Advanced glycation end products in foods: cooking and processing strategies for healthy aging; productos de glicación avanzada en alimentos: estrategias de preparación y procesamiento para reducir su contenido, para un envejecimiento saludable

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a heterogeneous group of molecules resulting from non-enzymatic reactions that occur primarily between proteins and reducing sugars. The intake of foods with a high AGEs content, increases their levels in plasma, which is associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and long-term, the development of various age-related chronic pathologies, such as cardiometabolic diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dementia. On the contrary, diets with a low content of these glycotoxins have been associated with a lower risk of these pathologies, with reduced levels of oxidative and glycoxidative stress. Consequently, it is important to recognize strategies aimed at reducing the levels of AGEs in foods, especially in the elderly, due to the physiological changes due to the aging process, which makes them more susceptible to cardiometabolic and other diseases. This narrative review briefly describes some effects of the consumption of AGEs, as well as various ways to reduce their content in food, mainly based on physicochemical changes such as pH, temperature, and water activity control, as well as the use of polyphenols, from Chilean native berries, as inhibitors of their formation.