Sugar: THE Wrinkle-and-Sag Food

So cute! But we don't want those wrinkles... 

Hi all, hope you're well! I'm back from a productive road trip, where I also had the pleasure of getting to know some new people. One woman I met asked me about the wrinkles and sags she's starting to see on her face. "I don't want to end up looking like a Shar Pei! Is there anything I can do?"

So, this lovely (and funny!) woman looks nothing like a Shar Pei, but we did talk about various lifestyle factors that can accelerate wrinkling and sagging, including unmanaged stress, lack of sleep, too little or too much exercise, and more. But a major culprit I want to focus on in this post is SUGAR.

I can't stress enough the connection between high sugar-consumption and skin issues. When I'm talking sugar, I mean sugary foods and foods that quickly convert to sugar in our bodies -- chips, rice cakes, muffins, starches like potatoes, nearly every packaged food (including so-called "healthy" breakfast cereals), refined flour products, fruit juices, sports drinks, and more. These types of foods cause our blood sugar to spike rapidly, which results in a whole host of beauty and health problems -- but for this post, we'll keep the focus on the skin.

When we eat sugar, it kicks off an ugly process called glycation, which occurs when the sugar combines with proteins in our bodies, like collagen. Collagen, as we know, is what gives our skin its structure, strength, and smooth, healthy appearance. Glycation breaks down our collagen, and also makes it stiff and inflexible. The result? Wrinkles and sagging.

And it goes further. When sugar molecules attach themselves to collagen, inflammation occurs. This can lead to various unwanted skin issues, including puffy eyes, dark circles, brown spots, dullness, irritations, blemishes... 

The good news is that we can rejuvenate and improve our skin dramatically by replacing sugary foods with a wider variety of vegetables, good protein and fats, and high-fiber fruits in our diet. And you don't have to give up sweet tastes, when there are some great, healthy alternatives to sugar out there! 

More on the "sugar" topic in future posts. See you soon, everyone!

Comments

[M.]

Do I have to give up all sugary food? I love my desserts, and enjoy wine every evening. I'm shocked that those might be contributing to my puffy eyes!! What's a girl to do?!

[M.]

P.S. That Shar Pei is soooo cute, but I don't want to end up like her!

[DCR]

Love the pic, excellent article, thanks!

[BeautyCosmopolite]

Hi M - Your skin, body, health will thank you the more you cut back on sugary foods! Wine every evening...hmmm...not the best, to be honest. :) Maybe reserve the wine for the weekends or when you're out for dinner, and take it from there. The more you cut out the sugar and the accompanying blood-sugar-swings, the less you'll crave it -- and your taste buds will start to re-sensitize as well so that even fruit will taste super-sweet! And you can still enjoy desserts when you make them with beautifying, whole ingredients and perhaps one of the sweetener options I suggested.

And yes, the Shar Pei is adorable, wrinkles and all! :) Thanks for writing!

[BeautyCosmopolite]

Thanks, DCR, glad it was helpful!

[MG]

So what can one do if it's "too late" and you have started on the path to "wrinkledom"? Not interested in Botox etc., so is there a food that can replenish your collagen, for example? Even if I were to replace all the sugar (the wine might be a bit of a problem, but worth trying..) I can't reverse where I'm at now...or can I?

[BeautyCosmopolite]

Hi MG - the good news is, it's never "too late"! :) Diet is huge -- removing the blood-sugar-spiking foods and replacing them with beauty-and-health-boosting choices can make a dramatic difference. The focus should be on nutrient-dense foods -- high quality proteins/fats, lots of greens, etc. I'll look at posting more about this in the future, although it's a big topic. Lifestyle (sleep, stress-management, etc.) also has a big impact on skin. (Feel free to email me if you want to look into this further.) Thanks for your question!