This is of interest to me.  Haven't archeologists found sites that indicate that early humans cooked by digging holes in the dirt & slow cooking meats, etc. by placing them in a "hot" hole w/ coals & covering the hole.  Meats baked for hours.  Sounds like our bodies are probably best suited to this form of cooking.  And.... steaming/boiling as stated in the article. 
Kath   
      Reported April 26, 2007 
      Food Prep and Chronic Disease Linked
           
      (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The way your food is cooked could be as important a risk factor for chronic diseases as trans fats.

      A new class of toxins called advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which your body absorbs when you eat grilled, fried or broiled animal products, such as meats and cheeses, have been linked to inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, vascular and kidney disease, and Alzheimer's disease. They are also produced when food is sterilized or pasteurized.

      Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York find AGE levels are elevated in the blood of healthy people and are even higher in older people. A major determinant is the amount of AGEs in the diet.

      Blood tests in the study reveal AGE levels were 35-percent higher in people age 65 and older compared with those younger than 45. Results also show the higher the consumption of foods rich in AGEs, the higher the blood levels of the toxins and the higher the levels of inflammation markers.

      Researchers were surprised to find AGE levels could be very high in young, healthy people -- some comparable to AGE levels seen in diabetics in earlier studies. This may suggest early and prolonged exposure to the toxins could accelerate the onset of diseases.

      "Excessive intake of fried, broiled, and grilled foods can overload the body's natural capacity to remove AGEs," Helen Vlassara, M.D., senior study author, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was quoted as saying. "So they accumulate in our tissues and take over the body's own built-in defenses, pushing them toward a state of inflammation. Over time, this can precipitate disease or early aging."

      The authors suggest using cooking methods to reduce our intake of AGEs, such as steaming, boiling or making stews. They also recommend keeping the heat down and maintaining the water content in food to reduce AGE levels.

      This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

      SOURCE: Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2007;62:427-433