Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE's)

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE's) are basically the nasty byproducts of glucose metabolism.  The typical Western Diet, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, too much fat and insulin resistance, leaves our bodies churning out excess glucose and unable to burn it.  It stays in our blood stream too long and there does incredible damage.

One of the most damaging aspects are the Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE's), which includes visible structures such as "liver spots" on the skin to accumulated wastes in various tissues that  interfere with normal metabolic processes on the cellular level and lead to Inflammation.  And Peak Testosterone readers know that Inflammation is one of our arch-enemies. 

So are there some easy ways to combat Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE's)?  Of course!  As usual, science has come to the rescue and showed us many ways to get our blood sugar (and AGE's under control):

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1.  Glycemic Load.  If you've read anything health-related in the last ten years, you've probably come across an article or two about Glycemic Index.  Glycemic Index is just a fancy and rather polite way  of telling you that eating a bunch of sugar and starch is bad for you. If you understand that, then you understand the Glycemic Index and don't need to read much from the 40,000 web pages on the subject out there..  I would like to point out that Glycemic Load is a more relevant topic and so I recommend that you keep it in mind.

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2.  Exercise.  Exercise burns calories, lowers insulin resistance and these will in short order stabilize your blood sugar. 

3.  Fructose.  Fructose speeds up Advanced Glycation End Products. One researcher summarized it nicely: "This study demonstrates that long-term fructose feeding accelerates aging as expressed by changes in various age-related markers measured in collagen from skin and bones." [9] The title of another study says it all: "Fructose Ingestion Enhances Atherosclerosis and Deposition of Advanced Glycated End-products in Cholesterol-fed Rabbits" [10]  In other words, fructose ages you internally (your arteries) and externally (your skin).

4.  Vinegar. Several studies have shown that a tablespoon or maybe two will lower blood sugar levels even after a starchy meal.  One study showed, at least in diabetics, improved insulin sensitivity after consumption of vinegar. [4]

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5.  Cinnamon. One study of diabetics, but keep in mind that most Westerners have blood sugar issues of varying degrees, demonstrated "that intake of 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon per day reduces serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes".  [5]  This is not a lot of cinnamon and would seem like a no-brainer to help defend against Metabolic Disorder, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE's) and Heart Disease, except for one problem:  there is a certain type of "mock" cinnamon (Cassia) that has significant amounts of coumarin, which can be poisonous to the kidneys. You only want to buy true cinnamon, which is Ceylon Cinnamon.

6. Alpha-Lipoic Acid.  Again in diabetic patients, alpha-lipoic acid has shined, showing that it reduces glucose levels. Maintenance levels for relatively healthy individucls is typically about 50 mg/day.  [6]  NOTE:  Alpha-lipoic Acid also has another huge benefit:  increase one of the body's primary antioxidants, glutathione. [7]  Raising glutathione levels has remained elusive, but alpha-lipoic is one of the few that has done it. 

7. Dietary Fat. Scientists found that rats fed a high fat diet developed cholecystokinin (CCK) resistance. [8] Cholecystokinin, or CCK, sends a signal to the brain, which in turn sends a signal to the liver to decrease glucose (blood sugar) production. A high fat diet sabotages this process, which means increased blood sugar levels for you.  In other words, you may think that you are doing your skin good by eating a diet high in fat because you are then avoiding carbs, but this is not the case.  I noticed my skin clearing up immediately - yep, smooth as a baby's butt - when I went on a Low Fat Diet for example. 

REFERENCES:

1) Lancet,1990,336:129-33;Am. J. Cardiol,2003,91:1316-22

2) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4365/is_/ai_n29180324

3) Circulation, 1992, 86:1-11

4) Diabetes Care, 2004, 27:281-282

5) Diabetes Care, 2003 Dec, 26(12):3215-8

6) Atzrieimittel-Forschung, 1995, 45:872-874

7) Arzneimittel-Forschung, 1992, 42:829-831

8) Cell Metabolism, Aug 6 2009, 10(2):99-109, "Intestinal Cholecystokinin Controls Glucose Production through a Neuronal Network", Grace W.C. Cheung, et. al.

9) J of Nutr, Sep 1998, 128(9):1442-1449, "Long-Term Fructose Consumption Accelerates Glycation and Several Age-Related Variables in Male Rats", Boaz Levi and Moshe J. Werman

10) J Atheroscler Thromb, 2005, 12(5):260-267, "Fructose Ingestion Enhances Atherosclerosis and Deposition of Advanced Glycated End-products in Cholesterol-fed Rabbits"