Below is a excerpt from a recent Elle Magazine article, highlighting the aging effects of sugar. We have understood for while the implications of “glycation” which is the process of sugar attaching to our collagen (and other cells) leading to their dysfunction (and generalized sagging, etc.).
Elle excerpt:
The science is this: When you have sugar molecules in your system, they bombard the body’s cells like a meteor ¬shower—glomming onto fats and proteins in a process known as glycation. This forms advanced glycation end products (commonly shortened, appropriately, to AGEs), which cause protein fibers to become stiff and malformed. Much of what is known about glycation’s ill effects comes from diabetes research: The connective-tissue damage and chronic inflammation resulting from diabetics’ sustained high blood sugar can lead to debilitating conditions, such as cataracts, Alzheimer’s, vascular tightening, and diseases of the pancreas and liver.
The proteins in skin most prone to glycation are the same ones that make a youthful complexion so plump and springy—collagen and elastin. When those proteins hook up with renegade sugars, they become discolored, weak, and less supple; this shows up on the skin’s surface as wrinkles, sagginess, and a loss of radiance. The presence of AGEs also makes the complexion more vulnerable to bad-news assailants such as UV light and cigarette smoke. As New York–based dermatologist Cheryl Karcher, MD, puts it: “Number one, the glucose makes the cells abnormal; and number two, it creates free radicals. So you get a double whammy when it comes to aging.”
Here is the full article, which is worth the read!
HTTP://WWW.ELLE.COM/BEAUTY/MAKEUP-SKIN-CARE/SUGAR-AGING-HOW-TO-FIGHT-GLYCATION-614621