There is no aging - there is protein glycation. Let's understand what this incomprehensible term "glycation" hides under itself and how this process affects human aging.
Why do premature wrinkles appear at the age of 20-25? What leads to premature aging? Why does the face lose its elasticity and firmness? We will talk about all this in this article.
Every person is faced with glycation every day. In order not to delve into medical terms and explain the term "glycation" in a simple and understandable language, we will give an example. When roasting bread, a fragrant crispy brown crust always appears, while frying meat - a characteristic smell, characteristic color and characteristic taste. All this is protein glycation.
Carbohydrates that enter the body with food are broken down into very simple sugars - sucrose, fructose, galactose and lactose. When these sugars meet with proteins (amino acid residues) and combine with them, protein glycation occurs.
That is, glycation is a chemical process in which sugar combines with proteins, creating glycosylated products. This process is irreversible, it happens to every person throughout life, accelerating and gaining strength over time.
To understand how protein glycation is associated with premature aging, it is important to pay attention to 2 things.
First, it is important to remember and understand that life is a way of existence of protein bodies. And it is on how these protein bodies exist that the quality of life of each specific person, each specific organism depends.
Secondly, it is important to understand that glycation occurs at the level of the whole organism and affects absolutely all proteins, changing their properties.
Now, knowing this, let's look at how glycated foods accelerate the aging process.
The main part of the human body consists of collagen - from the extracellular matrix, and collagen in this extracellular matrix occupies a dominant position. Normally, collagen molecules are long springs that run parallel to each other. And it is the stretching and compression of these springs that determines the elasticity of all organs, all tissues and the correctness of metabolic processes.
When the process of protein glycation occurs in the body, inserts appear between these springs, which inhibit the stretching and contraction of collagen molecules, and violate the properties of proteins.
Given that the human body is 80% of the intercellular matrix, in which, as we found out, the main part is occupied by collagen. It can be concluded that collagen glycation leads to very sad consequences.
The source of protein glycation is fast carbohydrates - flour products, bakery products, milk chocolate, sugar, mashed potatoes, semolina, chips and other products, lists of which can be quickly and easily found on the Internet. Also a source of glycation are end products of glycation - fried and baked foods.
All these products, firstly, increase blood sugar levels and seriously reduce life expectancy. How? The fact is that during protein glycation, another defective protein is formed, which is called glucosepan. This protein violates the properties of collagen, violates the properties of proteins of smooth muscle elements, which leads to vascular rigidity. That is, the vessels can no longer work either in tension or in compression, which leads to pathologies of the vascular system.
In addition, the ligamentous apparatus, cartilage of the joints, intervertebral discs - all these are also structures rich in collagen. Accordingly, glycation leads to damage to the musculoskeletal system and to a decrease in physical activity, which in turn leads to a decrease in the rate of blood circulation, lymph movement, to the accumulation of acidic metabolic products, hypoxia and to a systemic inflammatory process, which also seriously depletes the body's resources and leads to to premature aging.
Moreover, the topic of protein glycation is a favorite among cosmetologists, because the premature appearance of wrinkles - at 20-25 years old, and not at 45 or 50 - is due to premature protein glycation.
The process of protein glycation is irreversible, it cannot be prevented, but it can be slowed down. Let's now figure out what needs to be done to slow down the aging process? What are the simplest things you can do to avoid excess protein glycation and premature wrinkles?
First, it is necessary to exclude from the diet foods prepared by frying.
Secondly, it is recommended to drastically limit the consumption of foods containing simple sugars, fast carbohydrates and foods with a high glycemic index. If this is difficult to do, pay attention to whether you have such a pathology as parasitosis, since parasites that feed on sugars cause an additional feeling of hunger and the desire to eat sweets. In order to complicate the process of parasites entering the body and their further fixation, it is recommended to include various spices in the diet.