Nutrition, Diet, and Anti-aging: Low AGE Diet and Anti-aging

Monosaccharides such as glucose and fructose react non-enzymatically with the amino groups of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids to form Schiff bases and Amadori products. This reaction, although slow, leads to the irreversible formation of a yellow-brown substance with a unique fluorescence, known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs), through repeated dehydration and condensation reactions. In recent years, it has been revealed that AGEs are not only produced endogenously under oxidative stress and hyperglycemia, but are also ingested exogenously from food and smoking, and about 7% of AGEs derived from diet and tobacco remain in the body for a certain period of time [1]. It is known that there is a positive correlation between the estimated intake of AGEs from dietary records and interviews and serum AGE levels, and exogenous AGEs are said to account for about one-third of the AGEs present in the body. Some AGEs, such as pentosidine and crossline, emit specific fluorescence due to their structure [2]. Utilizing this property, a method has been developed in recent years to estimate the accumulation of AGEs in the body by non-invasively quantifying the skin autofluorescence (SAF) value using the AGE Reader (manufactured by Diagnoptics Technologies B.V., imported and sold by Serista Co., Ltd.). Although the fluorescent substances in the skin include not only AGEs but also other biological substances, it has been reported that the SAF value correlates with the amount of fluorescent and non-fluorescent AGEs in plasma, and 76% of the SAF value is derived from AGEs accumulated in the skin [3]. From a survey of Japanese residents, it has been revealed that the accumulation of AGEs estimated from the SAF value is accelerated by distortions in lifestyle habits (smoking, lack of exercise, mental stress, lack of sleep, heavy drinking, skipping breakfast, consuming sweets, fried foods, and processed foods) independent of age [4].