A new study says grilling and broiling meat seems to be
increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s and pre-diabetes.
Meatingplace Magazine reports on the study saying grilling
and broiling creates compounds called advanced glycation
endproducts, or AGEs, and that they suppress levels of “sirtuin, or SIRT1, a
natural defense that protects against Alzheimer’s disease as well as metabolic
syndrome, a pre-diabetic condition.”
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai in New York studied AGE levels in mice and in healthy humans over
the age of 60.
“The study showed that people with high blood
levels of AGEs over a nine-month period developed cognitive decline and signs
of insulin resistance and SIRT1 suppression,” says the magazine.
“Our studies of both animals and human subjects
confirm that AGE-rich foods are a lifestyle-driven reality with major health
implications,” it quotes from the online journal of proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
“The findings point to an easily achievable
goal that could reduce the risk of these conditions through the consumption of
non-AGE-rich foods, for example, foods that cooked or processed under lower
heat levels and in the presence of more water – cooking methods employed for
centuries," said Helen Vlassara, a
professor of geriatrics at Mount Sinai.
