Does Sugar Accelerate The Aging Process?

It does, yes. Sugar has been proven to be responsible for the creation of AGEs (Advanced Glycation End Products) when it binds to proteins. AGEs are key players in skin aging.

AGEs don’t just float around in our bodies; we have specific receptors called RAGE that receive them. The activation of these receptors triggers oxidative stress and inflammation. We have RAGE receptors in our dermis.

AGEs affect the removal of old collagen from the skin. Glycated collagen leads to a decreased transformation of collagen III fibers into collagen I. Decreased collagen turnout is responsible for the loss of elasticity and wrinkles’ formation.

Avoiding sugar will help you limit and slow down the glycation process which is a physiological one. Hopefully this answers the question clearly.

I would like to point out that not only sugar accelerates aging, but it also affects our mental health negatively. This to me seems even more important than aging.

Sugar consumption worsens anxiety symptoms, which is definitely something worth knowing considering how many people suffer from anxiety. Among other things, heavy sugar consumption is linked to increased chance of suffering from depression. It’s scary, considering how many foods are unnecessarily full of sugar nowadays, especially in the US.