By Chioma Umeha
Believe it or not, your skin would not necessarily
show signs
“Approximately 30 per cent of how you age is
genetically determined, which means you have a great deal of control over how
your skin looks over time,” Dr. Doris J. Day, a clinical associate professor of
dermatology at the New York University Medical Center said. “You really don’t
have to look your age: Your skin’s health and resiliency can be decades younger
than your actual age.”
The key is to sidestep or mitigate sneaky factors
that can accelerate the skin’s aging process. Here are five surprising culprits
that can make your skin age faster than it should, with advice on how to deal with
them:
Eating a poor diet
Consuming lots of highly processed or sugary foods
can cause dramatic spikes in blood sugar and insulin, which can trigger
chronic, low-grade inflammation at the cellular level. This hidden inflammation
can in turn speed up skin aging through a process called glycation.
Glucose – from carbohydrates and sugars enters the
bloodstream and attaches to protein molecules, including collagen (which
provides structure to the skin), forming new molecules called advanced
glycation end products,or AGEs, which are believed to degrade collagen and
elastin (a protein that gives skin elasticity), explained Dr. Ellen Marmur, an
associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai in New York City.
When this happens, collagen and elastin can become
stiffer and less functional, which can theoretically cause skin to sag, wrinkle
and look older than it should.
Tip: Cut back on simple carbs, which are quickly
converted to blood sugar, and opt instead for lots of whole grains, vegetables
and fruits. In particular, increase your intake of antioxidant-rich foods –
such as berries, citrus fruits, kiwi, pineapple, papaya, red and green peppers
and broccoli – because “antioxidants fight AGEs,” researchers said. The same is
true of using skin-care products with antioxidant ingredients such as vitamins
C and E, resveratrol, green tea and grapeseed.
Always sleeping on the same side
You know that sleep is important if you want to
look your best. After all, “while you sleep, your body initiates the repair
process for lots of different tissues in the body, including the skin,”
explained Dr. Mary P. Lupo, a clinical professor of dermatology at Tulane
University in New Orleans. “So without enough deep sleep, in particular, the skin
does not get the repair and restoration it needs.”
But, if you constantly sleep on the same side of
your face, your facial skin will age more rapidly, scientists have warned. It
is like ironing a wrinkle into a pair of pants – in this case, you’re mechanically
wrinkling the skin by deforming the skin’s collagen and impeding circulation to
the skin, which makes the creases permanent.
Tip: In addition to carving out plenty of time for
slumber, cultivate a habit of sleeping on your back or at least alternating sides.
