Cooking methods affect Advanced Glycation End products and lipid profiles: a randomized cross-over study in healthy subjects

Thermal treatments used in Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) lead to advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in food products. UPFs and serum AGEs are both associated with cardiometabolic disease. We explored differential cooking methods as a mechanistic link between UPFs and detrimental health outcomes. We performed a randomized cross-over cooking method trial in healthy subjects provided with identical ingredients. We conducted a deep profiling analysis to explore changes in anthropometric, cardiometabolic, inflammatory and intestinal endpoints. We show that low-AGEs generating cooking methods decreased serum AGEs, improved lipid profiles, and increased serum protein 4E-BP1, which is implicated in the progression of cancer, diabetes and the aging process. In contrast, a high-AGEs generating cooking methods increased faecal butyrate, which is related to gut barrier function. Since current dietary guidelines focus on ingredients, but not cooking methods, these results suggest that culinary techniques should be considered as an important factor in cardiometabolic preventive strategies and in the design of future dietary trials.