What You NEED to Know About SUGAR and Your Skin

You wear sunscreen, spend countless dollars on anti-aging skin creams and serums, you drink a ton of water and yet, your skin is looking lackluster.

You have dry patches, weird acne spots, dark circles and as loathe as you are to admit it, you are seeing some visible aging in your skin in the form of sagging, dullness and wrinkles.

What’s could be causing this seemingly overnight shift?

Sugar!

Sugar is 8 times as addictive as cocaine and can be found in practically everything that we eat!  We all know that eating sugar is bad for our waistline, but it wreaks havoc on your skin as well.

Because of the acidic nature of sugar, it gives a burst of energy, to be quickly followed with a crash.  This unstable blood sugar causes inflammation within your body and begins to break down your collagen levels in your skin.  Your face will show it by having breakouts, dryness, rosacea, wrinkles and dull sagging skin.

What’s a city girl to do??

Here’s how to get back your sparkle and regain your GLOW!

1. Be a sugar detective! 

You are a smart cookie, and don’t EVER add white sugar to anything you eat, but sugar is HIDDEN within so many products with alias names and often is marketed to be a “healthy” ingredient.

Some names to look for:

The OSE gang: fructOSE, glucOSE, lactOSE, dextrOSE, maltOSE

The CORNy ones: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup

The “healthy” crew: turbinado sugar, raw sugar, agave nectar, cane juice, fruit sugar, maltitol, brown rice syrup

Sugar is called countless other names so be sure to READ your labels and look for any of these secret sugars within the ingredient list.

2.  Unwrap it!

The most healthful foods don’t come from packages, so avoid processed food as much as possible to regain your dewy radiant skin.  Cookies, cakes, bread, chips are obvious unhealthy choices, but also be aware that some things are marketed to be “healthy” are LOADED with sugar!  For example sports drinks, energy bars and watch all of the hidden sugars located within low fat, fat free and even those “gluten” free options.  A gluten free/vegan cupcake is STILL a cupcake at the end of the day. 😉

3. Create a new COCKTAIL for gorgeous skin

I’m sorry to say this dollface, but those summertime cocktails on the gorgeous rooftop bars and parties in NYC break down into sugar too!

Try a new “cocktail” for gorgeous skin: warm water, juice of an organic lemon, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a dash of powdered ginger.  The water will hydrate you, the lemon will give your skin some delicious vitamin c and is alkalizing (ie anti-inflammatory), the cayenne and ginger can speed up the circulation to give you a healthy and rosy glow.  Even just alternating this skin loving cocktail with an “actual” cocktail will help your skin be as gorgeous as the Chrysler building!

4.  Green=Glowing!

Increase your vegetables and WATCH how fast your skin will thank you by getting your GLOW back!  Dark leafy greens like kale, collards, arugula, watercress are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants which all add up to hydrated, nutrient fed glowing skin.  As an added bonus to keep your blood sugar stable and fend off the inflammation, try adding greens to EVERY meal!  My  coaching clients call this the “greens game”  and incorporate dark leafy greens in each meal!

A typical day might look like:

• A green smoothie for breakfast made from greens, ½ a green apple, ½ an avocado and water.
• A salad of arugula, kale, cucumber and tomato  along with some wild salmon for lunch.
• Dinner is a quinoa bowl loaded with veggies like sauteed kale, asparagus and snow peas, along with a side of sauteed cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

Follow these 4 steps to get your sparkle back have skin that is glowing  and beautiful skin from the INSIDE out.

Tags: healthy skin, Skin, sugar, wellness

Category: Ageless Beauty, BELLA Blog, Home