Bye Bye Wrinkles

When you eat sugar it attaches to proteins to form advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The more sweets you eat, the more AGEs you create. “As AGEs accumulate, they damage adjacent proteins in a domino-like fashion,” explains dermatologist Fredric Brandt, MD.1 Protein fibers in collagen and elastin are the most vulnerable to AGE damage. Collagen and elastin are what keep skin firm and supple. Collagen is the most prevalent protein in the body. The once springy, resilient collagen and elastin that we had in our twenties becomes dry and brittle, which leads to wrinkles and sagging skin. The aging effect starts around age thirty-five and increases rapidly after that, according to a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology.2 But it doesn’t have to show up with ravaging effects if you eat the right kind of diet and use good skin care. One of my aunts had beautiful skin with few wrinkles even in her nineties.

A sugar-rich diet also affects the type of collagen your body creates—a factor in how resistant your skin is to wrinkling. “The most abundant collagens in the skin are types I, II, and III, with type III being the most stable and longest lasting. Glycation transforms type III collagen into type I, which is more fragile. ‘When that happens, the skin looks and feels less supple,’” says Brandt.3 And if that’s not enough, AGEs deactivate the body’s antioxidant enzymes, leaving your skin more vulnerable to sun damage, which is another major cause of skin aging.4 But there is good news about sugar-damaged skin: it’s never too late to turn back the clock and rebuild new collagen by avoiding sugar and eating and drinking a high antioxidant diet.

Notes

1. Karyn Repinski, “Face Facts About Sugar: The Surprising Reason Eating Too Much Can Cause Wrinkles—And 5 Steps to Ensure That It Won’t,” Prevention, November 3, 2011, accessed August 16, 2015, http://www.prevention.com/beauty/natural-beauty/how-sugar-ages-your-skin.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid

Today’s Recipe

Beautiful Skin Cocktail

Cucumber and bell pepper are good sources of the trace mineral silicon, which is recommended to strengthen skin, hair, and fingernails along with bones. In studies, silicon has been shown to reduce signs of aging such as improved thickness of skin and reduced wrinkles.

• 1 cucumber, peeled
• 1 parsnip, peeled
• 2-3 carrots, scrubbed well, tops removed, ends trimmed
• 1/2 lemon, peeled
• 1/4 green bell pepper

Cut produce to fit your juicer’s feed tube. Juice ingredients and stir. Pour into a glass and drink as soon as possible.

Serves 1-2

From The Juice Lady’s Guide to Juicing for Health