Change in cooking may cut diabetics' heart disease risk

WASHINGTON -- A recipe for diabetics: Cook food at low temperatures for short periods of time to lower your risk of heart disease.

Researchers say a toxic compound formed when sugar, proteins and fat are cooked long at high temperatures may increase blood vessel damage in diabetics.

Doctors have for years steered patients away from sugar and fat in the diet, but have ignored another food component that also may cause problems, said Dr. Helen Vlassara, a diabetes researcher at Mount Siani School of Medicine in New York. She said her studies suggest the component can prompt an angry reaction from the immune system that eventually damages blood vessels and arteries.

The component -- called advanced glycation end products or AGEs -- is created when foods are cooked for long periods of time at temperatures typical of baking or frying.

"AGEs attack virtually every part of the body," said Vlassara. "It is as if we have a low-grade infection. They tend to aggravate the immune cells."

She said a lifelong diet high in AGEs leaves the immune system in a constant state of low-grade inflammation which damages the small and mid-sized arteries. This, in turn, can prompt heart disease and other problems common to diabetics, she said.

Vlassara is primary author of a new study appearing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study shows that AGEs can be controlled by cooking foods differently.

Dr. Eugene Barrett, a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia and the president-elect of the American Diabetes Association, said the study by Vlassara is potentially important in the control of diabetes, but more research is needed to understand the role AGEs may play in heart disease.

He said research into AGEs is still at an early stage and it may be too soon to conclude that limiting AGEs will reduce heart disease among diabetics.

Tested 24 patients

Vlassara's study used 24 diabetic patients divided into two groups. One group maintained a normal diet recommended for diabetics which included chicken, fish and meat. The other group had the same foods, but cooked differently.

At the end of six weeks, said Vlassara, the AGEs in the test group had declined by 33 to 40 percent. She said the study was too short, only six weeks, to detect any fundamental changes in the patients' health.

The key to lowering AGEs, said Vlassara, is to cook for a short time in the presence of high humidity. This means either boiling or steaming meats for the minimum time required. Meat can be sautéed, she said, but it should be cut thin and cooked quickly with a small amount of oil.

She said one of the worst AGE offenders is turkey cooked in the traditional American way.