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October 24, 2005
Healthy Cooking and the Dangers of Glycation
You've probably heard that meat isn't safe unless you cook it until it's brown. Once again, this advice is dangerously wrong. Overcooking food denatures proteins, breaks down vitamins, and removes nutrients. Still worse, cooking at high temperatures triggers a chemical reaction called glycation.
Glycation binds protein and glucose molecules in the body. It results in a disfigured protein assembly or a glycotoxin. As glycotoxins accumulate in your cells, they send out chemical signals that cause inflammation. In addition, these abnormal proteins do not regenerate; they remain damaged forever. This process contributes to premature aging and disease. Conditions associated with glycation and inflammation include aging, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
When we overcook foods, large amounts of glycotoxins collect in the food. A new study demonstrates that if we eat these foods, the glycotoxins transfer to our tissues. Researchers at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine evaluated two groups of people who had diabetes. One group ate a diet low in glycotoxins, and the other group ate a diet high in glycotoxins. After only two weeks, the high-glycotoxin group had up to 100 percent more glycotoxins in their blood and urine than those who ate the low-glycotoxin diet. Clearly, glycotoxins transfer from your food into your body.
To avoid glycation, keep the following tips in mind:
Cook food at lower heat. Low heat doesn’t have to mean low taste. Use plenty of spices and fresh herbs to boost the taste of meals.
When cooking, rely on steaming, stewing, boiling, poaching, and oven baking. Limit highly fried or charred food to no more a couple of times a week.
Marinate your meat. When you broil – and even if you occasionally char food – the moisture from the marinade slows down the process of glycation. (Coincidentally, food usually tastes better when it’s juicy.) Some favorite marinades include olive oil, wine, garlic, vinegar, citrus juice, and crushed tomatoes in any combination.
Take a carnosine supplement. Researchers discovered that supplemental carnosine helps prevent glycation. A recent laboratory study shows that supplemental carnosine plays a role in disposing of glycated proteins in tissues.
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Posted by james at October 24, 2005 6:21 AM