Sugars & Your Skin
As a society at large we
consume more sugars today than before. A recent study claimed that
the average Nigerian consumes approximately 53 heaped teaspoons of sugar per person per day.

Sugar contains no nutrients. When ingested daily in high quantities it can deplete the body of many essential vitamins and minerals. Sugars
also creates an excellent medium for microorganisms to grow, which can cause fungal infections and increased bacterial
infections.

A recent study in the British Journal of Dermatology claims
that sugar ages the skin in a process called glycation. When any form of sugar is ingested, it
is broken down into glucose in the body. According to the study, when glucose enters the
bloodstream it seeks out certain proteins and combines with them
to form a new molecule called AGE (advanced glycation end products). As more sugar is consumed more AGE molecules are produced. As these molecules build up they
begin to have an effect on
neighboring proteins such as collagen and elastin, the proteins responsible for maintaining firmness and elasticity to the
skin. Because collagen is one of the most widespread proteins in
the body, when it becomes
damaged, the skin begins to age showing signs of sagging and wrinkles. According to the study,
the effects of aging can begin around age 35. Before you invest more money in skin products or cosmetic procedures to remedy your skin,
instead maybe it's time to look at your diet. Take an inventory of how much sugar you consume on a daily basis.

Glycation, the non-enzymatic binding of sugars to
proteins and other structures, like the membranes of cells that line everything from arteries to organs is a factor of glucose concentration and time.

That means the more glucose in your bloodstream, and the longer it stays there, the more glycation will likely happen.

Glycation is unavoidable. It happens to everyone, no matter how few carbs you eat. HOWEVER, it's
supposed to happen very gradually, over a very
loooong period of time. Glycation is actually part of the aging process.

The key, again, is glucose concentration and time. So in general, you want to keep your blood glucose levels low, but when they do get higher, like after a high carb meal, or even after a glucose spike from cortisol or adrenaline or something, the important thing is how LONG your blood glucose stays elevated.

If you are healthy and sensitive to insulin, your BG should go down in a reasonable amount of time. On the other hand, for someone a little metabolically broken, who is insulin resistant, the BG stays elevated much longer than it should, because the cells won't "allow" insulin to bring the glucose in.

This does not mean we should never be stressed out or eat a high-carb meal. It means we need to pay attention to the multiple factors that contribute to remaining insulin sensitive and make sure we don't get to the point where high levels of glucose stay in the blood for a long time.
An overall lower carb diet can be a huge factor in this (not my first choice in overcoming insulin resistance or glucose intolerance), but even if you're eating lower carbs, if you're extremely stressed out all the time, or over exercising, you could theoretically have high blood glucose regardless.

Some of what I typed was taken from the internet, too lazy to type, but I modified it to make it easier to read.