Can skipping the cake really give you flawless skin? Let’s find out…
For the first time, a direct link has been established between the amount of sugar circulating in the blood and how old a person looks.
Scientists from the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and Unilever in the UK, measured the blood sugar levels of 600 men and women aged between 50 and 70.
They then showed photographs of these people to a board of 60 independent assessors and found that those with higher blood sugar looked older than those with lower blood sugar. In fact for every 1mm/liter increase in blood sugar, the perceived age of that person rose by five months.
“We took into account other factors such as whether or not that person smoked and yet still the effects were clear – the higher the blood glucose, the older the person looked,” says Dr David Gunn, a senior scientist at Unilever who helped conduct the trial.
“Those who looked the oldest of all were the diabetics in the group. Because of their condition, they will have had the high levels of glucose for a long period of time.”
The skin experts agree. A diet high in sugar is a disaster for the face.
“There is no point in spending lots of money on expensive skin creams if you are eating a diet high in sugar,” says Dr Aamer Khan, a cosmetic dermatologist who is also medical director of the Harley Street Skin Clinic.
“Yes, you can protect and moisturize your skin from the outside with creams, but you need to feed and stimulate the growth of good strong skin cells from inside too and sugar will sabotage that.”
Recommendation
If you battle with sugar cravings, we recommend taking the Manna Blood Sugar Support caplets with each meal. This products reduces the GI of any food you eat by up to 43%, therefore helping to control blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels are under control, you tend to eat less, not crave for sweet stuff and have more energy.
You can also follow the Manna Diet which will help to control blood sugar levels.
