News Center

In January, the United States Department of Health and Human Services released new dietary guidelines, calling for prioritizing high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and avoiding highly processed foods and refined carbohydrates.

Victoria Findlay, Ph.D., co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate professor in the Department of Surgery at the VCU School of Medicine, and David Turner, Ph.D., a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program and vice chair of Research and Innovation in the Department of Surgery at the VCU School of Medicine, have been studying the effects of both diet and the environment as it relates to health and cancer outcomes. David Turner, Ph.D., pictured, has been studying the effects of both diet and the environment as it relates to health and cancer outcomes alongside Victoria Findlay, Ph.D. (Chris Tranchina)

In collaboration, the Turner and Findlay Labs are working to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between advanced glycation end products (AGEs), health disparity and chronic conditions. AGEs are reactive metabolites formed by glycoxidative, oxidative and lipoxidative stresses. The consumption of AGEs, present in the modern diet, is associated with the development of chronic diseases including, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and cardiometabolic comorbidities.

With many questions circulating about the best means to eat, we sat down with Drs. Findlay and Turner to learn more. 

Can you describe what AGEs are?

Findlay: AGEs are advanced glycation end products, and while they are in everything we eat, we find higher levels of AGEs in foods that are ultra-processed. How you prepare your food can also effect the amount of AGEs it contains; people think grilling is healthier than deep-frying, and from a fat perspective it is true, but from an AGEs perspective that is not necessarily true, as high dry heats causes AGEs to form in the foods which we then consume.

How do AGEs affect the body?

Turner: When we consume AGEs, they bind to our tissues within the body, and as they accumulate, it can degrade the tissue, making it older. At a certain point, the accumulation of AGEs can cause inflammation, oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction - basically, the three drivers of virtually every chronic disease.

And if you look at patients with a chronic disease, AGEs are consistently higher than in patients that don't have those diseases. AGEs’ ability to increase inflammation, metabolic stress, and oxidative stress is really why we should care  how they affect the body.

How do you measure AGEs in a person?

Turner: AGEs, because they accumulate over time in tissues, they can reflect your lifestyle from the beginning of life.

Because the AGEs accumulating in your tissues reflect how healthy your organs are, we can compare your chronological age to your biological age. We actually have a machine in our office that measures how many AGEs are in your skin, and if you're, say, 30-years-old, this machine will tell you whether your organs are 25, 30, or 40.

How do the results from measuring AGEs in a person differ from doing a traditional blood test?

Turner: When we take a blood sample at a certain time, or a certain set of times, it doesn’t really reflect what you've been exposed to over your life - it only reflects what you've been exposed to at that time.

Measuring AGEs is more of a readout, it’s closer to a combination of everything that you're exposed to over a lifetime, and how that leads to and contributes to disease later on. We’re exploring whether AGEs could actually be a lifetime exposure marker, because they accumulate as a consequence of one’s environment over a lifespan.

So if AGEs accumulate primarily as a result of eating ultra-processed foods, how can people take steps to avoid those?

Findlay: Unfortunately, ultra-processed foods are now a mainstream part of most diets; research indicates that more than 70% of foods we find in the grocery store are processed or ultra-processed in some way, so we’re all fighting an uphill battle to even pick healthy, unprocessed foods at the store.

And that’s before we begin to factor in the cost of those healthier foods. We find so many people who want to eat healthier but cannot afford to. And we are also finding that educating people about food preparation is incredibly important, too.

Turner: Generally, the ultra-processed foods do not look like the original food. Think about the TV dinners you used to see (and still do). It has been ultra-processed the made  to look like food, but it never quite looks right.

What are the challenges children face in their diets?

Findlay: Really, the people we should be taking care of first are our children. What we’re seeing is an earlier and earlier incidence of diseases, including cancer in younger people, and I believe it is directly tied in part to the modern foods children now eat -- even at their schools. Kids are overwhelmed with unhealthy food and drink options now and the peer pressure to have the same “cool” foods as their friends.

Early education is important because you can teach them lessons in schools to try and help educate them even if they don't have the healthiest food options at home, which is an unfortunate reality of how many children live now.

Are there recommendations for the amount of AGEs a person should eat per day?

Findlay: Initial studies in healthy individuals indicate that a consumption of between 15,000 to 20,000 AGEs per day may be a healthy limit. However, while we know AGEs are associated with both chronic disease occurrence and complications, further research is required to definitively assign a recommended daily ceiling on the amount of AGE consumption per day.

How can people learn more about AGEs, including the amount of AGEs in specific foods?

Findlay: We have a dedicated website regarding AGEs, where people can see the AGE content of various foods to help guide them through the grocery store or restaurant. We also provide food preparation recommendations and have a chart of estimated AGEs in commonly consumed foods.

And, for pet owners, we also offer insights into how AGEs might affect our four-legged friends on the site, too.

Can you give us a high-level overview of the new HHS dietary guidelines?

Turner: The idea behind the recommendations is fairly simple - in a nutshell, eat real food, cut back on processed foods and sugar, and make protein a regular part of meals. It also prioritizes consuming less ultra-processed foods, such as packaged sugar, highly-refined foods and limiting added sugars.

Findlay: I think one of the really good things about these guidelines is the emphasis on limiting ultra-processed foods, and I think that's coming from a lot of the research that's been ongoing. I think everyone who has studied ultra-processed foods at whatever time has shown they're not good for our overall health, and so I think that is an important key takeaway.

What would you say to people concerned about their diet, or making changes to it?

Turner: It’s like what my grandmother used to say, ‘everything in moderation.’ It's still so true, even if it was first said hundreds of years ago.

You can still enjoy a life with steak, it tastes good; it's nice.

But, I don't have three or four steaks a week. And if you've had a lot of food high in AGEs, then balance it out with some low-AGE foods. That way, your body can deal with the AGEs, at least to a greater extent. It can't get rid of all of them, but it can deal with them as long as you don't overload the system.

So, when it comes to one’s diet and AGEs themselves, it's sort of knowing the foods and how much are in them.

Written by: Bill Potter