Some studies new to science are indicating that eating too much sugar may be responsible for the increased rates of aging in young adults and may be a major cause of certain skin ailments like psoriasis.
Desisting from high sugar consumption at a particular time especially when you expect to eat some snack may seem very inconvenient to many people. But when you consider the several risk effects associated with high consumption of sugar, you would know better to check the rate at which you eat it.
The USA Center for Disease Control have hinted that consuming large amounts of sugar may trigger certain skin malfunctions which could lead to the development or worsening of skin conditions such as psoriasis and acne. They have also suggested that the unhealthy behavior may cause signs of premature aging like sagging and fine lines.
Too much sugar consumption can potentially increase your risk for diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart diseases also.
According to experts like S. Tyler Holming, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology in the department of internal medicine at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School; the skin is the largest organ in the body and therefore comes as no surprise when the foods you eat affect it.
However, the American Association of Dermatology have indicated that several factors aside high consumption of sugar could affect skin health. They say such factors include smoking, sun exposure, and sleep.
Here are three ways sugar consumption could affect your skin health.
Too much sugar may worsen psoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease which is characterized by the skin cells growing uncontrollably fast and leading plaques and scaling.
A research conducted on mice by Dr. Hwang; a professor and chair of dermatology at UC Davis Health has lead him to believe that diet high in sugar and fat, leads to the development of a psoriasis-like inflammation in humans.
The study also suggests that high sugar consumption could cause skin inflammations that may increase your susceptibility to psoriasis which could induce visible changes in the skin such as redness, plaques and small, round, scaly spots.
The study also blamed sugar and fat to be responsible for negatively altering the gut microbiome which clearly leads to inflammation as seen in psoriasis. But again, additional research is needed.
Sugar may promote acne
A high-sugar diet definitively links to acne as a new study that looked at nearly 25,000 adults found that ”consumption of fatty and sugary foods was associated with a 54 percent increased risk of acne, while sugary drinks increased that risk by 18 percent.”
The experts in their attempt to explain their findings have hinted that sugar triggers a rise in insulin, which increases inflammation a risk factor for the development of acne.
They also revealed in their attempt that sugar may raise androgen levels, and subsequently lead a greater amount of pore-clogging oil production, a factor that causes acne formation.
Sugar may accelerate signs of aging
Sugar is known to cause glycation; a biological process by which sugar molecules bond to proteins, lipids, or nucleic acids resulting in the formation of end products, that can harm collagen and elastin fibers in the skin.
The process is also said to interfere with collagen repair, which is vital to maintaining springy collagen fibers of the skin.
How to reduce too much sugar consumption for your skin health
A more healthy diet is necessary for your skin health. Staying away from high sugar diets or foods that could lead to increased sugar levels in your body and moving toward Mediterranean diets may help.
Mediterranean diets are rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes and these foods help reduce inflammation in the body.