Advanced glycation end products (aptly known as AGEs) are often the thing that ends up bringing our lives to an end. So there’s a lot of interest in reducing the build-up of these in the body.
The clearest way to see them is by the wrinkles in your skin, but they also show up as heart attacks and dementia.
What Is Glycation?
Glycation is the biochemical term used to describe the bonding of sugar molecules to proteins and fats that make up the structure of your body. This process forms advanced glycation end products, which cause the affected proteins and fats to become misshaped and inflexible.
The bulk of the offending sugar molecules are glucose.
We need a certain amount of glucose in our bloodstream, so to a certain extent glycation is inevitable, and is a normal part of aging. However, dietary choices that load your system with sugar dramatically speed it up, aging you faster in the process.
Advanced Glycation End Products – The Effects
When glucose bonds with proteins it damages them, so they can’t do their job properly.
This is clearly seen in the skin as people get older. Sugar combines with elastin and collagen (proteins found in the skin), making them stiff and inflexible. The skin loses it fullness and becomes wrinkled.
But this doesn’t just happen in the skin, advanced glycation end products occur throughout the body.
One area where they wreak havoc is in the blood vessels. As the proteins in the blood vessel walls get more and more glycated, they ‘harden’. This sets the stage for things like heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and kidney disease. It’s why all of these things are more likely to happen if you’re diabetic.
Reducing Glycation
I raise the issue of advanced glycation end products in Uber Slim, because it ties in with health and weight loss. And it gives good reason for the nutritional advice I give.
Although glycation is a normal part of metabolism and aging, it’s speeded up with a high carb diet (which is often the root of weight problems too).
Carbs are broken down and absorbed as glucose, so when you eat a high carb meal (e.g. a plate of pasta, or a bowl of cereals) you shoot your blood sugar up for a while. The higher your blood sugar is at any given time, the higher the rate of glycation, and the more advance glycation end products are created.
You can reduce glycation by reducing the amount of sugar you put into your body. Sugar comes not only from sweet things, but all carbs and fruit too. I encourage people on my courses to replace some of the carbs they eat with healthy fats.
If you’d like to learn more about eating for health check out Uber Slim, because it’s not just about weight loss, it’s about giving your body what it needs to live a long and healthy life.
Contact me if you’ve got any questions.
Have a great week
Dr Julie