Sugar And Its Effects On Your Skin

Sugar: Could This Be Your Skins Worst Enemy?

skin ageing glycation

Most, if not all of us want to have heathy, glowing, perfect skin. 

But we simply cannot just rely on skincare products, no matter how good they are to do the job for us.

We need to take care of our skin from within too, and that starts with our lifestyle, and in particular, our diet.

Its well known that eating too much sugar has some quite detrimental health affects, with obesity, and the onset of conditions such as type 2 diabetes being made worse by a sugar rich diet.

What many of us may not know, however is that by eating excess sugar, we are effectively speeding up the skins ageing process, causing unwanted inflammation, sagging skin and the onset of lines and wrinkles.

Having too much sugar, alongside bad carbohydrates ( such as white bread, pasta and rice) and foods with a high glycemic count help to elevate our blood sugar levels. This in turn causes a chemical type reaction in our body called Glycation.

It is Glycation that causes our skin to become thinner, stiffer and less flexible, which can lead to premature ageing, and those hated fine lines and wrinkles.

effects of sugar on skin

Glycation Explained

We get our energy from the foods that we eat, our bodies break down carbohydrates into sugars including fructose and glucose, which are the fuel that powers us through the day.

When we eat too much sugar, the excess molecules begin to react with fats and proteins in an abnormal way. 

These sugar molecules start to bind themselves to fats and proteins in the body, to form harmful molecules known as AGE’s (Advanced Glycation End Products).

A a direct result of this attach, the main proteins in our skin ( Elastin and Collagen) break down, this causes our skin to became weaker, and less supple which can lead to fine lines, reduced skin tone and sagging skin.

AGE’s can also have other effects on our ski, they can reduce our skis resilience to both UV rays and environmental pollution.

To Avoid – One of the best ways in which you can protect your skin is by avoiding sugar as much as possible. 

This includes natural sugars like the types found in fruit and honey.

Now its very difficult to avoid all sugars, but if we actually looked into this a bit more we would probably be shocked as to just how much sugar is added to foods – in particular those low fat or ‘diet’ foods. 

Once you remove fat in a food, the only way to add taste is by using sugar… You check out many popular breakfast cereals as an example – Its shocking just how much sugar they actually contain.

Its little wonder that as a nation, so many of us are growing up to be obese and with health problems.

Reducing The Effects Of Sugar On The Skin

There are some ingredients that can help reduce the effects of sugar in our diet, in particular some that can help reduce the effects of Glycation.

rosemary co2 extract

One superfood ingredient that is found in some of the better natural skin creams and serums is Rosemary Co2 Extract – 

Its been proven to have a positive effect on glycation, whats more it also helps to protect the skin against UV rays, the effects of stress, and has a positive influence on skin health, repairing and guarding against future damage.

One product that uses this, and I really recommend is by UK based Lisa Armitage – her entire product range is built around the natural skin boosting powers of superfoods, in particular her Anti Pollution Facial Serum is a real winner.

lisa armitage anti pollution face serum

I tried it out personally when preparing my full review and I think its great.

Why not check out my full review – Click Here


The information in this website is for advice and guidance only. It is based on my own intensive research and personal experiences, and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, or to diagnose or treat any health conditions. All rights reserved.