Comment by selbyk
4 days ago
For others who also don't know what advanced glycation end-products are/are a bit confused by the headline:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_glycation_end-produ...
Found in humans, they are bio markers for quite a few diseases, including diabetes (type 2 = insulin resistance).
Food sources are animal products.
Wiki says vegetarians have been shown to have more than non-vegetarians, discounting dietary reasons for high levels in humans. This study suggests otherwise.
What's interesting about them is that if you microwave your food, you get fewer of them[1]. That's because they are primarily produced by the mallard reaction which is caused by food, such as bread, getting toasted[2]. The worst foods for this are barbecued stuff. Also, carmel color is very rich in advanced glycation end products, so avoid Diet Coke!
[1]https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3704564/
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction
> they are primarily produced by the mallard reaction
Hmm, I wonder if the propensity to poach, velvet or steam meats aligns with some of the discrepancies we see in diabetes and longevity among otherwise similarly-eating populations.
> also, carmel color is very rich in advanced glycation end products, so avoid Diet Coke!
Interesting, why can't all of chemistry not provide a better formulation for darkening Coke? is there something difficult to mask in there?
I would bet money there are many different ways to color a beverage similarly. But I would bet even more money that Coca-Cola won't ever change its formula, and especially not based on dietary research. When there's public paranoia and sales suffer, they'll introduce something like Coke Plus in an effort to win over a more health-conscious market. They'll keep making Coke Classic same as it ever was and keep selling it to everyone else.
Why do caramelized or otherwise 'yarded foods please us then?
The infographic in the article suggests they occur in aged cheeses, fried foods (including chips and french fries), roasted nuts (including peanut butter), and seared tofu. I believe those are all vegetarian staples.
The infographic also blames it on seared meats and fried eggs, so not exclusively an issue for vegetarians. The link to diet in general does seem a little tenuous though?
My takeaway from this was to consider not only the food product of choice, but the cooking method. It may be the cooking method is more important than the food choices themselves?
Perhaps, if you are a vegetarian that eats lots of fried, sauteed, or roasted vegetables (chasing umami), you might be no better off than a non-vegetarian who is consuming predominantly raw, steamed, or boiled animal products.
Anecdotally, this would correlate with the many obese or poorly nourished vegetarians I have known, despite their "healthy" diet.
In any event, we should all be eating more fiber.
Yeah, I just thought "Food sources are animal products" might be an inaccurate characterization.
As far as the link to diet goes, I'm not an expert but look at pretty much every report with suspicion unless there is a lot of independent confirmation.
From the outside "meta-analysis" seems like fishing for signal and then jumping on results as causal. But I honestly don't know if these things proceed via scientific method (I have a theory, I've devised this test, etc) or are digging up possible relations between data and then making a story to match whatever pops up.
Don't over-cook your food. AGEs, PAHs, etc. are all bad.
but how else will we get that sweet sweet aroma from Maillard reaction....
Cook it sous vide and then give it a quick sear.
Everything in moderation.
5 replies →