Eat Your Way to Fewer Wrinkles

I’ve been reading numerous books in the last year about reducing wrinkles, from the inside out. If you’ve seen my page on how to eliminate saggy eyelids, you know I’ve changed my diet to that end.

Inflammation

The resonating issue that I learned from Dr. Perricone in Forever Young: The Science of Nutrigenomics for Glowing, Wrinkle-Free Skin and Radiant Health at Every Age is that we need to cut back on sugars and carbs in our diet if we want to reduce wrinkles because sugar and carbs cause inflammation and glycation within the body and the skin. We all know what inflammation is, but I haven’t talked much about glycation, although I’ve read a lot about it and how it contributes to premature aging and wrinkles.

Glycation

Glycation is a process that impairs molecules, leaving them hardened and useless.  That hardening is seen in the form of wrinkles if you’re looking only at the skin. It’s an ugly process whereby a sugar (or glucose) molecule bonds with a protein or lipid molecule, causing inflexibility—wrinkles. This also occurs throughout the body and within our organs. If you have or know someone who has diabetes, you know that their wounds heal slower and they suffer from organ ailments earlier because they produce greater glycation.

Sugars

The bottom line: if we hope for longevity, to slow down the process of aging, even if we’re only concerned about wrinkles, we have to reduce sugar!

Okay, simple enough. Many of us are willing to do that to eliminate future wrinkles. Anyone can cut back on sugar, just use a sugar substitute, avoid fruit juices, drink diet sodas, and quit candy, right? Wrong. Sugar is everywhere—and most of us don’t even realize where it’s hiding.

Simple Carbohydrates

Unfortunately, sugar isn’t the only problem: simple carbohydrates are converted to sugar or glucose, which causes glycation, hence wrinkles, at the same rate.  Here are some simple carbohydrates that you should avoid if you want to use every possible strategy to slow down the aging process and reduce wrinkles:

·        Milk

·        White Bread (this includes everything made with bread too)

·        Cereal, even the bland stuff

·        Potatoes

·        Rice

·        White Pasta

·        Fruit juices

I gave up these foods several months ago, and it wasn’t easy.  There are some complex carbohydrate replacements if you want to try to reduce sugars, but these still cause glycation--although not to the same extent as simple carbohydrates and sugars.

Complex Carbohydrates

Here are some complex carbohydrate substitutes:

·        Milk: plain non-fat yogurt (thinned if you want to drink it) 

·        White Bread: whole-grain or multi-grain bread

·        Cereal: oatmeal, buckwheat, or other whole grains

·        Potatoes: beans

·        Rice: brown rice

·        Pasta: whole-grain pasta

·        Fruit juices: whole fruits

If you can pick only one of these to substitute, choose the one that you consume most often. Try it for a month, and then substitute another. You’ll be healthier, and your skin will stop aging as rapidly. 

But the fight doesn’t end here.  My most recent find is Your Skin, Younger: New Science Secrets to Reverse the Effects of AGE by Drs Logan, Rubin, and Levy. I’ll talk later about their contributions to our quest for younger skin.