Anti-ageing .... nutrition to fight off wrinkles!

Nutrition plays a big part in the health of your skin. We all know that sugary desserts cause our weight and waistline to grow but just how do these foods affect your skin and make you look much older than you are?

Scientists have established that anything that causes a rise in your blood sugar results in inflammation on a cellular level. When your blood sugar goes up rapidly and contiually, the sugar can actually attach to the proteins in your body and collagen in our skin, making it stiff, inflexible and saggy.
It is thought that around 50% of ageing skin may be due to the result of this glycation reaction.
During this biological process called glycation Advanced Glycation End products or AGEs proteins are produced. These AGEs are the bad guys that attack the good guys who keep skin firm and elastic.
Whilst you are young, this attack does not do much damage because the skin can easily repair itself. Unfortunatly, the older you get, especially after age 35, this sugar damage can be devastating.

Added sugars are present in a lot of foods that you eat, so make sure that you read each label and find out the number of teaspoons of sugar you eat everyday.

To calculate sugar content just divide the number of grams on the label by 4 to find out the number of teaspoons. The average adult should have no more than 10 teaspoons in any 24hr period. Remember that one can of cola has around 10 teaspoons of sugar. Ouch!

Another point to consider ….. On the days you do not get enough sleep, you will tend to crave carbohydrates, (cortisol raises blood sugar and insulin levels, setting up the carbohydrate craving).
So ladies and gents, get enough sleep, stay away from high sugar and processed foods and you will take a giant step towards looking younger for longer.

NATASHA KUNEJ