Page 5 - Spring2008

Letters

cation in the day time. I have reduced my skillet or on the grill no matter how much formation. Cooked meat and fat are not
dosage from 400 mg a day to just 100 mg marinade is used. the only sources of dietary AGEs. They
at night. Now I am no longer sleepy, I Also, the article included microwave are also found in coffee and crusted and/
have my memory back, I am not at a loss cooking along with the damaging frying, or toasted bread and cracker products.
for words, and therefore my job of home barbecuing, and broiling methods. This

schooling five kids (four of my own and is not correct. Reference 8 explains that ANOTHER VIEW
one fantastic niece!) is much easier. I “Microwaving was shown to increase In regards to the article “The Slow
hope and pray that we will continue to AGE content similar to boiling cooking Cooker Rules!” in the winter edition of
have the freedom that our forefathers methods...” This is because the micro- Wise Traditions I thought that I should
dreamed of when they gave their lives wave energy is absorbed by the water let you know that slow cooking is con-
for us to be able to think for ourselves molecules in the food, which cannot traindicated for MSG-sensitive people.
and make our own wise decisions! exceed boiling temperatures. We have received a number of reports
Thanks for all you are doing to help An omission by the author is that from MSG-sensitive people who have
Mark McAfee and Organic Pastures foods that do not contain substantial pro- experienced adverse reactions from
Dairy. I’ll be checking out the website tein or fat ingredients make few AGEs meals prepared in a crock pot.
to see what is going on and how I can when cooked at high temperatures. This The extended cooking time associ-
help. group includes baked grain products like ated with slow cooking in a crock pot
Jill Price bread. serves to break down the protein into
Discovery Bay, California AGE production is a very important individual amino acids, at least in part,
topic; we should only boil or microwave resulting in some processed free glu-
SLOW COOKING AND AGEs foods that contain substantial proteins tamic acid (MSG). That is why foods
Concerning the article on Slow and fats. Although broiling, BBQ, bak- taste good if prepared in a crock pot.
Cookers, in the box “Preventing AGE- ing and frying create good tastes, these Of course, MSG-sensitive people vary
Related Effects” on page 54 of the Win- are at a high AGE cost. in their tolerances for MSG and only
ter 2007 Wise Traditions, the author is Jay Caplan experience adverse reactions when they
to be congratulated for bringing to our Brentwood, Tennessee ingest an amount of MSG that exceeds
attention the damage that can be caused their individual tolerance for it.
by advanced glycation end products We do not recommend the microwave for Jack Samuels
(AGEs) from cooking at temperatures a number of reasons, including destruc- San Diego, California
higher than boiling and cooking without tion of nutrients and many unknowns.
liquids. Research indicates that AGEs in food DISAPPOINTMENT
However, there are some errors. are partially or largely degraded by gut I cannot for the life of me understand
Marinating foods is not discussed in bacteria and/or rapidly excreted via the what the reason could be for publishing
reference 6 as noted. The only criterion kidneys and are not harmful to human the letter bemoaning organic products
is temperature; if the temperature is high, health (Mol Nutr Food Res 2007, 51, imported from China. This is the new
then protein- and fat- containing foods 1085-1090). However, AGEs created in xenophobia, spouting hate in the name
are altered to form more of the damag- the blood stream when blood sugar is of “buying local.” There is no reason to
ing AGE compounds. Marinades should high can have many deleterious effects believe that a third party certifi cation on
not be considered protective when food in the body, although carnosine (from products from China means less than the
is heated above boiling as the foods can meat) and low levels of polyunsaturated same certifi cation on domestic products.
still reach high temperatures in the oven, fatty acids provide protection against I’m surprised and disappointed that the

SPRING 2008 Wise Traditions 5