RE: Eating glycotoxins

From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Mon May 12 2003 - 19:39:13 MDT

  • Next message: gts: "RE: Eating glycotoxins"

    Behalf Of Brian Atkins wrote,
    > Recently, LEF article says eating glycotoxins (AGEs) in diet increases
    > them in your bloodstream, and also causes inflammation (C-reactive
    > protein, etc.).
    >
    > http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2003/may2003_awsi_01.html
    >
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_ui
    ds=12429856&dopt=Abstract
    > (anyone have access to this? I'd love to read the whole thing)

    Here it is:

    LE Magazine May 2003
    As We See It
    "Eating Food Cooked At High Temperature Accelerates Aging"
    by William Faloon

     new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1
    reveals that eating foods cooked at high temperature may increase the rate
    at which we age. According to this study, the ingestion of high temperature
    cooked foods causes chronic inflammation and the formation of advanced
    glycation end products.

    Life Extension members have been frequently warned about the dangers of
    chronic inflammation and glycation. For the benefit of new members, I will
    succinctly explain these two lethal processes.

    As humans age, there is a systemic increase in inflammatory cytokines
    (destructive cell-signaling chemicals) that contribute to many degenerative
    diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis is a classic disorder where excess levels of
    cytokines cause or contribute to the destructive inflammatory syndrome.
    While inflammatory cytokines can cause agonizing pain, they also disrupt the
    linings of our arteries, mutate DNA and degrade brain cells. Chronic
    inflammation is directly involved in diseases as diverse as cancer,
    atherosclerosis, diabetes, aortic valve stenosis, congestive heart failure,
    Alzheimer's disease and kidney impairment.

    In aging people with multiple degenerative diseases, we often find elevated
    blood levels of C-reactive protein, indicating the presence of an
    inflammatory disorder. When a cytokine blood profile is conducted in these
    individuals, we usually discover excess levels of one or more of the
    pro-inflammatory cytokines. The most common pro-inflammatory cytokines are
    tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, interleukin-1(b) and/or
    interleukin-8.

    Chronic inflammation inflicts devastating effects, especially as humans grow
    older. The lethal consequences of inflammation are clearly established in
    the medical literature.2-14 The good news is that many of the nutrients,
    hormones and drugs being taken by Life Extension members suppress the
    production of these deadly inflammatory cytokines. As you will soon read,
    avoiding foods cooked at very high temperatures can also reduce production
    of inflammatory cytokines.

    Age-accelerating effects of glycation

    The other pathological aging mechanism exacerbated by eating high
    temperature cooked food is the formation of advanced glycation end products
    (A.G.E.'s). Glycation can be described as the binding of a protein molecule
    to a glucose molecule resulting in the formation of damaged protein
    structures. Many age-related diseases such as arterial stiffening, cataract
    and neurological impairment are at least partially attributable to
    glycation. These destructive glycation reactions render proteins in the body
    crosslinked and barely functional. As these degraded proteins accumulate,
    they cause cells to emit signals that induce the production of inflammatory
    cytokines.

    The glycation process is presently irreversible, though a recent study
    indicates a drug in clinical trials may be partially effective. Life
    Extension members take supplements to help protect against glycation.
    According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study,
    consuming foods cooked at high temperature accelerates the glycation
    process, and the subsequent formation of A.G.E.'s.

    A more succinct descriptive term for "advanced glycation end products" is
    "glycotoxin", since "advanced glycation end products" are toxic to the body.
    We will use the word "glycotoxin" from here on to describe the term
    "advanced glycation end products".

    Cooking and aging have similar biological properties

    Cooking foods at high temperatures results in a "browning" effect, where
    sugars and certain oxidized fats react with proteins to form glycotoxins in
    the food. Normal aging can also be regarded as a slow cooking process, since
    these same glycotoxins form in the skin, arteries, eye lenses, joints,
    cartilage, etc. of our body.

    The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study shows that
    consuming foods high in glycotoxins might be responsible for the induction
    of a low-grade, but chronic state of inflammation. In addition, the
    glycotoxins in food cooked at high temperatures also promote the formation
    of glycotoxins in our living tissues. The implication of these findings is
    profound.

