Could the way you prepare your foods be leading to inflammation?

Do you ever get that achy feeling out of the clear blue sky with no real reason in sight? It could be from the foods you eat. Well, not necessarily the actual foods but the way these foods are prepared. A recent study at Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that frying or grilling certain foods at high temperatures produces compounds that can increase inflammation in the body. Yikes!

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.

Inflammation in the body is what can often cause an arthritis flare up or that achy feeling you get all over. To prevent being exposed to these increased levels of AGEs, you can take the following steps to modifying your lifestyle:

- 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.

It's also important to remember by cooking foods at high temperatures, you're basically destroying all of the beneficial nutrients. Particularly with fruits and vegetables, make sure to cook at low to medium temperatures for just a short period of time to ensure nutrient preservation. They should be bright with color after the cooking process not dull and gray.

For more information on cooking at low to medium temperatures, click here



To read the article from Arthritis Today in full, click here