Elevated blood sugar from the consumption of carbohydrates, creates inflammation and oxidative stress on the inside which reflects on the outside, contributing to wrinkled skin and other signs of ageing.
Advanced glycation end-products (appropriately abbreviated AGEs) occur when glucose reacts with proteins and fats in the body, forming cross-linkages which accelerate the aging process and contribute to chronic disease. This reaction occurs in everyone, although to a much greater extent in people with uncontrolled diabetes. AGEs are considered largely responsible for the damage to the kidneys, eyes, cardiovascular system, and extremities that occurs when blood glucose levels are high. There is evidence indicating that AGEs also contribute to skin wrinkling, loss of collagen and elasticity, and other signs of ageing.
Back in the early eighties, food manufacturers discovered that carbohydrates were cheap to produce and started pushing carbohydrate rich foods as great sources of energy and vilifying dietary fat. Many of the worlds Western populations have adopted carbohydrate as their main fuel source and as a result, vases of obesity, diabetes and heart disease has more than doubled!
Recently there has been a lot of research demonstrating the many benefits benefits of eating a high fat low carb diet, including reducing the signs of aging and improving skin elasticity. Researchers in Japan examined the diet of 1000 women and found that those who consumed the highest amount of fat scored best in terms of wrinkling and skin elasticity. This is providing they also obtained antioxidants in the form of non-starchy vegetables such as the ones found in the Ketofast program.
