Nix The Sugar, Sweet Stuff…or Else

Nix The Sugar, Sweet Stuff…or Else

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April 5, 2016

causes of aging, glycation, sugar

Nix The Sugar, Sweet Stuff…or Else

They don’t call it a sugar rush for nothin’. Just thinking about sweets instantly arouses my inner sugar addict. Must. Have. Cookies. Now.

While visions of sugarplums are dancing through my head, it’s practically impossible to concentrate on anything else. But sugar has a dark side. So listen up sweet stuff, besides wreaking havoc on your mental focus, making a fool of your calorie goals, and assassinating any plans you may have had to rock an itsy bitsy bikini this summer, sugar causes….

(Insert dramatic dun-dun-dunnnnnnn sound effect here.)

Glycation!!!

Now, I know you would have just gasped if you knew what in the world glycation is. I’ll explain. Let’s start by defining glycation, shall we?

  • In skin, sugar molecules can bind to protein fibers such as collagen and morph into Advanced Glycation End products. We aestheticians and our dermatologist partners refer to this end product as AGEs. You can see where this is going, right? Downhill. Fast.
  • AGEs also cause a negative inflammatory reaction which in turn causes the release of inflammatory cytokines. (Cytokines are substances that certain cells of the immune system release that can affect other cells.) In this case, inflammatory cytokines can lead to increased MMP production. (MMP=Matrix Metalloprotease enzymes… All you need to know about MMPs is they, too, break down collagen.)

These AGEs are not our friends. (Did you think they were going to be good- even for a second?) They can crosslink with collagen fibers which will cause the collagen to become hard and inflexible. Hard and inflexible collagen speeds up the aging process. Yikes! Yep and since it’s my job to educate you, I have to be the one to break the bad news. I’m sorry, but that cupcake is making your butt look big AND your face look old.

Are you convinced yet?!

So the more sugar you eat, the more AGEs are produced. And here’s the kicker- ya ready for it? Your skin doesn’t care where the sugar comes from! Whether it is processed or natural, sugar is proven to make you A.G.E. Period. End of story.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are what we eat. At the cellular level, glycation is a “Hello, 911?” sort of skin emergency that results in wrinkling, loss of elasticity, hardened collagen fibers, an accelerated aging process, slow cellular turnover, and a compromise in your skin’s protective barrier function.

Oh and one more thing….slower cellular turnover results in loss of volume.

I think you’re probably feeling a little frightened….I didn’t mean to scare you, and I’d never leave you hanging. Read on if you’re ready to fight back!

Science. Truth. Results.

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Jane Marie D’Amato