You will remember that glycation causes us to wrinkle. The main internal cause of glycation is – as alluded to in the previous post – high blood sugar levels. This makes it more likely for glycated tissue to form. Fructose – sugar from fruit – is even worse than glucose in this respect. Fructose glycates tissue around 10 times more. So cut down on those fruit juices.

The main external cause of glycated tissue is eating food which has been browned. Browned food – fried or roasted meat, toast, even bread crusts – is already glycated before you eat it.

So when we do eat it – we are, in effect, eating wrinkles.

Modified Diet

So, I realized it was not to hard to cut most glycated food out of my diet.

Frying - A Cause of Glycation

I cut out 90% of frying, roasting, grilling. I started poaching my salmon in a little liquid – wine, stock, or even water with a bit of soy sauce. I don’t bother frying my spices any more when making a curry – or just very slightly. A stir-fry has become a very quick, light ‘fry’, followed by a lid and steaming.  On the rare occasions I have toast I toast it very lightly indeed.

Reducing Blood Sugar Level

To address the internal cause of glycation – raised blood sugar level – I had already taken steps in this direction months earlier. I had virtually cut out potatoes, bread pasta and rice. The reason is that because these are all 90% (or so) sugar. I am not a great pudding or ‘sweetie’ person, so that was fine.

My blood tests from April 08 showed a blood sugar level slightly above what I would like. My new blood tests from Frontier Clinic, Denver would let me know if that was still the case. Having cut down on starchy food (the potatoes, etc) after the first blood tests, I would hope the new tests would show an improvement in my blood sugar level.

Losing Weight

Funnily enough, following my change of diet to a non-glycation diet – avoiding cooking at high temperatures – I lost 2 inches off my waistline over the next 2-3 months. I can only put it down to this dietary change; though I can’t see why that would be. My weight is usually quite stable.

As I said, cutting down on starchy food had happened months before, so I don’t think it was that. The couple of inches loss was welcome anyway as I had noticed it go on over the previous 5 or so years.

Do you think glycation will make you cut doend the sugar – including bread, potatores, pasta – you eat? Tell me in the comments.

Article on Glycation