Dr. Vlassara’s AGE-Less Diet: How Chemicals in the Foods We Eat Promote Disease, Obesity, and Aging and the Steps We Can Take to Stop It

Physician Vlassara (The AGE-Less Way), physician Striker, and nutritionist Woodruff zero in on advanced glycation end products (aptly shortened to AGEs), offering readers a lucid explanation of how these chemical compounds damage and age the body. According to the authors, AGEs are now known (after decades of study) to enter the body through food, causing inflammation and contributing to such troubling and prevalent conditions as diabetes, dementia, and cardiovascular disease. Their recommendations focus on choosing healthier meals, ingredients, and preparation methods. Vlassara’s approach (accompanied by more than 100 recipes in Part Two) replaces dry-heat cooking (grilling, roasting, etc.) with moist-heat methods (braising, steaming, and poaching). The authors point out that these methods can be used with any diet plan (e.g., paleo, low-carb), but that the Mediterranean Diet perhaps pairs most easily because of its emphasis on healthy whole foods. They also reassure gourmands that meats, cheeses, and fats can still be used “judiciously” even though they promote AGEs. Based on a wealth of scientific evidence, the authors’ “game-changing” discoveries come across as sensible solutions for those amenable to some uncomplicated culinary modifications. (Sept.)