The Bitter-Sweet Truth About Ageing

Aging is a natural process that happens to everyone. However there are several major factors that lead to aging and minimizing them can help our skin to look beautiful and young longer. Skin care experts never get tired of warning us about the damaging effects of UV-B and UV-A light on the health and beauty of our skin. The negative effect of UV rays can cause damage to DNA of the skin cells and to collagen in the skin.

Up till now UV light was the most talked about cause of aging. However now it has a competitor. Recently many skin experts expressed their concerns that some diet habits can be the major reason of age-related changes in the skin. Specifically, they are worried about overconsumption of sugar. It is not just cakes and chocolates they are talking about. It is also the "hidden sugars" in certain processed products of which we have no awareness.

Why is sugar so bad for our skin? The answer lies in the process called glycation. Sugar and simple carbohydrates get converted into glucose in our blood and it binds with a protein or a lipid molecule. Collagen and elastin are the main proteins in our skin responsible for its youthful, healthy wrinkle-free look. Glycation causes skin to become stiff and lose its elasticity which leads to the formation of wrinkles as explained by Dr.Perricone , expert on facial rejuvenation and best-selling author of The Wrinkle Cure, in the interview to Health and Beauty.

However, glycation and its effect on the skin does not mean that sugar is our enemy. In fact, it is vital for normal functioning of our brain and muscles. Normally, our body controls blood sugar level by means of insulin. However when we consume simple sugars like sweets and cakes and simple carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes they get very rapidly converted into glucose and our body does not have enough time to react to the soaring blood sugar level. This is when all the damage happens.

Make it your anti-ageing strategy to balance your diets in terms of sugar and other carbohydrates content in it. This will help to prevent damage from glycation to our bodies and our skin. First, become more aware of hidden sugars by reading a product label carefully. You can often find addition of sugars in completely unexpected products like low-fat foods and processed meats. To get in control you might want to learn more about the Glucaemic Index (GI) that shows how quickly certain foods get converted into sugar in the blood. Prioritize products with GI's of 50-55 or below which is considered low, and try to stay away from 70 or above which is considered high. Second, do not indulge into simple carbohydrates and balance them out with complicated ones like vegetables and protein. Third, counteract the damage by taking antioxidant supplements and following regular skin care routine that includes products with antioxidant and repairing qualities.

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