Most sugary desserts, like cookies, cake and beloved ice cream, are packed with sugar (which is part of the reason why they're so delicious). But you should think twice before digging into that slice of pie.
"Eating tons of sugar forms advanced glycation end products (commonly shortened, appropriately, to AGEs), which cause protein fibers in the body to become stiff and malformed," says Dendy Engelman, MD, board certified dermatologic surgeon and associate at Manhattan Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery (she also works with the flawless Sofia Vergara).
Unfortunately for your glowing complexion, the proteins most prone to glycation are collagen and elastin -- aka the proteins that make your skin plump and springy. "When those proteins hook up with renegade sugars, they become discolored, weak, and less supple; this shows up on the skin's surface as wrinkles, sagginess and a loss of radiance," explains Engelman. (Talk about a bad one-night-stand).
Plus, these AGEs make your complexion more vulnerable to assailants like UV light and cigarette smoke. "So you get a double whammy when it comes to aging."
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Healthy Skin Diet: Eat Dark Chocolate or an Acai Bowl Instead
These are two healthier treats recommended by Engelman.
Not only do acai bowls taste almost as good as ice cream (because, let's be honest, there are few things more delicious than a bowl of Ben and Jerry's), they're chock-full of antioxidants. Foods rich in antioxidant properties will have a significant impact on your skin, says Sinead Norenius, skin care esthetician and founder of the skin care line Beautisol. "Free radicals caused by pollution and UV radiation attack skin cells and cause DNA damage," she says, and these tasty little treats are powerful ammo in the fight against the premature aging process.
"Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, protecting your skin from environmental stressors like UV light, cigarette smoke and pollution," adds NYC-based dermatologist Whitney Bowe.
Better yet, top your bowl with almonds. They're packed full of vitamin E and are rich in monounsaturated fat, which is a good fat known for lowering cholesterol and keeping cell membranes strong and intact, which Norenius says is crucial for keeping skin youthful.
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Healthy Skin Diet: Skip Your Morning Bagel...
...And other refined carbs (like cookies, white bread and white rice).
"Foods that have a high glycemic index are the worst for skin, and have been associated with increased acne breakouts," says Bowe. They mess up your skin in two ways: "First they trigger a sugar spike in your blood that leads to a cascade of hormones," she says. So, say hello to breakouts. Second, they cause glycation. "Glycation is when sugar molecules bind to the structures in your skin such as collagen, making them weak and dysfunctional," Bowe explains. Weak collagen equals more signs of aging.
The good news: Bowe says that eating refined carbs with fiber-rich healthy foods can help minimize the damage. On the flip side, if you're consuming high GI foods on a daily basis, that can lead to cumulative damage.
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Healthy Skin Diet: Switch to Non-Processed Carbs or Oats
We're not saying you have to nix carbs altogether to get better skin (we're not monsters, after all). It's all about choosing the right carbs. Oats are packed full of antioxidants and have been found to be anti-inflammatory. Ciminelli recommends wild rice (it's actually a grass and not a rice at all -- who knew?) and gluten-free grains like quinoa and brown rice.
Non-processed carbs like sweet potatoes should also make it on your plate. Sweet potatoes are full of beta-carotene, a super-charged antioxidant that helps repair skin cells and slows down skin cancer cells. It helps give skin a youthful glow while preventing aging. They also are full of vitamin C, which helps stimulate collagen production. In fact, one study found that people who ate four milligrams of vitamin C a day for three years reduced their wrinkles by about 11 percent. Just half a cup of sweet potato contains 20 milligrams of vitamin C.
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Healthy Skin Diet: Ixnay on the Milk
"Many people are unaware that skim milk has been linked with acne breakouts," says Bowe. The main culprits: the hormones and milk proteins found in milk, which can clog pores (one study even found that the hormones in milk can boost your oil production up by 60 percent!).
And it doesn't just stop at the gallon of milk you buy at the grocery store. One of the most harmful milk proteins is whey, which is often found in protein supplements like bars and shakes. Cutting out dairy may do a lot for your acne-prone skin, but Bowe recommends incorporating a topical acne treatment with the active ingredient dapsone, like Aczone Gel, to really get acne under control.
Food. It's the giver of life, the bread to your literal butter. You need it. But just in the same way that certain foods can ruin your figure, some foods will ruin your skin -- and, conversely, adopting a healthy skin diet can make all the difference in the world.
Turns out it's most likely what's on your plate that dictates how healthy your skin is, how young you look, and whether or not you have acne.
Sure genetics and other lifestyle and environmental factors play a part (ahem, the sun), but you'd be hard-pressed to find any esthetician, nutritionist or dermatologist that wouldn't consider food a major factor in deciding whether you have a clear, youthful-looking complexion.
Basically, whether you like it or not, what you feed your body dictates whether you have healthy skin or "problem" skin, so it's time to watch what you eat. Being food-conscious is officially not just important for helping you fit into your jeans. "Your skin is an eliminative organ," says celebrity aesthetician Susan Ciminelli (she's beautified the skin of Kristen Bell, Tina Fey and Jennifer Lopez). "Garbage in, garbage out."
With that in mind, there are proven ingredients that clear up even the worst of problem skin and ones that can help prevent your cells from aging prematurely. With the right foods, you can stop looking for the fountain of youth in a fancy face cream or cleanser and instead finally start to put the items that will really help in your grocery basket.
