Ellie
> > Glucose metabolism is not my specialty, but according to my physiology
> > text, glucose that is not used immediately for the release of energy is
> > stored as glycogen. Some phsysiologists believe that glycogen is stored
> > in two forms, one readily released and labile form called free glycogen,
> > and another, called fixed glycogen that is only released slowly. When the
> > body has such secondary stores, it is suggestive these stores might be
> > altered, or mutant types of substances. I doubt if this has been proved,
> > but there are lots of studies on toxic forms of stored substances such as
> > AGE's (also called Maillard molecules) that are comibinations of
> > proteins, lipids, and glucose or other sugars.

JL
> I would like to emphasize that the AGEs in the body are caused by
> reactions between some tissues, such as collagen (which is a protein) and
> the body's sugars, mainly fructose which has a much higher cross-linking
> potential than glucose. They may play a role in the processus of
> degeneration in aging. Formation of AGEs is accelerated in diabetes.

> These AGEs (which are products of the Maillard reaction) have nothing to
> do with ingestion of cooked food, since they involve the body proteins
> (instead of food proteins).

> If any parralel could be made between these AGEs and your theory of
> denatured sugar, than these denatured sugars would have nothing to do with
> the ingestion of cooked sugars.

Ellie

You are right, although I do not mean to make a parallel between
endogenously formed AGE's and endogenously formed mutant sugars.
I have no proof at all that altered or denatured sugars are formed in
cooking or in genetically altered fruits, but don't you think the
possibility is worth investigation? What is known is that the addiction
to any substance is an addiction to a stimulant. All stimulants are
toxic, and this suggests that the addiction to sugar is an addiction to
some altered form of sugar. Many studies have been done by the people at
the Picower Institute (I got some of their papers from
[log in to unmask]) on AGE's in cooked foods and the risks for
diabetic complications, ie browning foods increases levels of AGE's. It
may be that the sugars involved in the formation of these AGE's are
altered. When ingested these sugars might be mis-metabolized and could be
stored as altered froms of glycogen as well as in AGE's. According to
them, there is evidence that "The combination of accelerated AGE
formation due to diabetes, plus the daily ingestion of AGEs from cooked
foods over the years may pose an increased risk to the vascular system
and kidney." The point I was trying to make was not really to use the AGE
studies to prove that sugars  are mutant, (I have no such proof), but
just to answer the question from Liza about whether toxic substances in
foods can accumulate in the body and cause trouble.

My best, Ellie