Cooking methods DO matter if you want clear and youthful skin.

The way you cook can create oxidative stress inside your body and increase insulin resistance, making you prone to more acne and signs of aging, much like sugar.

As a recap, when blood sugar levels are elevated, the sugar molecules attach themselves to collagen and form inside the body advanced glycation end products (abbreviated as AGEs).

When AGEs accumulate over time, they make collagen fibers harden and rigid, leading to skin sagging and lines.

Your body will also treat AGEs as harmful substances and will launch an immune defense, which then triggers inflammation. This now further leads to more acne and collagen breakdown.

Because the body is so interconnected, Higher AGEs in the body also result in hormonal imbalances by increasing testosterone levels in women.

AGEs are not only created inside our bodies by consuming sugars that spike our insulin levels, but we can also consume skin-damaging AGEs that are already formed outside of the body by the way we cook our food.

While the body does have ways to eliminate AGEs through enzymes and the kidneys, the damage occurs if too many AGEs accumulate.  Accumulated AGEs formed by the way we cook have the same aging and acne-inducing effects on the skin as the AGEs formed inside our bodies as a result of a sugar rush.

AGEs are formed when foods are cooked in dry heat with high temperatures over longer periods of time. The process by which AGEs are formed in food was first discovered by a French scientist decades ago who explained the chemical reaction that results in the browning of certain foods when cooked. This reaction was named after this scientist and is called the Maillard reaction.

Research on AGEs has accelerated with an increased focus how they are harmful to your overall health. Accumulated AGEs in the body have been linked to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and kidney failure. Essentially, research has uncovered the link between AGEs and shorter lifespans. So the way you cook your food is incredibly important.

This means that foods that are grilled, fried, browned or blackened, broiled, or fast baked at high temperatures have higher AGEs than foods cooked in moist heat or at lower temperatures.  

If you must have something fried, stir-frying is a better option because although it involves cooking food at a high temperature, it requires a much shorter period of time than the time required for deep frying. The key is to avoid cooking foods in high temperatures over long periods of time with dry heat that cause them to brown or blacken.

Another thing to Know is that AGEs are already found naturally in many foods, especially in animal products that are rich in protein and fats.

So that means meats and animal fats are the largest AGE sources when cooked at high temperatures for long periods (with beef having the most, and with fish having the least), followed by aged-fats like cheeses.

Thankfully, there is a way to reduce the damage. Marinating meats with acids (like lemon juice and vinegar) will lead to 20-30% fewer AGEs than non-marinated meats cooked the same way in dry, high heat.

Plant foods such as fruit, vegetables, and many whole grain products have a low AGE content.

However, processed grain products (crackers, chips, and cookies) are higher in AGEs because of their dry heat processing and added fats and sugars, but still have far fewer AGEs than meats cooked in the same way.

Clinical research has found that test subjects who consumed a low AGE diet had lower insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity in as little as two weeks. So it doesn’t take long to experience the benefits of a low AGE diet.

The safest ways to cook involve reducing heat to low or medium temperatures and extending the time needed to cook. And If you must cook foods at higher temperatures for a longer period, avoid dry heat.

The methods of cooking I recommend are: boiling, steaming, slow baking, stewing, poaching, and stir frying or sautéing at low to medium heat levels. You can also use a slow cooker as an easy and safe way to prepare meals.

However, in our pursuit to enjoy life, sometimes we consume meats or other foods that are fried or cooked in dry heat at high temperatures! I mean it happens, So here’s what I recommend:

Prepare your body for foods that could cause acne and damage to your collagen by consuming anti-oxidants (2-3 hours) beforehand, whether in supplement form or by eating other foods rich in antioxidants first.

Anti-oxidants, like Vitamin C, help reduce the damage caused by AGEs. Treat anti-oxidants like an invisible ‘sunscreen’ you consume to protect your skin from the inside out. It’s important to shield our skin from the damage not just from external sources like the sun, but from our diet as well. Personally, I always have antioxidant supplements like Vitamin C on hand to protect my body from internal oxidative damage.

In addition to cooking foods at the right heat levels, we also want to cook with right oils.

Avoid industrialized seed oils because they are highly refined, processed, and unstable. Industrialized oils to avoid include canola, corn, safflower, soy, and other seed oils.

It’s best to cook with cold pressed oils because this procedure neither requires heat nor chemical treatments to obtain the oil, thereby reducing AGE levels and other inflammatory substances. Specifically, I would recommend looking for cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil because they are high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which can help fight oxidative stress.  

However, be aware that cold pressed vegetable oils have lower smoke points than processed or refined oils. The smoke point is basically whenever you see smoke when cooking with that oil. At this point, it means the oil has been oxidized to a large extent and the AGE levels have skyrocketed.

If you consume oxidized oils, it will contribute to free radical formation inside your body. So if you must cook at a high heat point, I recommend air frying, which eliminates the need for oils completely, or cook with refined avocado oil, which has a high smoke point up to 400 degrees ℉.

We’ve gone over a lot of what NOT to eat and what NOT to do, going forward let’s focus on the kinds of foods we should embrace and how to love them as part of our lives. See you in the next lesson!

Featured photo by Haute Stock