Exploring Parallels: Dry Dystemperament in Persian Medicine and Its Similarities with the Concept of Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products

Abstract

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs), productions of non-enzymatic reactions between lipids, amino acids, carbohydrates, and DNA molecules glycation, contribute to the enhancement of oxidative stress and age-associated inflammation leading to chronic disease susceptibility. This study aims to provide a hypothetical interpretation of the relationship between Persian Medicine (PM) dietary recommendations and the process of inflammation-related aging through the consumption of AGEs. We comprehensively summarized recent evidence and PM textbooks using related keywords. Consumption of AGE-rich diets is associated with a high level of circulating AGEs, leading to oxidative stress and inflammatory conditions such as metabolic syndrome. Although foods are the primary source of AGEs in the body, cooking methods can play a role in AGE production: high temperature, longer duration of cooking, cooking surfaces, and lower moisture can increase AGE production, especially during cooking animal-derived foods. This concept has some similarities to the PM doctrine that states that many chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers develop from dry dystemperament. Foods with dry temperament, such as low-fiber foods undergoing low-moisture high-heat food processing, can lead to dry dystemperament. Hence, PM recommendations may help design better research studies to understand the dietary triggers of chronic inflammation Copyright © 2026 Tehran University of Medical Sciences.