'Anti-aging' cooking trick goes viral after experts reveal compelling health benefits

The same high-heat methods that give steak its smoky crust, roast chicken its crispy skin, french fries their golden coating and pastries their browned edges also trigger complex chemical reactions in food.

When natural sugars react with proteins at high, dry heat, they create what's known as the Maillard reaction, the process responsible for rich flavors, aromas and deep caramel colors, according to multiple sources.

But the same reaction also produces potentially harmful compounds, including one known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs).

"Eating more from very browned foods will add to the collective load of oxidative and inflammatory stress overall," said Ed McCormick, a New Jersey-based food science consultant and CEO of Cape Crystal Brands, which makes natural emulsifiers and thickeners.

Marbled meats, skin-on poultry, bacon and cheesy toppings are especially prone to AGE formation, McCormick noted. 

High-temperature cooking methods such as grilling, broiling, roasting, frying and searing can increase AGE content in food up to 100-fold compared to uncooked versions, according to a 2004 Mount Sinai study that measured AGE content under laboratory conditions. Animal-based foods tend to produce the highest levels, it found.

But plenty of cooking methods avoid this process.

A recent Belgian study published in Cell Reports Medicine found that boiling and steaming the same ingredients under controlled conditions reduced AGE levels by about 50%.

The Mount Sinai researchers also found that marinating meat in lemon juice or vinegar for one hour before cooking can cut AGE formation roughly in half. 

Adding antioxidant-rich herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, oregano and garlic can further reduce harmful high-heat byproducts in cooked meats and baked foods, according to multiple studies.

He advises using gentler, moisture-based cooking methods that stay near 212 degrees Fahrenheit to help limit the Maillard reaction, which intensifies once temperatures climb above about 300 degrees.

For flavor, he recommends leaning on aromatics, acids and umami - ingredients like miso, mushrooms, citrus or vinegar - and, if desired, finishing with a brief sear for texture and color.