In a recent article regarding the benefits of a carnivorous diet, a reference footnote mentioned that vegetarians have a much greater rate of advanced glycation end products or [AGE] than do the meat and vegetable eaters. It would behoove the reader if we were to investigate AGEs for a better understanding of them. When a protein is nurtured with a sugar, the sugar eventually binds irreversibly to the protein through a method known as glycation. The development and build up of advanced glycation end products has been concerned in the progression of age associated illnesses.
AGEs are identified as photosensitizers in the crystalline lens via cross linking and have been determined to be a cause of cataract creation. AGEs have also been connected with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and cardiovascular illness. AGEs cause harm due to a process known as cross linking which creates intracellular injury and apoptosis or programmed cell demise. A decrease in muscle capability is also connected to AGEs. There are a number of names for the reaction such as the Maillard reaction, Schiff’s base formation, the Amadori reaction etc, with minimal variations between these unique processes though arguing the differences here would not be a benefit.
If a protein has a particular action to perform within the system as a result of its structure and as a result is bound to a sugar it cannot dispose of, then the protein will not operate as efficiently as was intended. When that occurs, the body will eradicate the protein since it is considered to be disposable.
Given that most of our bodies are built using proteins and all of these proteins are consumed by blood with glucose as a main ingredient, the result is that a number of these proteins will experience glycation. The longer the sugar and proteins are in contact; the greater the amount of glycated proteins will be produced. This is an ongoing process within our bodies that continues, as we grow older and as we age, more of these compounds build up, hence the poetic name AGEs.
If we placed two containers out with proteins in them and added some sugar into each with one getting double the quantity, the container with the most sugar in it will wind up with the larger amount of glycated proteins in it. This is true when it occurs in the body as well. With chronically high blood sugar levels, there will be more glycated by products – such as hemoglobin A1c that is utilized as a yardstick to calculate the average blood sugar levels over the last few months.
Hemoglobin is that protein, which resides in red blood cells, becomes bound to oxygen, and transports it within the body. Sugar is always present in the blood; some of this sugar attaches itself to the hemoglobin by the glycation procedure. If the blood sugar acts as it does with a diabetic, it will rise and stay that way and the increased levels of glucose begin to create still more glycated hemoglobin, called hemoglobin A1c. [Fructose is a better performing glycating agent [actually a fructating agent] than glucose or blood sugar, so by adding high fructose corn syrup into nearly everything will not be helping us much from a glucose perspective. By the same token, hemoglobin is not the sole protein being glycated – it is the one most often measured.
Having raised glycated protein levels is not an optimum situation. It is a good thing when our proteins are in working order like they were intended to be and not getting gummed up with excessive amounts of sugar dripping from them. These glycated proteins wind up in the cellular refuse containers, the lysosomes and they are considered to be a major cause behind the process of aging. When cells have too much junk, they do not work properly and require a cleaning procedure to work at optimal levels. When too many of our cells are not functioning correctly, we will not be functioning correctly.
Scientists evaluated a faction of nineteen vegetarians [lacto-ovovegetarians] and compared them to a different set of omnivorous participants selected from the same districts of [Bratislava, Slovak Republic]. The result was the omnivores ingested a bit more carb [saccharides] on a daily basis than the vegetarians did. But not enough to be conclusive. The vegetarians ate more fruits and vegetables providing them an increased amount of fructose.
When scientists measured the glycation by product carboxymethyllysine, which is a benchmark for oxidative stresses and long term protein damage due to aging, they noticed that arthrosclerosis and diabetes was considerably increased in the vegetarians when compared to the meat and veggie faction. Fluorescent AGEs are really a true dimension of AGEs within the bloodstream. Researchers indicated that fluorescent AGEs act as a guide of sophisticated glycation and raise linearly for human serum albumin, a protein in the blood, nurtured with glucose exponentially when fructose is mixed in to the incubation procedure.
Fluorescent AGEs were also found in increased levels in the vegetarians. An interesting finding by researchers was that vegetarians do not use elevated temperatures when preparing their foods, preferring lower heat for cooking for shortened periods of time. This is fascinating since so many anti meat proponents go on and on about the harm from overcooking of meat or specifically barbequing, because of the AGEs created in the procedure. They appear to think these wind up in the bodies of persons eating grill fired or over cooked meat. It probably goes without saying that the majority of omnivores who eat meat are likely overcooking most of it. That being the case, they show less build up of AGEs then the all finicky vegetarians.
As an addendum to vegetarian cooking, the use of soy products is prevalent and this is heated in some cases but only modestly. The result could be a lack of heat induced “bug eradication” that extreme heating of meats and other omnivore cooking practices provides. There is also a fair amount of sugar in the form of syrups etc used in vegetarian food preparation.
Regardless of how healthy the vegetarian zealots claim they and their meals are, the data from the research is apparent and leaves no doubt, who should be concerned.
Tue, Jan 5, 2010
Anti Aging, Bioscience, Health And Aging, Longevity