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What is the effect on sugar on skin aging and how do we fight glycation? Ever since we have been on lockdown, I got a lot of time on my hands. I take a romantic stroll to the fridge looking for the next thing to munch on. Most of the time, I pick the next carbonated drink or the next sugary food. This action inspired me to write about how sugar could actually affect the skin aside from the well-known effect on weight gain.

Sugar is a carbohydrate and it is beneficial for our health but having too much of it poses a threat to our health. Once you start taking sugar consistently, it becomes addictive. Since we are all at home, sugar is more accessible and easier to consume. Scientists have shown that the continuous intake of sugar releases dopamine in the brain which is a similar action seen in drug abuse. As a result of sugar triggering the reward system, it induces compulsive and excessive eating.

When I mean sugar, I mean it in terms of the food and drinks we consume. Beyond the negative impacts of sugar on weight gain and obesity, high amount of sugar intake also affects the skin and causes it to age prematurely.

The Effect Of Sugar On Skin Aging

When you consume a high carb diet, it gets broken down into glucose and it enters the bloodstream. As a result, the body works hard to normalize glucose in the bloodstream so it produces insulin. Insulin then goes ahead to tell the body cells to open up glycogen where glucose is stored for later use. This is usually saved in livers and muscles.

The real effect of sugar on skin aging happens when you eat too much sugary diet. The glucose in the bloodstream gets overwhelmed. Then insulin is rapidly spiked up to eliminate the level of glucose, it tells glycogen “hey buddy, we need more glucose in-store, open up”. Glycogen replies “sorry mate, too full” This action creates inflammation causing glucose to bind to available proteins such as Collagen and Elastin.

Collagen and elastin are important proteins found within the dermis that provide structural and stability to the skin. The result of glucose binding to these proteins (Collagen and Elastin), breaks down the proteins thereby leading to saggy and wrinkled skin. The process is called Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) or otherwise called sugar sag. The name of the process seems to fit the exact problem.

AGEs can also be found in diets that are caramelised or brown for example grilling, frying, the brown crust of bread, doughnuts and so on. The constant consumption of these diets leads to increased skin aging

Other Factors That Accelerate The Process Of Skin Aging

Sunlight

UV exposure also promotes more production of AGEs on the skin. The epidermal layer of the skin contains a receptor for AGEs (RAGE) which when exposed to UV light accelerate AGEs. The production of AGEs is usually higher when you are not wearing your sunscreens. So ensure you wear your sunscreens always!

Diet

The content of the food we eat is highly dependent on the cooking process. Do you usually fry, grill, deep-fry or roast the food you eat all the time? These process of cooking contains a high amount of AGEs and their consumption increases skin aging. The best thing to do is to boil or steam your food. Although that sounds really really boring, it is best to do everything in moderation

Lifestyle

Lifestyle such as smoking aggravates skin aging by accelerating the process of AGEs. Even exposure to cigarette smokers is detrimental to health and accelerate AGEs.

How To Fight Glycation

The first thing to know is that once the sugar starts getting glycated, it is impossible to reverse the process. However, there are preventive measures that can be taken to avoid such an occurrence.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants such as Vitamin C, E, zinc are all-natural antioxidants that help fight free radicals that form within the body. This helps reduce the effect of sugar becoming glycated in the skin. Please note that when taking vitamin C avoid the intake of sugar alongside. The cells in our body are more receptive to sugar rather than vitamin C. This then reduces the antioxidant effect of vitamin C. In pharmacology, this process is called competitive inhibition.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A or Retinol can be found in any yellow, orange or red coloured fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, mangoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon and others. Consumption of these fruits and vegetables is highly beneficial to the skin. You can either have vitamin A consumed in diets or as supplements. Topical application of vitamin A serums is highly beneficial to reduce the signs of aging. If you have no idea about the beneficial effects of vitamin A to the skin, then I suggest you read one of my favourite post “The beginner’s guide to Retinol“.

Spices and Herbs

The addition of spices and herbs such as rosemary leaves, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, blueberries and cloves helps reduce the formation of AGEs

Food preparation

The way we prepare our foods also has an effect on our skin, for example, do you like to fry, grill, roast food, take excessive soft drinks all the time? Then you might need to reconsider changing your approach as these actions not only has negative effects on your health but also increases AGEs. The best thing to do to avoid these problems is by cooking water-based methods to avoid ingestion of food that is glycated.

Avoid Artificial Colouring In Food

Artificial colouring in food is really enticing and difficult to avoid especially when you see a red velvet cake or sweet with red colouring. For some reason I don’t know, the colour red seems to catch attention even in food. Scientist have noted that the brain is preprogrammed to look for red in food due to the presence of vitamin C and vitamin A. These vitamins are necessary to prevent oxidation and premature aging

Conclusion

The effect of sugar on skin aging and how to fight glycation depends on our diet and lifestyle. Therefore, it is vital to reduce added sugar consumption and also, cook our meals appropriately. This will help good eating behaviour and reduce premature skin aging. It also improves our overall well being and health.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

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