Avoiding Glycotoxins in Food

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500 foods were tested for advanced glycation end products (AGEs).

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Now that we know the major source of glycotoxins is our diet, the remaining question is which foods do we need to avoid? The major barrier to progress in this field has been the lack of a large reference database of these toxins in various foods, until now. For the first time ever, 549 foods tested for AGE content.

They tested nuts and seeds, oils, beef, poultry, pork, fish, cheese, soy, eggs, breads, cereals, beans, grains, veggies, crackers, cookies, fruit, dairy, juice, Big Macs, and Hot Pockets, hummus and veggie burgers, candy, soups, condiments, and miscellaneous—from Budweiser to breast milk, coffee and Coke, Jell-O to vodka.

Here were the top 15 most contaminated foods:  chicken, bacon, chicken, hot dog, chicken, beef, chicken, chicken, beef, chicken, turkey, chicken, fish, beef, and chicken.

Now, cooking method does matter. For example, boiled chicken is safer than baked chicken. But more important is plant versus animal. Yes, baked apples have three times more than raw apples, but the amounts are totally negligible.

Here’s a McDonald’s hamburger; here’s a veggie burger fried the same way. Whereas cooking is known to drive the generation of new AGEs in foods, it’s interesting to note that even uncooked animal-derived foods can contain large amounts of dietary AGEs, these so-called glycotoxins.

Typical New Yorker gets about 15,000 units a day. What’s a safe intake? No clue, but there are studies suggesting cutting one’s intake in half may extend one’s lifespan. How might one do that? Well, those who are regularly consuming lower-meat meals, prepared with moist heat (such as soups and stews), as part of a diet rich in plant foods, could realistically consume half.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by MaryAnn Allison.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to Brian Ferrell and Janne Karaste via Wikimedia Commons.

Now that we know the major source of glycotoxins is our diet, the remaining question is which foods do we need to avoid? The major barrier to progress in this field has been the lack of a large reference database of these toxins in various foods, until now. For the first time ever, 549 foods tested for AGE content.

They tested nuts and seeds, oils, beef, poultry, pork, fish, cheese, soy, eggs, breads, cereals, beans, grains, veggies, crackers, cookies, fruit, dairy, juice, Big Macs, and Hot Pockets, hummus and veggie burgers, candy, soups, condiments, and miscellaneous—from Budweiser to breast milk, coffee and Coke, Jell-O to vodka.

Here were the top 15 most contaminated foods:  chicken, bacon, chicken, hot dog, chicken, beef, chicken, chicken, beef, chicken, turkey, chicken, fish, beef, and chicken.

Now, cooking method does matter. For example, boiled chicken is safer than baked chicken. But more important is plant versus animal. Yes, baked apples have three times more than raw apples, but the amounts are totally negligible.

Here’s a McDonald’s hamburger; here’s a veggie burger fried the same way. Whereas cooking is known to drive the generation of new AGEs in foods, it’s interesting to note that even uncooked animal-derived foods can contain large amounts of dietary AGEs, these so-called glycotoxins.

Typical New Yorker gets about 15,000 units a day. What’s a safe intake? No clue, but there are studies suggesting cutting one’s intake in half may extend one’s lifespan. How might one do that? Well, those who are regularly consuming lower-meat meals, prepared with moist heat (such as soups and stews), as part of a diet rich in plant foods, could realistically consume half.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by MaryAnn Allison.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to Brian Ferrell and Janne Karaste via Wikimedia Commons.

Doctor's Note

Be sure to check out Glycotoxins, the first video of this series on AGEs.  

For further context, check out my associated blog post: Harvard’s Meat and Mortality Studies.

If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here. Read our important information about translations here.

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