How cooking our food affects our health

There is ample medical research indicating that the type and quantity of our food is directly related to the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and even Alzheimer's disease. What is not commonly recognized is that how our food is cooked plays an important role.

Cooking many foods at high temperatures produce compounds called advanced glycosylation end products (AGE). AGE are the result of a chemical reaction between proteins, sugars and fats. These compounds are quite inflammatory and contribute to a number of chronic medical conditions including diabetes, atherosclerosis and even dementia.

In the US, the diagnosis, treatment and societal effects of chronic diseases are measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Despite new medications and therapy protocols, many chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia, are becoming more common - not less common. Although we like to blame chronic diseases on genetics, endlessly looking for genes that are associated with the illness, in truth most chronic diseases are the result of our lifestyle.

The two most important factors in preventing chronic disease are exercise and food. Most Americans like their food cooked rather than raw. Most Americans prefer meat to vegetables. These two aspects of the American diet may have a major role in the expression of chronic illness.

Food is cooked for a variety of reasons including killing bacteria and parasites as well as taste and texture. Unfortunately when food is cooked at high temperatures, proteins, fats and sugars interact to form rather toxic compounds called ACE. We also form these compounds as part of our intrinsic metabolic process. However, when cooking foods, especially meat, these compounds are created in large quantity. These are highly reactive compounds that promote inflammation. AGE restricted diets are associated with a significantly reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as shorter life spans. Research in mice have shown that a low AGE diet results in better health and a significantly longer life.

AGE are produced when any food is subjected to cooking. High temperature cooking methods such as broiling, deep-frying, oven-frying, and roasting significantly increase AGE in our foods. Using these cooking methods, beef and cheese produce the highest levels of AGE (beef and cheese are also a major component of the typical American diet). AGE were also produced in chicken, pork, fish and eggs but at lower levels. AGE production is temperature dependent. The hotter the cooking method, the more AGE produced. Indeed, frying eggs at a higher temperature for shorter period of time produced more AGE then frying the eggs at lower temperature for longer period of time.

Ways of reducing AGE in our food include: cooking at lower temperatures for longer periods of time; microwaving before high temperature cooking; marinating food for one hour in vinegar or lemon based marinade before cooking. Also, a vegetable-based diet dramatically reduces AGE exposure (even cooking vegetables results in lower AGE).

Good health is not a matter of luck or genes. It is a matter of choice.

• Patrick B. Massey, MD, PH.D., is medical director for complementary and alternative medicine at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network and president of ALT-MED Medical and Physical Therapy, 1544 Nerge Road, Elk Grove Village. His website is www.alt-med.org.