If the idea of developing Alzheimer's disease one day fills you with dread, consider laying off of foods that spent time in a fryer or on a grill. Though the exact cause of this brain disease is still a medical mystery, a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shed some light on a potential culprit: toxic chemicals called advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are released in greater numbers when food is cooked at a high temperature (say by frying or grilling).
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Researchers already knew that AGEs are linked to the kind of cell inflammation that can build up and cause chronic illnesses, such as heart disease. So they decided to take a look at how AGEs might affect cognitive functioning, as well. First, they raised groups of mice on diets containing varying levels of AGEs, with one group fed levels of the chemical that are similar to the levels found in the typically meat-heavy (and greasy) Western diet. The result: The mice fed the AGE-heavy diet closest to what most Americans eat were found to have cognitive issues typical of dementia. Meanwhile, the mice fed the diets with lower levels of AGEs didn’t experience these brain changes.
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Next, the researchers studied 93 humans, all older than age 60. Those with the highest levels of AGEs circulating in their bloodstream appeared to have more cognitive dysfunction, as well as greater insulin resistance, which is a sign of metabolic syndrome (a precursor to diabetes that researchers say may be related to dementia). So what does this mean for you and your cheese fries habit? More research needs to be done to know for sure what role AGEs might play in triggering Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive illnesses, as well as how metabolic syndrome fits into the mix. But if you’re concerned, it can’t hurt to avoid fried foods and consume things cooked via other methods that require lower temperatures.
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