Sugar. An ingredient that we can eat a lot, sometimes even unintentionally, is sugar. Everybody knows about that tasteful evening snack on the couch. But what does sugar actually do for your skin?
28 October 2019

This is the effect of sugar on the skin

Sugar. An ingredient that we can eat a lot, sometimes even unintentionally, is sugar. Everybody knows about that tasteful evening snack on the couch. But what does sugar actually do for your skin?

It is often difficult to stay away from sweets, partly because candy, cakes or pie’s can taste fantastic of course and partly since sugar has an addictive effect on the body. Sugar gives a signal in the brain, which causes dopamine to be produced. Dopamine in turn gives you a happy feeling. However, sugar is unfortunately not healthy and can have a negative effect on the skin.

 

What does sugar do with your skin?

A little bit of theory. While you are eating, your body ensures that the carbohydrates that come in, are converted into sugars, such as glucose and fructose. This is equivalent to energy. However, an excess of sugar can trigger another reaction: glycation, which can be harmful to the skin. With glycation, sugar compounds with the proteins collagen and elastin can be formed, causing these proteins to be damaged, which makes them less useful for the skin.[1]The two proteins collagen and elastin are very important skin proteins, which ensure an elastic, nourished and radiant skin. As a result, too much sugar consumption makes the skin look and feel less young. 

 

Tips and tricks against skin aging due to sugar

Let's go straight to the point: the process of aging skin due to sugar cannot be completely prevented. Sugar is available in many products, including healthy products such as fruit. We can, however, provide a number of tips to keep your sugar intake low:

  1. Do not eat more than two pieces of fruit per day. In this way you do not consume too many fruit sugars and you eat just the recommended amount of fruit per day. Do not skip fruit altogether, since it is also packed with vitamins and antioxidants that can support and protect the skin and keep it radiant.
  2. In addition, consume products with resveratrol, this is an antioxidant. This antioxidant helps to reduce the glycation effect and keep the skin young. Resveratrol, is for example found in: red grapes, peanuts and blueberries.
  3. Also a handy tip: try to eat fewer products with a high glycemic index. Products with a high glycemic index have a fast effect on blood sugar levels. These types of products are, for example: chips, soft drinks and cookies.

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