PressTV A new study conducted by the U.S. researchers suggests that barbecued, grilled or fried meat may contribute to the development of dementia risk.
Browning meat through different cooking ways produces chemicals known as Advanced Glycation End (AGE) which play significant role in the chemistry of the brain.
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, tested the effect of AGEs on mice and people, according to the study report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research unveiled that mice fed a high-AGEs diet had a build-up of harmful proteins in the brain and impaired cognitive function.
AGEs are produced when proteins or fats react with sugar. The phenomenon can appear naturally and during the cooking process.
The process leads to making defective beta amyloid protein which is an iconic symptom in Alzheimer's disease.
While the mice performed less well in their cognitive functions as well as physical tasks after their AGEs-rich diet, the mice with a low-AGEs diet were able to prevent the production of damaged amyloid.
Besides animal experiments, a short-term analysis of more than 60 people also unraveled a link between high levels of AGEs in the blood and cognitive decline.
"Importantly, reduction of food-derived AGEs is feasible and may provide an effective treatment strategy," the study researchers explained.
"Because cures for Alzheimer's disease remain a distant hope, efforts to prevent it are extremely important, but this study should be seen as encouraging further work, rather than as providing definitive answers," said a professor of medical imaging sciences at University College London Derek Hill.
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