How old are you on the inside? A new device reveals how quickly you're ageing...
Forget how many years you’ve clocked up — experts say what really matters when it comes to how good you look and feel is your ‘biological age’.
This is the physiological age of the internal systems that keep your body functioning healthily and looking good — from your kidneys, brain and nervous tissue through to your skin.
One of the best markers of this is the level of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) in your body.
AGEs are harmful compounds that are formed by glycation: a chemical reaction that happens naturally as we age, but can be accelerated by poor lifestyle choices.These AGEs trigger an inflammatory response, causing tissue damage and premature ageing, as well as contributing to the development of age-related diseases such as diabetes, vision impairment, heart disease and kidney damage.
As we revealed in our definitive sugar series with Brooke Alpert earlier this year, your dietary intake of sugar affects the speed at which glycation happens — and therefore the rate at which AGEs are produced. The more sugar you consume, the more AGEs are generated. But it’s not only sugar that takes its toll.
Dr Nessar Ahmed, reader in clinical biochemistry at the School Of Healthcare Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, explains: ‘Foods cooked at high temperatures with direct heat, such as grilling and frying, where caramelisation occurs, increase the production of AGEs.’
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