AGEs are toxic compounds, called glycotoxins, produced by complex chemical reactions in foods. When a food is cooked in a dry heat, grilled, broiled, roasted, seared and/or fried, AGE chemicals have been shown to increase. These compounds are produced bynonenzymatic glycoxidation reactions which happen with reducing sugars and free amino acids groups. These groups include proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. The result are proteins, lipids and nucleic acids which have bonded with sugars.

AGEs, also known as, advanced glycation end products can shorten your lifespan dramatically.

AGEs are causing a great deal of concern among health care professionals because of the increase in diseases related to them. Over the last three years, many of these diseases have been tied to the addition of simple sugars in beverages and food. Scientists have reason to believe high sugar consumption causes an increase of AGE chemicals in the human body.

Additionally, red meat has a great deal of AGEs in it only made worse when it is grilled.
AGEs are responsible for several illnesses including neurodegenerative disease,
atherosclerosis, and chronic inflammatory disease. For those suffering from diabetes the accumulation of AGEs is faster, resulting in complications.

On the upside, there are a variety of foods which are very low in AGE production after cooking. These include vegetables, fish, legumes, fruits, milk, and whole grains. There are also ways of decreasing the amount of AGEs in foods, such as shorter cooking times, lower cooking temperatures and utilizing acidic ingredients, such as lemon juice or vinegar.