    Feeding foods rich in glycotoxins to diabetics

    The presence of glycotoxins in the blood of individuals with diabetes has
    been known for quite some time.15 To ascertain reasons for this, a group of
    diabetics were studied to assess the difference between consuming a diet
    high in glycotoxins compared to diet low in glycotoxins. The high glycotoxin
    diet was induced by heating food for a longer period at higher temperatures
    compared to the lower glycotoxin diet. Using a variety of foods, the
    scientists were able to increase the glycotoxin content five-fold by cooking
    the food at high temperatures.

    After only two weeks, diabetics on the high glycotoxin diet showed a 50% to
    100% increase of glycotoxins in their blood and urine compared to the group
    consuming the low glycotoxin diet. The group eating the high glycotoxin food
    also showed increased levels of inflammatory blood markers such C-reactive
    protein and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha.
    In order to determine whether these significant changes were merely an acute
    response to an altered diet, the scientists carried out a second study that
    lasted for six weeks. Again, those consuming a diet high in glycotoxins had
    higher concentrations of glycotoxins in their bodies, along with increased
    inflammatory cytokines in their blood.

    The researchers also found that eating diets low in glycotoxins reduced the
    level of other potentially harmful substances in the blood, including LDL
    cholesterol ("bad cholesterol"). During the two-week, low-glycotoxin diet,
    diabetics had lower LDL levels than those on a high-glycotoxin diet. A
    six-week, low-glycotoxin diet caused a 33% reduction of LDL, while a
    high-glycotoxin diet increased LDL by 32%.

    Aging control and weight loss

    This study on human diabetics raises intriguing possibilities of preventing
    disease and slowing aging via proper food preparation. First of all,
    previous studies have shown that caloric restriction prolongs life span in
    rodents while simultaneously decreasing glycotoxin formation in body
    tissues.16 There is now considerable evidence that the same glycotoxin
    formation that occurs during cooking also occurs inside the body during
    normal aging17 and at an accelerated rate in diabetics.18 For example,
    glycotoxins accumulate faster in the skin collagen of diabetics compared to
    non-diabetics.19 We also know that glycotoxins engage cell receptors in such
    as way as to promote tumor growth and metastasis (via mechanisms that
    stimulate cell migration, tumor cell growth factors and enzymes that digest
    the extracellular matrix).20

    While this study on human diabetics is preliminary and needs confirmatory
    results in healthy populations, there were other benefits associated with
    consuming a low glycotoxin diet. Not only did the diabetics consuming the
    low glycotoxin diet lose weight, but their blood glucose levels also
    dropped. In the group eating the high glycotoxin diet, blood glucose levels
    increased. Elevated glucose levels can trigger production of deadly
    inflammatory cytokines.
    It should be noted that the number of calories, carbohydrates, proteins and
    fat was the same in both the high and low glycotoxin diets. The diabetics
    consuming the low glycotoxin diet, however, lost weight. It is well known
    that reducing excess weight and glucose levels confers longer life.

    Reversing glycation

    In the August 2001 issue of this magazine, an article reported on a compound
    called ALT-711 that has been shown to partially reverse glycation.
    Regrettably, the company (Alteon, Inc.) trying to get ALT-711 through the
    FDA's approval process is woefully under funded, and clinical studies have
    progressed at a snail's pace.

    On January 21, 2003, some encouraging results were announced from a
    preliminary analysis of a Phase II clinical trial evaluating the activity of
    ALT-711 in treating diastolic heart failure. The significance of these
    results is that diastolic heart failure (DHF) is one of the most common
    types of heart failure in the elderly. DHF is a poorly treated medical
    condition that is characterized by the inability of the heart to relax
    properly and fill with blood, due to stiffening (glycation) of the heart and
    subsequent impaired relaxation of the left ventricle. Diastolic dysfunction
    is estimated to account for 30% to 50% of all heart failure cases, which
    total nearly five million cases in the U.S. alone.

