Longevity Briefs: Can You Slow Ageing By Cooking With Water?

Longevity briefs provides a short summary of novel research in biology, medicine, or biotechnology that caught the attention of our researchers in Oxford, due to its potential to improve our health, wellbeing, and longevity.

The problem:

Advanced glycation products, or AGEs, are molecules that are formed when sugars react with proteins or fat in a reaction known as the Maillard reaction. AGEs are thought to accelerate the ageing process in many tissues in various ways, notably by linking proteins together. For example in the skin, AGEs can link neighbouring collagen proteins together, making the skin less strong, less elastic, and harder to heal.

AGEs are formed within the body, a process that is accelerated by high blood sugar. However, AGEs are also formed during cooking and then consumed. In this study, researchers give an overview of experiments showing how different cooking methods can alter the formation of AGEs.

The discovery:

The researchers reviewed 23 studies analysing AGEs in various foods. Cooking techniques like frying, grilling and roasting were enhancers of AGE formation due to a combination of factors. These included direct exposure to heat sources, reactions between hot oil and the food, and higher exposure to air increasing the oxidation of lipids and proteins, leading to intermediates in the AGE formation reaction. Cooking methods involving lower temperatures and high moisture like boiling, stewing and poaching substantially reduced AGE formation. For example, meat boiled for 3 minutes had less than half the AGE content of the same meat fried for 3 minutes. Boiling meat at 65°C for an hour increased its AGE content by 50%, while the same cooking time at 100°C led to a greater than 350% increase.

Another factor that significantly affected AGE content was marination. Marinating foods in acids like lemon juice or vinegar reduced the pH of the food, slowing down the Maillard reaction and reducing AGE formation.

The implications:

Certain cooking methods significantly limit the formation of AGEs. Exposure to AGEs have been linked to multiple age-related diseases including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and complications of diabetes, so using cooking techniques to reduce exposure could be quite beneficial. However, we should remember that cooking is not the only factor at play. Fat-rich foods like red meat and processed foods are always going to contain significantly more AGEs than fruits and vegetables, regardless of how either is cooked. It is therefore important to limit the consumption of such foods as well – simply boiling everything won’t make it healthy.