A year ago, I visited a dermatologist, the doctor wrote to me in the recommendations to reduce my intake of sweets. I confess, my weakness is Napoleon, honey cake, Viennese waffles with salted caramel and many more sweet things. Well, I can't help myself: life is one, and I'm not going to limit myself in pleasure.
However, I have heard that sugar is bad for the skin a thousand times. But no one explained to me how everything happens in general: why does our skin badly perceive fuel (glucose), which is important for the body? I had to figure it out and look for answers myself.
I figured it out, and now I am sharing with you some modest information.
Cutting back on glucose and other simple carbs is biochemically stupid. But their excess is harmful, and not only for the skin. We all know this perfectly well. Do not excuse yourself from sums to diabetes mellitus.
One interesting natural reaction occurs in our body - glycation. This is when sugar (glucose, fructose, etc.) bind to proteins and lipids (fats).
If we consume a lot of sweets for a long time, then the level of glucose in the blood is high, and it is incorporated into hemoglobin. After this reaction, hemoglobin becomes glycated. When you donate blood for tests to find out about the presence of diabetes mellitus, then glycated hemoglobin is one of the important indicators. It shows the average blood sugar over the last 3 months. This is how long glucose can stay!
Hemoglobin is not the only protein to which excess sugar can "stick" and disrupt its structure. Glucose, fructose and other sugars bind to collagen and elastin, and we know that our elastic skin is built on these proteins. Such an intervention is fraught with disruption of protein structures, which is why wrinkles are then formed ahead of time, and the skin visually becomes not so fresh and elastic.
Do not forget that sugar is well incorporated into the structure of fats, which make up the protective barrier of our skin. Everything is more interesting here. Due to glycation, the structure of fats is disrupted, which is fraught with:
1) inflammation up to rosacea or acne;
2) loss of moisture: the protective barrier is broken, and moisture is not retained in the outer layer of the skin;
3) frequent irritation and dehydration.
So, all the harm of sugar to the skin revolves around a natural process - glycation. Therefore, the advice from dermatologists to consume less sugar is not beaten, but has a solid evidence base.
But if it's hard to give up sweets (I honestly admit that without a sweet for me, life is sad), you will have to spend money on quality home care: cosmetics with stabilized vitamin C, retinol (if you care about skin aging), peptide complexes, nourishing creams (their task is to restore the lipid barrier).
Control your sugar level, take tests at least once every six months, it is better to overdo it than not to miss it. Do not limit yourself to sweets, but do not get carried away with them too much. And get some good home care, focusing on moisturizers and nourishing creams.
You are all beauties when you are in a good mood!
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