What you eat can result in wrinkles later in life. Sugar especially can have a major impact on skin aging.
Some nutrition experts believe that eating too much sugar can make skin dull and wrinkled. In an article in Prevention magazine, a reflection was made on what happens to the skin when we eat sugar. At blame is a natural process that's known as “glycation” where the sugar in the bloodstream attaches to proteins to form harmful new molecules. This results in advanced glycation end products (AGEs for short). The more sugar consumed, the more AGEs developed.
"As AGEs accumulate, they damage adjacent proteins in a domino-like fashion," explains Fredric Brandt, MD, the author of 10 minutes 10 Years and a dermatologist with private practices in Miami and New York. He further notes the most vulnerable to this damage is the collagen and elastin which are the protein fibers that keep skin firm and elastic. Brandt further notes that besides damaging collagen, a high-sugar diet also affects what type of collagen a person has, which is another factor in how resistant the skin is to wrinkling.
The most abundant collagen in the skin are Types I, II, and III. Type III is the most stable and longest lasting. Glycation transforms Type III collagen into Type I, which becomes more fragile. "When that happens, the skin looks and feels less supple," says Brandt. This is the final blow that AGEs deactivate your body's natural antioxidant enzymes, leaving it more vulnerable to sun damage, which is still the main cause of skin aging.
We also know that what we put on our skin in very important. There are many chemicals in facial products that have been known to cause cancer. Many people believe the more you pay for something the better it is. This is not always the case. You may be paying for a chemical concoction that may age your skin and later cause health problems.
