A growing body of research suggests that how you\u00a0cook your food\u00a0\u2014 not just what you eat \u2014 may influence health and longevity.<\/p>\n
The same high-heat methods that give steak its smoky crust, roast chicken its crispy skin, french fries their golden coating and pastries their browned edges also trigger complex chemical reactions in food.<\/p>\n
When natural sugars react with proteins at high, dry heat, they create what\u2019s known as the Maillard reaction, the process responsible for rich flavors, aromas and deep caramel colors, according to multiple sources.<\/p>\n
But the same reaction also produces potentially harmful compounds, including one known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs).<\/p>\n
These compounds form naturally in the body and in\u00a0browned or charred foods.\u00a0They\u2019ve been shown in studies to be associated with tissue stiffness, inflammation and cellular dysfunction.<\/p>\n
\u201cEating more from very browned foods will add to the collective load of oxidative and inflammatory stress overall,\u201d said Ed McCormick, a New Jersey-based food science consultant and CEO of Cape Crystal Brands, which makes natural emulsifiers and thickeners.<\/p>\n
The creation of advanced glycation end products in\u00a0browned or charred foods is connected to aging, heart disease and memory decline.\u00a0 Raivo \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Over time, AGEs can accumulate in the body and have been\u00a0linked to aging, heart disease and memory decline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Higher AGE levels have also been associated with diabetes<\/a>, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and neurodegenerative disorders\u00a0such as Alzheimer\u2019s, according to observational research from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke and other studies.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Burning or charring meat at high heat can also create chemicals linked to a\u00a0higher cancer risk<\/a>,\u00a0according to the National Cancer Institute.<\/p>\n Marbled meats, skin-on poultry, bacon and cheesy toppings are especially prone to AGE formation, McCormick noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cooking methods or sauces that include added sugars \u2014 such as glazes or\u00a0barbecue sauce\u00a0\u2014 can drive levels even higher, he added.<\/p>\n High-temperature cooking methods such as grilling, broiling, roasting, frying and searing can increase AGE content in food up to 100-fold compared to uncooked versions, according to a 2004 Mount Sinai study that measured AGE content under laboratory conditions. Animal-based foods tend to produce the highest levels, it found.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Some social media creators are promoting the trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n But plenty of cooking methods avoid this process.<\/p>\n Water-based cooking methods <\/a>such as steaming, boiling, poaching and simmering can help preserve nutrients and limit AGE formation,\u00a0HuffPost<\/a>\u00a0recently reported.<\/p>\n Some social media creators are\u00a0promoting the trend,\u00a0often claiming benefits such as better hydration, improved cholesterol and anti-aging effects \u2014 though these claims haven\u2019t been independently verified.<\/p>\n Water-based cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, poaching and simmering can help preserve nutrients. peopleimages.com \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n A recent Belgian study published in Cell Reports Medicine found that boiling and steaming the same ingredients under controlled conditions reduced AGE levels by about 50%.<\/p>\n The Mount Sinai researchers also found that marinating meat in lemon juice or vinegar for one hour before cooking can cut AGE formation roughly in half.\u00a0<\/p>\n Research also found that marinating meat in lemon juice or vinegar can cut AGE formation roughly in half.\u00a0 myviewpoint \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n They recommend lower temperatures,\u00a0shorter cooking times\u00a0and covered dishes for the best results.<\/p>\n Adding antioxidant-rich herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, oregano and garlic can further reduce harmful high-heat byproducts in cooked meats and baked foods, according to multiple studies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe realistic promise is to lower the inflammatory burden, not\u00a0reverse the clock,\u201d\u00a0McCormick said.<\/p>\n He advises using gentler, moisture-based cooking methods that stay near 212 degrees Fahrenheit to help limit the Maillard reaction, which intensifies once temperatures climb above about 300 degrees.<\/p>\n McCormick also recommends using slow cookers or pressure cookers, which add moisture and help prevent excessive browning. When grilling a main dish, he suggests pairing it with moisture-rich sides such as\u00a0steamed vegetables or braised greens.<\/p>\n For flavor, he recommends leaning on aromatics, acids and umami \u2014 ingredients like miso, mushrooms, citrus or vinegar \u2014 and, if desired, finishing with a brief sear for texture and color.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A growing body of research suggests that how you\u00a0cook your food\u00a0\u2014 not just what you eat \u2014 may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[128,49,48,26309,2985,2069,84,1955,890,18139,395,6373],"class_list":{"0":"post-223577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cooking","12":"tag-diabetes","13":"tag-food-drink","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-heart-disease","16":"tag-lifestyle","17":"tag-meat","18":"tag-nutrition","19":"tag-sugar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}