How Not to Age Because of Candies, Fried Meat, and Cigarettes

Aging is a complex process. There are many scientific approaches and methods to its assessment. One of them is to determine the amount of so-called Advanced Glycation End products, or AGEs.

What kind of mischief are these AGEs?
In simple terms — they are biomolecules of our body to which sugar has glued itself. Sugars can settle on lipids, DNA, but most often we talk about protein molecules, because the primary functioning of our body consists of proteins. Imagine you are a protein, and a sack of potatoes has been tied to your back, forcing you to perform your usual activities all day long, carrying those ten kilograms. It would be a bit hard. The same happens to our proteins with that sugar — they fail to perform their normal work, it’s hard for them to maintain their three-dimensional structure, to interact with other molecules. Our body finds it harder to process them — it requires special enzymes, which we have only limited resources for.

Where do the invaders come from?
Glycation products form under various circumstances, but the lion’s share comes from our food. A simple example is excessive sugar intake. When there is too much of it and it doesn’t get absorbed in time, it sticks to ordinary benign biological molecules, and almost literally — sits on their necks. And they are not at all interested in working properly for the good of the body with those “potato sacks” on them. This is the simplest way of forming glycation products. By the way, fructose in this case is far from holy as well; moreover, its reactivity is even higher than glucose. But this is not a reason to abandon fruits, but a reason not to eat them by the kilo at a time. And another reason not to rely on the harmlessness of fructose-based sweets.
AGEs are also formed when consuming already glycated products — with food and beyond. When they enter our body, a mini-zombie apocalypse begins — newly arrived AGEs attack the locals and transform them into similar ones.
There are plenty of glycation products in meat products. The method of preparation significantly affects this amount — for example, in fried chicken they are 4 times more than in boiled. Interestingly, using acidic marinades (with lemon juice or vinegar) during meat preparation allows reducing the final content of glycation products by almost half. Details about the amount of AGEs in different products can be found in this scientific publication, where researchers compared the content of these components in 549 products.
In addition, AGEs form in large quantities in the lungs when we inhale tobacco smoke.

And how do those AGEs affect our aging?

Serious studies of glycation products began with the investigation of the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. Glycation of our cellular-tissue molecules is the key to all the woes of diabetes — kidney and eye damage, impaired peripheral circulation, and neurological disorders.
And even before that misfortune develops, excessive glycation affects other organs and systems that we associate with age-related disorders.

Skin. Collagen provides structural support, elastin — accordingly — gives it elasticity. Glycation cross-links formed due to sugar attachment cause the molecules to lose their shape and make it harder for them to participate in metabolic processes. This leads to thinner, more saggy skin. Moreover, glycation is involved in the formation of various pigmentations. And what about those creams? Mostly not at all. Because the skin, first of all, performs a barrier function and it strives at any cost not to let through those super-beneficial, innovative substances that were supposed to save it.

Muscles. After about 40, our muscle mass decreases by approximately 5% per decade. This is largely related to those same sugar cross-links that block metabolic processes in muscle fibers.

Joints. When we hear “osteoarthritis,” we picture an elderly person with severely bent knees. Yes, indeed, it is one of the most common age-related diseases — in most people over 60 there is at least one joint with that trouble. One of the key factors of osteoarthritis is the formation of cross glycation bonds in the fibers of joint tissues. Therefore, piling on sugar and products that contain a lot of AGEs can lead to joint problems at a much younger age.

Bones. In recent years, glycation has been considered one of the key factors in the development of osteoporosis.

The good news is that our body, of course, has mechanisms to process glycation products. It’s just that their capacity lags behind our appetites. The results of scientific experiments give reason to hope that within about 10–32 weeks after embarking on a plan, one can expect the beginning of some quantitative changes in our organs and tissues (note: the scientific publication discussed quantitative changes of AGEs in tissues under pharmacological anti-glycation therapy).

What should we do about all this?
We will not go to extremes and call for starting life over — without chocolate, pastries, kebabs, and parmesan, and to eat sprouts, goji berries, and quinoa porridge forever...
We believe life should be joyful, and our food is one of its sources!
Therefore, simply aim to cultivate a sense of moderation and form small healthy habits.

For example:

• do not deprive yourself of pastries, but choose the best and tastiest and eat only one;
• don’t consume a lot of sweets at once — if you really crave it, stretch the pleasure over time;
• monitor your daily sugar intake, track added sugar that lurks in sweets, baking, dairy products, sauces, drinks, etc.;
• avoid sweets based on added fructose;
• expand your culinary repertoire with non-boring recipes that involve less intensive heat treatment — such as steaming, boiling, braising. When cooking meat, you can use marinades with lemon juice or a small amount of vinegar;
• skip fried-smoked-roasted on the grill in your daily diet; let these dishes appear at your table only from time to time;
• between fried egg and boiled — choose boiled;
• reduce the amount of sugar in homemade pastries — practice shows that, at least, removing 1/3 of what is indicated in a typical recipe will not significantly affect the taste;
• quit smoking, and avoid passive smoking.

Photo by Franz Roos on Unsplash

Wishing you strong health and a beautiful face!