Tag: Sugar

You must have heard about that extra intake of sugar adding up to your belly fat smashing all your dreams of a perfect waistline. But to your surprise, that added sugar to your diet does, even more, harm to your skin than you can probably imagine. It contributes to your puffy eyes, patchy and wrinkled skin and that pesky acne and pimples you always hated to see on your facial skin. Yes, you heard that right!

Recent research reveals the harmful effects of sugar intake on the skin. When you take a bite of your favorite flavored cake or even an apple, what happens behind the scene or to be specific under your skin is that your body quickly degenerates the carbohydrates into glucose thereby raising the insulin level in your blood stream. The spike of insulin causes an inflammation burst throughout the body thereby producing enzymes that attach with and break down collagen and elastin fibers leading to wrinkles and sagging skin. This permanent attachment of digested sugar to collagen, a process known as Glycation, creates harmful molecules called AGEs (advanced glycation end-products). AGEs formation, in turn, exacerbates the skin damage thereby reducing insulin resistance of the skin. Results are excess vulnerability to sun damage, sagging, and fine lines.

So, if you want to look young for a longer lifetime, avoid eating foods that are proinflammatory, have high saturated fats or have high glycemic such as white bread, candy, ice-cream, fried foods, packaged foods, sugar, and sodas. Rather eat foods rich in complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and fresh vegetables, have low glycemic such as beans, whole grains, and nuts; and rich in fiber that delays sugar absorption in the blood.

And as you work out a better diet plan, don’t forget to have plenty of sleep, keep stress at bay, consume a balanced diet, follow healthy food preparation habits, eat protein rich meals first as they delay insulin spikes, and include healthy fats in your meals.

Whatever be your age, it’s never too late to reverse the signs of aging with proper diet intake and maintaining reduced stress levels. So, embrace a healthy skin by cautiously planning your sugar intake!