Foods cooked at high heat linked to inflammation

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Foods cooked at high heat linked to inflammation

Last Updated: 2002-11-11 17:00:35 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with diabetes may be able to lower their

risk of heart disease by consuming cool foods, or dishes cooked at

relatively low temperatures, such as salads and tuna fish, preliminary

research suggests.

According to the study, foods cooked at high temperatures spurred the

production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), compounds in the blood

that stimulate cells to produce inflammation-causing proteins, in a group of

adults with diabetes.

While AGEs are normally produced in the body at a slow rate, they can be

toxic and form more quickly when food is heated to high temperatures, the

researchers explain in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings

of the National Academy of Sciences.

Inflammation is associated with heart disease among all people, but people

with diabetes are thought to be particularly vulnerable. The study points to

a simple way for people with diabetes and possibly healthy individuals to

reduce levels of inflammation in the body.

While most of the previous research has focused on foods people with

diabetes should avoid, the current study points to the importance of food

preparation methods, Dr. Helen Vlassara, the study's lead author, told

Reuters Health.

" Unlike the emphasis that has been put so far on the nutrients themselves,

our work really points to the mode with which we have been accustomed to

preparing our food. It seems that the byproducts that we form inadvertently

simply by processing our food puts us at risk, " said Vlassara, from Mount

Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

She noted that a number of animal studies support these findings in humans.

" In genetically predisposed animals where we know they will develop

diabetes, this (reduced AGE) diet has proven highly protective, " said

Vlassara. " The findings are pretty astounding. "

Vlassara and colleagues fed 24 patients with diabetes one of two healthy

diets that were equal in every way except the level of AGEs due to the

temperature at which the foods were cooked. After 2 to 6 weeks, study

volunteers switched diets.

People who consumed foods cooked at lower temperatures had lower levels of

both AGEs and inflammatory proteins than people who consumed the same foods

cooked at higher temperatures. After just 2 weeks, blood levels of AGEs rose

by nearly 65% among individuals consuming the high-AGE diet and decreased by

30% in individuals consuming the low-AGE diet.

After 6 weeks, levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and

concentrations of the inflammatory protein C-reactive protein (CRP) had also

risen among those consuming the diet high in AGEs and declined among those

in the reduced AGE group, the researchers report. TNF-alpha and CRP are both

markers showing increased inflammation.

" Further clinical studies are needed to establish this modality as a

nonpharmacological intervention for diabetic macrovascular disease, "

Vlassara and colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition

2002;10,1073/pnas.242437999.