the loss of memory and a person’s inability to think. It’s now the most common cause of dementia for those who are aged 65 and older. Although the exact cause is not yet known, it seems that the formation of AGEs and oxidative damage are significant in the formation of beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Both of these destructive tissues contain significant amounts of AGEs. Additionally, recent research has shown that AGEs form early in the disease process.

· Cardiovascular disease – It’s estimated that 48% of Americans suffer some type of cardiovascular disease. More than 600,000 will die with 49% of those deaths being women and over 50% of them being African American. Advanced Glycation End products are involved in the formation of atherosclerotic plaque and directly damage the endothelial cells that are necessary for nitric oxide production. This damage to the blood vessels also increases the risk for high blood pressure, stroke, and erectile dysfunction.

The damage created by the formation of AGEs is not limited to your brain and heart. It also threatens all your organs especially those that have high concentrations of collagen. AGEs have been associated with pancreatic cancer, melanoma, skin cancers, nerve damage, vision problems, kidney problems and the general aging of your skin.

Suggestions to Protect Yourself from AGEs!

Although both proteins and sugars are involved in the process of creating Advanced Glycation End products, it is excess sugar that is the true source of the problem. With this in mind, the following suggestions are designed to help you reduce the formation of AGEs:

1. Reduce your consumption of sugar. Over the last 20 years the average yearly sugar consumption per person in the United States has gone from 26 pounds to 135 pounds. That’s over a 500% increase! The American Dietetic Association believes that sugar consumption is one of the 3 major causes of degenerative diseases in America.

2. Eat vegetables and fruits raw, boiled, or steamed. Remember that water prevents sugars from binding to protein molecules. By eating fruits and vegetables raw or by cooking them in water, or with steam, prevents AGEs from forming.

3. Limit your consumption of processed and browned foods. Food manufacturers use techniques like caramelization and browning to improve the taste of their products. These techniques directly increase the number of Advanced Glycation End products contained in these processed foods.

4. Cook meats low and slow. Higher cooking temperatures will always produce more AGEs than cooking at lower temperatures for a longer time period. Learning how to use a croc pot can allow you to make delicious meals while helping to substantially reduce the productions of AGEs.

5. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. Read the ingredient list for all the foods you consume and avoid those with high fructose corn syrup.

6. Drink water. For many the greatest sources of excess sugar are soft drinks. Switching to water eliminates this potential contributor to the formation of AGEs.

7. Supplement with pyridoxamine a form of Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 has three forms: pyridoxal, pyridoxine, and pyridoxamine. It’s this last form that has been clinically shown to be a natural inhibitor in the formation of Advanced Glycation End products.

8. Stop smoking. Smoking has long been associated with cancer and cardiovascular health concerns. Recent research has clearly shown a significantly higher level of serum AGEs in smokers and especially diabetic smokers.

Conclusion

The glycation process was first described in 1911. Yet approximately 100 years later few people in the general population know about its destructive capabilities. Most food manufacturers are not going to be your allies in this battle.

If you want to slow down the aging process, and reduce your risk for the degenerative diseases associated with Advanced Glycation End products, then you need to take aim at reducing your consumption and production of AGEs. This is especially important if you’re diabetic or borderline diabetic. Remember that it’s sugar, and its various forms, that create the potential for AGEs.

Use the steps above to help reduce the formation of AGEs. It’s an essential part of your anti-aging strategy.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer