eat and create more moisture during the cooking process. Water prevents these sugars from binding to the protein and fat molecules. Preparing food at temperatures less than 250° F minimizes the formation of AGEs. Use water when you cook and you eliminate the production of AGEs.
Follow these tips:
Keep blood sugar low with a real foods diet — This will reduce the sugar supplies available for glycation.
Eat vegetables and fruits raw, boiled, or steamed — AGEs cannot form in raw fruits or vegetables, while boiling and steaming introduce water to the cooking process. Water prevents sugars from binding to protein molecules.
Avoid processed carbohydrates and browned foods — Food manufacturers take steps to increase caramelization and browning in their foods to make them tastier, thus increasing the levels of AGEs in the foods.
Cook meats low and slow — Higher temperatures produce more AGEs than lower temperatures with longer cooking times. Rare and medium-rare meats will have fewer AGEs than fully cooked meats, like barbeque or well-done steak.
Drink green tea.
Exercise: Japanese researchers have found that exercise can help to reduce AGEs. Think of exercise as a way of throwing your AGEs in the trash. Exercise burns calories and also lowers your insulin resistance. As a result, it stabilizes your blood sugar.
AGEs reduce muscle mass and because sugar is attached to muscle proteins, their normal muscle function is inhibited. That increases muscle stiffness. So when you exercise you stimulate anti-aging phenomena, such as: increasing the rate of turnover of collagen in muscles and tendons; producing growth hormones; and reducing oxidative damage. Exercise can even reverse glycation.
And remember to wear sunscreen when you’re exercising outside. A lot more AGEs occur with unprotected skin.
Gillian Scobie is an editor and writer as well as an avid cyclist, runner, swimmer and cross-country skier in Perth, Ontario. She has a special interest in nutrition and how diet can help maximize the body’s energy.
Cycling Can Be A Pain In The Neck
Posted on 04.02.2012
Cycling can be a Pain in the Neck – part 1
By Mary Patterson
Cycling is an activity that requires the body to maintain a position of prolonged back flexion, placing greater demands on the neck. As a result, neck pain is one of the most common complaints experienced by cyclists. Does this sound familiar? You are only half way through your ride and your neck and upper trapezius start to tighten up and ache. You shift your position around to provide some relief, but by the end of your ride, your neck is really aching, and you have a hard time shoulder checking.
Many cyclists think this is a normal consequence of cycling, a sacrifice you have to make in order to ride a bike. But neck pain while cycling is not normal. Cycling should be a comfortable and enjoyable activity. Neck pain on your bike, is a warning sign that your position on your bike is creating undue stress on your neck and should be corrected.
Neck pain can lead to an overuse injury. Micro-trauma to tissue, caused by repetitive sub-maximal loading, without adequate rest, can lead to damaging inflammation and a clinical injury. When referring to neck pain in this article, it will include the neck, the upper trapezius and the muscles between the shoulder blades. Cycling-induced neck and shoulder pain can also cause headaches and tingling in the hands.
Here are a number of causes of neck pain, followed by their solutions to eliminate and prevent it.
The main cause of neck pain is poor posture. Sometimes it is simply a bad habit, left over from your day job sitting at your desk, that needs to be corrected. But more often it is the result of a poor position on your bike that is causing poor posture. Your goal on your bike, and anywhere for that matter, is to maintain a good neutral spine posture. This is the position where there is the least strain on your joints and the least amount of muscle work. Poking your chin forwards and hyperextending your neck places uncomfortable stress on the posterior joints in your neck, parti