How to Maintain Healthy Looking Skin in Memphis and Collierville

No, this is not a blog about snake oil (“magic in a bottle”) or some new Hollywood fad diet. Rather, the focus is on cutting back on just one thing extremely difficult for all of us to avoid. Something many of us craves on a daily basis. SUGAR!

Okay, we all know too much sugar in your diet can add inches to your waistline and contribute significantly to a host of other health maladies, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. But did you know that too much refined white sugar in your diet can also cause your skin to age and wrinkle prematurely? That’s right. The latest news about refined sugar “ain’t so sweet” especially when it comes to the way it treats your skin.

Research shows that sugar, especially refined white sugar, hastens the degradation of elastin and collagen, both vital skin proteins. Which means “goodbye” to the texture, tone, and radiance of your skin, and “hello” to more wrinkles – and deeper ones, at that.

But the good news about sugar-damaged skin is that it’s never too late to turn back the clock. Here are three steps to eat right and help keep your skin looking its youngest:

1. Cut back on the sweet stuff in your diet. It’s not easy to eliminate sugar completely. Even whole grains, fruits, and vegetables turn to glucose. But limiting added sugar can help. Some guidelines: Keep added sugar to no more than 10% of total calories. And instead substitute sugar with things like:

• Honey
• Agave Nectar
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Fruit
• Stevia
• Coconut palm sugar

2. Watch for hidden sugar in food. Many prepared foods contain hefty amounts of sugar—but it’s hidden under aliases—including barley malt, corn syrup, dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, maple syrup, and molasses.
3. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. This type of sweetener is made by changing the sugar in cornstarch to fructose (another form of sugar). And because it extends the shelf life of foods and is sweeter and cheaper than other sugars, it’s a popular ingredient in soda, fruit-flavored drinks, and packaged foods such as bread, crackers, and other snacks.

Now you know — life can be a whole lot sweeter and your skin a whole lot smoother without all that sugar!