    In this Phase II clinical trial, DHF patients who received ALT-711 for 16
    weeks experienced a statistically significant reduction in left ventricular
    mass. The patients also had a marked improvement in left ventricular
    diastolic filling. Additionally, the drug had a positive effect on patients'
    quality of life, as measured by a well-established heart failure/quality of
    life questionnaire. This Phase II trial is ongoing, and additional analyses
    of the data are being conducted. Here is a quote about the significance of
    this study:

    "ALT-711 offers promise as a novel therapy for diastolic heart failure
    because currently available therapies do not specifically target the
    stiffening heart and vessel walls caused by pathological glucose-protein
    matrixes called Advanced Glycosylation End-product (A.G.E.) Crosslinks. The
    formation of A.G.E. Crosslinks is a natural part of the aging process that
    can lead to stiffening and loss of function in tissues, organs and vessels
    including the heart and large arteries. In previous human clinical testing,
    ALT-711 has shown the ability to restore elasticity to blood vessel walls by
    cleaving A.G.E. Crosslinks.* Additionally, in several preclinical studies
    ALT-711 has been shown to normalize the thickening of the left ventricle and
    remodel the heart."**

    (Please note that these researchers use the term Advanced Glycosylation
    End-product (A.G.E.), which is another way of stating advanced glycation end
    products or "glycotoxins".)

    Life Extension has long argued that the high cost of gaining FDA-approval
    denies Americans access to life-saving compounds such as ALT-711.*** It can
    take so long for a new compound to become an approved "drug", that many
    companies run out of capital before they are able to comply with the FDA's
    Byzantine regulatory procedures. The result is that Americans die even
    though potentially effective therapies sit in the FDA's waiting room.

    Since we cannot yet reverse the pathological effects of glycation, it
    becomes critical for those seeking to prevent premature aging to at least
    slow this lethal process. Avoiding foods cooked at high temperature and
    supplementing with 1000 mg a day of carnosine are the best ways of
    mitigating the glycation process.

    *Wolffenbuttel BH, et al. Breakers of advanced glycation end products
    restore large artery properties in experimental diabetes. Proc Natl Acad Sci
    USA, 1998 Apr 14;958:4630-4.
    **Veronesi M et al. ALT-711, A collagen cross-link breaker, decreases
    myocardial fibrosis and improves endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive
    Dahl salt rats. American Heart Association 55th Annual Fall Conference and
    Scientific Sessions of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research,
    September 2001.
    ***Kanda T. C-reactive protein (CRP) in the cardiovascular system. Rinsho
    Byori 2001 Apr;49(4):395-401.

    What you should do

    Most Life Extension members follow a healthy lifestyle that helps prevent
    glycation and chronic inflammation.

    Inflammatory cytokine production can be suppressed with the proper
    supplementation of fish oil, DHEA, vitamin K and nettle leaf extract. If
    blood tests reveal persistently high levels of inflammatory cytokines, then
    400 mg twice a day of a low-cost drug called pentoxiphylline may bring
    inflammatory cytokine levels down to safe ranges.

    What one eats plays a major role in chronic inflammatory processes.
    Consuming low glycemic foods reduces the insulin surge that contributes to
    chronic inflammatory processes. It is also important to avoid over
    consumption of foods high in arachidonic acid (beef, egg yolk, dairy, etc.).

    We now know that eating too much over cooked food causes an increase in
    inflammatory cytokines. Since most "junk" foods are cooked at extremely high
    temperatures, it makes sense to avoid french fries, hamburgers, potato
    chips, fried food and other snacks. These foods not only contain lots of
    glycotoxins, but they also create other metabolic disorders that can induce
    degenerative disease.

    Consuming at least 1000 mg a day of carnosine, and/or 300 mg of the European
    drug aminoguanidine can inhibit pathological glycation reactions in the
    body. Avoiding foods cooked at high temperature not only reduces
    pathological glycation processes, but also prevents the formation of
    numerous gene-mutating toxins that are known carcinogens.

    When food is cooked at high temperatures, deadly gene-mutating toxins are
    created that increase human cancer risk. This warning has been communicated
    to readers of this publication for many years. Now that overheated food is
    associated with accelerated aging, health conscious individuals have an even
    greater incentive to pay attention to their diet.
    As a member of the Life Extension Foundation, you learn about documented
    methods of reducing disease risk years before the general public.

    Those concerned that they are already suffering from the effects of a
    chronic inflammatory disorder should turn to the next page to learn how they
    can measure and suppress lethal pro-inflammatory cytokines.

    --
    Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, IAM, GSEC, IBMCP
    <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> <www.Newstaff.com>
    


    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon May 12 2003 - 19:52:44 MDT