Ever heard the expression “you are what you eat”? Well, the saying does hold true – when it comes to aging, for example. In fact, what you eat can play a role in the aging process, as eating certain foods can definitely make you look older.
Food is intended to nourish and provide us with essential vitamins and minerals so we look and feel our best. But eat the wrong foods, and you can end up looking years beyond your age. Therefore, stop looking for the fountain of youth and instead look into your diet. Below are some of those foods that can speed up the aging process – the foods that you might want to avoid.
Foods that cause wrinkles and speed up aging
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Rice cakes: Seemingly a healthy-looking snack, rice cakes can cause blood sugar to spike, which in turn can contribute to wrinkles. Your body metabolizes carbs by converting them into glucose, which sticks to wrinkle-fighting proteins and damages them. In turn, you are left with wrinkled skin making you look beyond your years.
Candy: Candy contains sugar, and sugar is a carbohydrate, so just like in rice cakes, the breakdown of sugar damages collagen, and your skin takes the hit as a result. Take hold of your sweet tooth and swap out candy for fresh fruit instead.
Milk: Milk may be good for bones but not so good for aging. Much milk on the market these days is filled with hormones, which enter the blood stream and negatively affect insulin, amping up inflammation and oil production. Opt for organic milk instead.
Chips: Refer to candy and rice cakes for the explanation as to why chips are bad for you. Regular consumption of chips can leave you looking like the snack – crackled and bumpy.
Sugary smoothies: Smoothies are all the rage nowadays, but avoid those store-bought sugar-loaded varieties and opt for homemade ones.
Agave: Agave is hailed as a natural sweetener, but it can pack plenty of fructose-rich corn syrup. Fructose gets metabolized by the liver and turned into fat. It can break down collagen much quicker than regular table sugar. The result is looking older, faster.
Fast food: We don’t really need to explain why it’s bad for you, but once again, fast food can speed up aging, and that’s another reason to avoid it. A study showed that regular consumption of fast food was linked to acne.
Margarine: Trans fats found in margarine lead to dehydration, and research has tied high consumption of margarine with an increase in wrinkles.
If your appearance isn’t matching your age, your diet may be to blame. Take a look at what you’re eating and make a few simple changes in order to prevent premature wrinkles and aging.
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