Glycation

For diabetics, internal AGE production from chronically high blood glucose far exceeds what diet or lifestyle factors alone contribute. For diabetics, internal AGE production from chronically high blood glucose far exceeds what diet or lifestyle alone contributes. The sugar-protein combination — not the vegetable-protein combination — drives harmful glycation. Fructose produces seven times the glycation effect of glucose. HbA1c is the clinical measure of systemic glycation, quantifying hemoglobin rendered partially unusable by sugar attachment. AGEs are directly measured by the HbA1c test, which quantifies the percentage of hemoglobin proteins that have been glycated and can no longer carry oxygen effectively. Skin autofluorescence can measure AGE accumulation without a blood draw. AGEs are described as being found at higher concentrations in Alzheimer's brains at autopsy. AGEs are a shared underlying mechanism for multiple distinct diseases, not a single disease themselves. AGEs form internally when chronically elevated blood glucose reacts non-enzymatically with proteins and fats. Glycation is the chemical fusion of a sugar molecule with a protein or fat, producing a dysfunction…