Move away from Western diet to reduce disease risk, says study
More scientific evidence that our diet is the main cause of many diseases. This article discusses the role of AGE’s (Advanced Glycation End products) which result from cooking at high heat like grilling and pasteurization (yes, pasteurization- it kills everything good and bad). These AGE’s seem to trigger  inflammation in the body, and inflammation (mostly chronic) seems to be at the root of most diseases.
But, as my dear skeptic husband points out, we have been cooking our food over open fires for a long, long time. So why now is it causing cancer and other deadly diseases? I think he raises a point worth consideration. I think what we would find, if we dug a little deeper, is that today we eat food prepared this way a lot more than we ever did 100 years ago. Also, we don’t eat as many raw, fresh antioxidants (in veggies, fruits) as we used to, which would counter the negative effects of AGE’s.
Also, another aspect to look at is the artificial chemicals used in this type of preparation: artificial smoke flavors, nitrates, etc. These flavor enhancers often added to processed meat (many foods) are also probably causing inflammation as the body may perceive them as antigens.
But in any case, we know that the western diet, mostly processed with added artificial chemicals, and cooked to the point that most nutrients have been depleted, is not good. And this study is just more proof that the way we eat in this country is making us fat, sick and killing us.