As if sugar didn’t have a bad enough rap already. First it gets dropped from soft drinks. Then it is avoided at all costs as part of the dreaded carb family. Now it has been shown to make us look older!

Well if we didn’t have a reason to avoid it in the past, now we certainly do. Experts are now saying that over time, too much sugar can leave your skin dull and wrinkled. The process to blame is called glycation – where the sugar you eat and absorb into your bloodstream attaches to proteins to form what are called advanced glycation end products (AGEs… ironic acronym, isn’t it?). Of course, the more sugar you eat, the more AGEs you produce.

So what do AGEs do? They damage adjacent proteins – specifically collagen and elastin, the dynamic duo of youthful proteins (these are the proteins that keep your skin taut and flexible). Worst of all, once these proteins are damaged, they start working against you, becoming dry and brittle and causing your skin to wrinkle and sag.

A diet high in sugar can also affect what kind of collagen you have. In your skin the most abundant types of collagen are I, II, and III. Type III is the most stable and longest-lasting of the three, but the process of glycation works against you by changing type III collagen into type I – the most fragile of the three (and most susceptible to AGEs). As if that weren’t enough, AGEs also work to shut down your body’s natural antioxidant enzymes. This process leaves your skin wide open to sun damage – the worst culprit of skin aging. Of course all of this leads to skin that looks and feels less supple.

Now for the good news: it’s not too late. You can build new collagen by using a moisturizer or other facial product that contains retinol. Retinol can help stimulate your body’s natural production of collagen and kick it into overdrive. Although topical help is good, you also need to make some dietary changes to ensure that you don’t keep tearing down your new collagen with more AGEs.

Step 1: Cut back on sweets. You don’t have to eliminate sugar completely. Instead, start by limiting the sugar you add to foods. Also watch for the hidden sugar in the foods you eat. Some popular sugar aliases are: barley malt, corn syrup, dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, maple syrup and molasses.

Step 2: Take your vitamins. Add at least 1 mg of vitamin B1 and B6 to your diet each day. A number of published studies have shown that these two vitamins can slow down the formation of AGEs.

Step 3: Wear sunscreen. Be sure to apply a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen every time you go outside. Remember, skin that has been exposed to the sun produces far more AGEs than protected skin.

Step 4: Antioxidize. Antioxidants help protect your collagen and elastin from AGEs. The antioxidants present in vitamins C and E as well as in green tea can be ingested or applied topically. Cranberries, nuts and red peppers are also great sources of natural antioxidants.

Step 5: Fight the AGEs. Skincare products that contain aminoguanidine and alistin can help block the formation of AGEs and slow down the process of glycation.

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