Don't AGE Yourself With Your Cooking

By Kelley Herring

The way you cook may be just as important to your health as the food itself.

"Advanced glycation end products" (AGE) is a class of toxins that have been linked to inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, vascular and kidney disease, and Alzheimer's. And they are absorbed into your body when you eat animal products cooked or processed at high temperatures. (Think grilling, frying, smoking, or broiling, as well as pasteurizing.)

A recent study published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences evaluated 172 healthy men and women in two age groups - a younger group (between the ages of 18 and 45) and an older group (between the ages of 60 and 80). The researchers wanted to determine how age and diet influences the accumulation of AGE in the body.

While researchers found that AGE levels were 35 percent higher in the older group, they could be very high in young, healthy people, as well. In fact, AGE levels in some of the younger, healthy adults in this study were as high as those seen in diabetic patients.

The higher the consumption of foods rich in AGE, the higher the blood levels of AGE and CRP and other markers of inflammation... in all the study participants.

So how can you cook to AGE less? It's pretty simple. Just keep the heat down and maintain the water content in your food. That means enjoying more raw, fresh foods. And when you do turn on the heat, choose to boil, slow-roast, steam, or stew. Also, because pasteurizing promotes AGE, opt for raw milk, cheeses, and juices.

It's Fun to Know: Power Your Cellphone With Your Shirt

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a fabric that can generate enough power to run a cellphone, mp3 player, or similar electronic device. The fabric is made up of high-tech microscopic fibers that generate electricity when rubbed together. The goal is to make clothing that would enable the wearer's movements to power any electronics plugged into it.

The researchers envision a wide variety of applications for this technology, including military and medical uses. But there are still two obstacles they have to overcome: making the fabric waterproof and making it washable.

(Source: Reuters)

Word to the Wise: Cap-a-Pie

"Cap-a-pie" (cap-uh-PEE) - from the French - means "head-to-toe."

Example (as used by Arnold Beichman in the Washington Times): "In another age, there would have been beheadings, clanging prison doors in the dark Tower; there would have been a second royal court with an army preparing to do battle, prancing steeds and knights armored cap-a-pie."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2300, 03-11-08], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.