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Consuming more sugar accelerates aging and wrinkles in the skin.

Consuming more sugar accelerates aging and wrinkles in the skin.

By م.زهير الشاعر

Published: October 16, 2024

Wrinkles are a natural sign of skin aging. They appear in late life, regardless of your health. However, poor dietary choices can exacerbate wrinkles and accelerate the aging process of the skin.

A recent study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco revealed concerning results about the impact of sugar consumption on women's health. The study, published in the JAMA Network Open journal of the American Medical Association, showed that women who consume large amounts of sugar appear older than others, even if that sugar is part of a healthy diet.

The researchers pointed out that excessive sugar consumption affects the "epigenetic clock," a biochemical test used to measure biological age and overall cellular health.

The results showed that healthy, balanced diets that avoid added sugars contribute to maintaining youthful cells, as the researchers stated: "The better the nutrition, the younger the cells appear."

The study called for promoting healthy diets that align with chronic disease prevention and reducing added sugar consumption. Researcher Dorothy Chiu emphasized the importance of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients in the diet, noting that the Mediterranean diet was the most effective among the diets studied.

For her part, Elisa Ebel, co-author of the study, stated: "We previously understood that high levels of added sugars are associated with metabolic health deterioration and increased risk of early disease. But now we know that the acceleration of epigenetic aging is one potential reason for this association, meaning that excessive sugar consumption may lead to a reduction in healthy lifespan."

This study highlights the importance of following a balanced diet and reducing sugar consumption to maintain cell health and lower the risks of early aging.

Internal and external aging

Dr. Andrew Nisch told Unity Health Point that sugar causes aging in the body in several ways, both internally and externally, including the skin.

Nisch explained, "If you put a banana on the table and peel it, what happens within 24 to 48 hours? It turns brown." "The sugars in that banana react with proteins, causing cross-linking and browning, and the same reaction occurs in our bodies. We turn brown from the inside out."

Table sugar consists of glucose and fructose, and the fructose in sugar accelerates the Maillard reaction or browning by 7 times, while the skin is composed of collagen and elastin, which keeps the skin smooth and soft.

Sugar causes collagen to tangle, leading to skin stiffening and loss of elasticity. The more sugar we consume, the more our skin suffers.

Dr. Nisch lists the following ways sugar affects the skin:

Increased acne.

Appearance of wrinkles.

Sagging in the neck and chin.

Appearance of dark spots.

Slower healing of wounds.

Dr. Nisch summarizes, "What happens in your skin happens everywhere in your body. Our skin is just an external representation of everything happening in our bodies."

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