Does Sugar Really Make Our Skin Age Faster?

Skin & Wellness Magazine

We are used to hearing that sugar is not good for our teeth, that excessive consumption can affect our weight and that it is worth reducing sweets. But in recent years I keep encountering another claim: sugar causes wrinkles.

Could it really be that the cookie we ate in the afternoon affects the collagen in our skin?

The answer is interesting, because it is connected to a process that occurs in all of our bodies, even if we hardly eat sweets.

What happens to sugar after we eat it?

When we eat carbohydrates, the digestive system breaks some of them down into simple sugars, among them glucose.

The glucose moves into the blood and serves as an important energy source for the body's cells.

In other words, sugar is not a foreign substance that our body tries to get rid of. It is a natural part of our energy system.

But when blood sugar levels are high over time, chemical processes occur in the body that can also affect proteins in the tissues.

One of these processes is called glycation.

Glycation — the process that connects sugar to skin aging

Glycation is a chemical reaction in which sugars bind to proteins or fats without the involvement of an enzyme.

Over time these reactions can lead to the formation of substances called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs for short.

These substances are created naturally in the body, and they tend to accumulate over the years.

When they form in long-lived proteins, such as collagen, they can affect their structure and function.

And that is exactly where the story becomes interesting as far as our skin is concerned.

What is the connection between glycation and collagen?

Collagen is one of the central proteins responsible for the skin's strength and structure.

You can think of it as part of the support network that gives the skin its stability.

When certain chemical bonds form between collagen fibers following glycation, they can become stiffer and less flexible.

These changes may affect the tissue's ability to cope with stretching and movement.

Therefore, researchers are examining the contribution of glycation to skin aging processes, alongside known factors such as sun radiation, smoking and natural changes in collagen production.

But it is important to me to be precise: the fact that glycation affects collagen does not mean we can determine how many wrinkles were created in a particular person because of the sugar they eat.

Skin aging is a much more complex process.

Does every teaspoon of sugar become a wrinkle?

Absolutely not.

Our body knows how to regulate blood glucose levels through hormonal and metabolic systems.

In a healthy person, eating a dessert from time to time does not directly and immediately cause wrinkles.

What matters more is the dietary pattern over time and the overall metabolic state.

Chronically high sugar levels, as can happen in unbalanced diabetes, are connected to increased formation of glycation products and changes in various tissues in the body.

But the connection between dietary sugar consumption and visible aging of the facial skin is still not simple, and not all studies allow drawing unequivocal conclusions.

And what about the sugar found in fruit?

Here I think it is especially important not to panic at the word sugar.

A whole fruit contains natural sugars, but it also provides dietary fiber, water, vitamins and beneficial plant compounds.

Eating an apple is not equivalent to drinking a sweetened drink, even if both contain sugar.

The fiber in whole fruits helps slow the absorption of the sugars, and their nutritional value is completely different.

Therefore, there is no reason to remove whole fruits from the menu out of fear of wrinkles.

Is fried and roasted food also connected to glycation?

Yes, but in a slightly different way.

Advanced glycation end products can also form during food preparation, especially at high temperatures and in conditions of dry heat.

For example, roasting, frying and prolonged browning can increase the amount of AGE compounds in food.

In contrast, cooking methods that use water, such as steaming or boiling, tend to create fewer of these compounds.

However, not all the glycation products we eat are absorbed to the same degree, and the exact effect of dietary AGEs on human skin aging is still being researched.

Therefore, I don't think we need to start fearing every slice of toasted bread.

But there is logic in preferring a varied diet and combining different cooking methods, instead of relying mainly on fried or highly processed food.

Does sugar also affect pimples?

Here is another area worth knowing.

Studies have found a connection between a high glycemic load diet and acne in some people.

Foods that cause a rapid and significant rise in sugar and insulin levels may affect hormonal pathways connected to sebum production in the skin and inflammatory processes.

But here too there is no single rule that fits everyone.

Not everyone who eats chocolate will develop pimples, and not every pimple is caused by diet.

If there is a tendency to acne, it is possible to check whether a change in the dietary pattern affects the skin's state over time.

And what about products that contain sugar?

It may sound confusing, but sugar found in a cosmetic product does not act on the skin in the same way glucose acts inside the body.

For example, sugar can serve as a humectant ingredient or as an ingredient in a mechanical scrub.

Applying a product that contains sugar is not equivalent to the glycation process that occurs in the body's tissues.

Therefore, there is no reason to assume that a skincare product containing a sugar derivative will cause skin aging.

Can creams prevent glycation?

In the cosmetics market you can find products that promise anti-glycation activity.

Some of them contain antioxidants or ingredients researched in the laboratory in the context of glycation product formation.

But it is important to distinguish between results obtained in cells or in the laboratory and clinical proof that applying a cream reduces wrinkles caused by glycation in humans.

As of today, the clinical evidence on the subject is limited.

In contrast, we have much better-founded evidence that daily sun protection and the use of suitable retinoids can help prevent or improve certain signs of skin aging.

So what should we eat to keep the skin healthy?

I do not believe every meal needs to become a calculation of how many wrinkles it might produce.

But there are a few habits that contribute to overall health and may also support skin health:

• Reduce regular consumption of sweetened drinks and foods rich in added sugar.
• Eat varied fruits and vegetables, which provide vitamins, fiber and antioxidants.
• Combine quality protein sources, important for maintaining the body's tissues.
• Often prefer whole grains and legumes over highly processed carbohydrates.
• Keep blood sugar levels balanced, especially if there is diabetes or prediabetes.
• Combine gentler cooking methods, such as steaming and boiling in water, alongside roasting and frying in moderation.

Can the glycation process be reversed?

Our body is able to break down and renew some of its proteins and tissues, but collagen in the skin renews relatively slowly.

Some of the glycation products and the bonds formed in long-lived proteins may remain for a long time.

Therefore, it is not possible to promise that reducing sugar will eliminate wrinkles that have already formed.

However, maintaining good metabolic health can help reduce factors that contribute to further accumulation of glycation products.

And to finish — we do not need to give up sweets to care for our skin

I think the connection between diet and skin is one of the most fascinating areas in skincare.

We are used to looking for the solution in the cream jar, but our skin is also affected by processes that occur deep inside the body.

Glycation is a good example of that.

It reminds us that the skin is not an organ separate from the rest of the body, and that metabolic health can also be connected to the way it ages.

But I do not think we need to look at every dessert as if it adds a new wrinkle to us.

A balanced diet is not a diet without pleasure.

Our skin is affected by what we do over years, much more than by the slice of cake we ate yesterday.

Skin & Wellness Magazine | OrOrgani

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