Maintain Plump and Springy Skin
Skin. It’s your body’s largest organ, and it’s a constant reminder that you’re getting older. Rain or shine, your skin is constantly working, and it’s stressed out from being the middle-man between the external world and your internal environment.
Beauty products can do some heavy lifting when it comes to having youthful, glowing skin. But there are some critically important internal factors that can either cause your skin to age at high speed, or keep your skin hydrated and visibly supple.
The first step towards keeping your skin plump and springy is doing your best to avoid the “Big G”…. Glycation.
When you have sugar molecules in your system, they wreak havoc on your cells like a meteor shower, which “gums” up your proteins. This makes it tricky for the blood to flow through the small vessels in your skin. Glycation is a cascade effect, causing stress on your skin, which makes your skin age at a quicker rate.
For a youthful complexion, the motto is… what’s white is wrong. Too much sugar (especially fructose) accelerates glycation and spikes inflammation.
Even small amounts of excess processed sugar can cause wrinkles, dark circles, and dehydrate the skin. It can fast track the aging process!
Sugar has a ripple effect that can impact your memory, cause your liver functions to go haywire, and make your cells pay a steep price.
According to Health Magazine, when you indulge, it impacts almost every system in your body.
“Your Brain Suffers –
Fructose…the sugar that naturally occurs in fruit and is a component, with glucose, of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and table sugar — lights up the brain’s reward center, says pediatric endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. But over time, a diet packed with fructose (especially from HFCS) can make it tougher to learn and remember, animal research suggests. To stay in peak mental shape, try sticking with savory snacks.
You Want To Eat More –
By revving the brain’s reward and appetite center, fructose can interfere with feelings of satiety, research reveals. Translation: That extra cookie may not curb your craving after all!
Skin Ages Faster –
Too much sugar can hinder the repair of collagen, the buzzed-about protein that keeps kin looking plump, studies show. A steady diet of sugary treats can result in reduced elasticity and premature wrinkles. Indulge your sweet tooth with fruit instead. Experts stay it’s A-OK to eat two to four servings of the natural sugar source each day.
Excess Sugar Is Stored As Fat –
Pause before you slip that additional packet into your a.m. coffee. The liver has an innate capacity to metabolize sugar and use it for energy…but only to an extent, explains Dr. Lustig. The fructose that’s left over is converted into fat in the liver, raising your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Your Cells Pay A Steep Price –
Fructose accelerates the usual oxidation process in our cells, says Dr. Lustig. The result? Proteins, tissues, and organs can become damaged, and our risk of health conditions, including liver disease, kidney failure, and cataracts, rises.
You Get Hooked –
Eating sugar leads to the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes us like something and want more of it. ‘As dopamine receptor neurons get overstimulated, the number of receptors to bind to decreases, so you’ll need a bigger hit of dopamine to get the same rush,’ explains Dr. Lustig.
Energy Surges, Then Bottoms Out –
Refined carbs, like those in white bread and pasta, quickly cause a rise in glucose in the bloodstream so you might feel extra energized…for a while. But this short term fix can actually leave you more sluggish later on (when you eventually crash). Instead, opt for protein-rich snacks between meals, such as Greek yogurt with fresh berries or fresh veggies and hummus. They help stabilize blood sugar and keep you going longer.”
