Sugar has gotten a rough rap. Sugar or glucose is not the bad guy. As a matter of fact, without a regular supply of sugar, you would grind to a halt.
The problem comes when we eat sugar in the wrong form (Example: choosing ice cream over a serving of broccoli or an apple) or we eat it in the wrong amounts (inhaling a large bag of potato chips and 3 beers in one sitting). That’s when we begin to have problems.
This kind of eating produces harmful molecules called “advanced glycation end products (AGEs).” Through a process called “glycation.” AGEs are nasty.
The more AGEs we have in our bodies, the faster we age. They attack collagen (which gives skin its firmness) and elastin (which helps stretched skin bounce back). They form “crosslinks” between proteins. Crosslinked proteins cause things like retinopathy, nerve pain, atherosclerosis, and more. Add a little too much sun; eat your food barbequed, slosh down too much alcohol or smoke a pack a day and the glycation process speeds up.
Fortunately, there’s a lot that we can do! Here are some tips to delay the decay.
Control blood sugar levels: Researchers tested the blood sugar levels in about 600 participants—men and women aged between 50 and 70. Then they showed pictures of the participants to another group of people who had never seen them before. They asked this new group to guess the age of the people in the photographs. Those with higher blood sugar levels were rated as older than those with lower levels.
Maintain a healthy weight: Research has found that excessive weight or waist size can increase the formation of AGEs. Need help getting on track with your weight or blood sugar balance. The Transitions Lifestyle System can get you on track.
Build some muscle: Muscles consume glucose, so the more muscle you have, the more glucose your body will take up. As we age, we naturally lose muscle. Regular weight training can help counteract this affect. Here is my work out plan.