Beauty Tip: Cutback on Sugar for Better Skin, consider Splenda

Like most women, I think  minimizing sugar in my diet is good for my waistline.  However, I didn’t know until recently that watching the amount of sugar in your food is a valuable beauty tip for good skincare care.   Recently, Good Housekeeping Nutrition Director Samantha Cassetty the author of “7 Years Younger: The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet“, shared some tips about diet and anti-aging on the Daily Shot with Ali Wentworth.  Here’s what she had to say about sugar.  “Sugar is a skin-wrecker,” Samantha says. “You want to look for words like honey, agave, brown rice syrup, fruit juice concentrate, evaporated cane juice. Some things that sound really innocent are actually sugar, and your body processes all sugar the same way.” Why is sugar so bad for your skin? 

According to Dr. Nicholas Perricone, an expert on health and wellness, sugar promote inflammation of the skin. “I believe that inflammation is at the basis of aging in all organ systems, including the skin. One of the reasons inflammation occurs is from a rapid rise in blood sugar, which causes biochemical changes in the cell that result in accelerated aging, ” said Dr. Nicoholas Perricone. “Of the internal causes of inflammation, one of the big ones is diet. In addition to biochemical changes, sugar causes damage to the skin in another way: When blood sugar goes up rapidly, sugar can attach itself to collagen in a process called “glycation,” making the skin stiff and inflexible. Losing this elastic resilience of young skin will give you deep wrinkles and make you look old.”

So, if you’re like me, and you want to keep your skin looking good without resorting to artificial means like surgery and injectables, loose the sugar.   I’ve been using Splenda for the last few years, now more than ever since my father was diagnosed with diabetes.  It’s a simple step our whole family has taken to reduce the amount of sugar in our diet.  Splenda is a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, so it’s close to the taste of sugar.  Even with Splenda, I use just a little to sweeten my coffee, tea of desserts.  You don’t need to pile it on to make something taste good.  I’m not here to say that Splenda is the answer to skin problems or can help you achieve healthy skin.  I have just found that it helps me achieve a healthy lifestyle.  I use Splenda in moderation, just as I would use any sweetener in moderation.  Experts recommend that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day, yet the average American eats 22 teaspoons daily.  That’s why too much sugar for your skin and definitely can promote skin inflammation and damage.   Think about that next time your reach for the sugar bowl.

NOTE: FTC Disclosure: This post is part of the SPLENDA® 365 SWEET SWAPS ™ blogger program by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. and The Motherhood, who sent me products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them