If you’ve already given up fried bacon and grilled steak to reduce saturated fat in your diet, there may be another good reason to continue to avoid these foods. Foods typically cooked at high temperatures, like meats, may contribute to the risk and exacerbation of chronic diseases linked with inflammation. Research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York shows that frying or grilling certain foods at high temperatures produces compounds that can increase inflammation in the body.
The compounds, called advanced glycation end products (AGEs), are known to be scoundrels, showing up in the blood of people with chronic diseases associated with inflammation, including diabetes, heart disease, RA and OA. AGEs detected in blood were thought to come solely from our body’s natural supply of AGEs, but – here’s the bad news – now scientists have found that foods cooked at high temps create AGEs that can be absorbed by the body. Perhaps 10 percent of AGEs we get from eating seared burgers and fried chicken may be absorbed.
“We expect that increased levels of AGEs increase inflammation, although a direct link to arthritis is not firmly established,” says Jaime Uribarri, MD, the Mount Sinai physician who led the study. This news doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite breakfast meat or get rid of the barbecue forever. “Just diminish your exposure,” advises Dr. Uribarri.
To achieve a lower AGE diet, try the following:
- Limit the amount of grilled, broiled, fried and microwaved meats in your diet.
- Reduce the cooking temperature of meats and proteins. Steam fish and seafood, simmer chicken in a sauce and braise red meat in a cooking liquid.
- Cut down on processed foods. Many prepared foods have been exposed to a high cooking temperature to lengthen shelf life, so they may have high AGE contents.
- Get more fruits and veggies in your diet. Cooked or raw, they’re naturally low in AGEs, and many contain compounds such as antioxidants that can decrease some of the damage done by AGEs.
I have found that a vegatarian diet is helpful AS LONG as you maintain a vitamin/dietary supplement regimen. It is important to get the calcium, protien and omega 3 that you would get in fish, meat and dairy.....Fish is really good to relieve inflammation and veggies are almost all good too. Some reasearch shows that a vegan diet may actually be bad because you loose so many needed nutrients that are in the foods that you can't eat as a vegan. I just think (for me, I am no doctor) that if you are going to avoid meat and dairy it is important to take your vitamins. When my onset came on (27 years old) I was not a healthy eater...My mom told me for YEARS to eat better and take my vitamins. I am now on a strict diet, no dairy, red meat or poultry, no tomatoes either (my favorite in the world) I found that this diet made my pain decrease by about 75% within a week. Also, if you are experiencing unrealistic pain....which you likely are if you are on this sight, I found that tart cherry consentrate was very helpful, 2 tablespoons a day in a juice drink-it is tasty and very helpful. I am sure you know about a lot of these diets and vitamins...I just know that these things helped me! I don't take pain meds anymore..unless it rains hard!