We all have heard that sugar can cause weight gain and heart disease. But do you know that sugar can also be responsible for damaged skin?
Many skin problems such as wrinkles, acne, and eczema are caused by the amount of sugar we eat.
If you are someone that just can not do without sugar and sugar-laden foods then there are high possibilities that you may be unknowingly damaging your skin.
Here are five ways sugar may be harming your skin more especially on your face.
1. Causes breakouts
Eating too many foods that contain a high glycemic index may lead to inflammation in your body, which affects your skin.
Excess sugar can cause you skin conditions like acne and eczema. It is best to limit the amount of sugar you consume if you're prone to inflammation. Eating healthy fats, such as nuts and avocados, which are anti-inflammatory and can protect your skin from damage.
2. Causes wrinkles
Glycation occurs when sugar links to proteins that form harmful molecules that attack collagen, the protein that is responsible for keeping our skin firm. There are different types of collagen in our skin, and glycation can affect all of them.
The more sugar you consume, the more likely it is to damage your skin. Furthermore, it becomes more sensitive to sun exposure, which is the leading cause of ageing.
3. Causes sagging
Another protein that is susceptible to glycation is elastin. Elastin is responsible for our skin to fully recover. When your elastin is damaged, it becomes loose which leads to the appearance of sagging.
Those smile lines and smoker’s lines (whether we smoke or not) will surely start to reveal themselves sooner if sugar is constantly a staple in our diet.
4. Increases inflammation
According to science, the moment we eat something that is sugary our body produces insulin. This happens in order to stabilize our blood sugar levels. However, the moment insulin is released in the body, the body inflammation then goes up and it may cause our skin to turn red.
Rashes, cystic breakouts, redness, and overall puffiness and discolouration are results of eating a diet that's too high in processed sugar. Reduce the amount of sugar you ingest so that you can prevent the appearance of rashes and redness in your skin. People that are prone to eczema and other skin conditions may also start to notice an improvement in symptoms if they give up too much sugar.
5. Causes a dehydrated appearance
Just like salt, sugar causes dehydration. Have you ever noticed how thirsty you get after eating a dessert? This is because sugar sucks the water out of our skin. Dehydrated skin may cause some dryness, puffiness,h and dark circles under the eyes.