How Sugar Ages You Faster
by Ashleigh Feltham,  Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist.

Do you find the offer of a slice of chocolate cake too tempting to decline? Added sugar in moderation is part of a healthy, balanced life, but having too much is harmful to your body. The usual suspects include lollies, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and soft drinks, as well as heavily refined and carb-heavy foods like takeaway pizza, burger buns, chips and sweet pastries.

Eating too much of these types of foods not only makes achieving and maintaining a healthy weight a challenge, but it may also fast-forward the ageing process in your skin. This process is called glycation.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines glycation as “a chemical process in which a sugar molecule bonds (= joins) to a protein or lipid (= fat) molecule, which is linked to some harmful processes in the body.” Glycation can also occur on your DNA, damaging the cell and forming a product called advanced glycation end product (AGE).

AGEs permanently damage the protein, lipid or DNA they are attached to, and alter the structure of that molecule to become discoloured, inflexible or weak. For example, if this process happened to the proteins elastin or collagen, these proteins would lose their normal structure, become malformed and ultimately change the appearance of your skin from youthful to more aged.

Glycation is enhanced when there is excess sugar in the body, as the body can only take on and use a certain amount of sugar at one time. The excess is either stored as fat or becomes glycated.

The amount of glycation in your body is directly tied to the glycaemic index (GI) of a food or the glycaemic load of a meal. The GI is a ranking given to a food based on how much carbohydrate is in a food and how these carbohydrates will raise your blood sugar levels.

Foods are ranked from 1 to 100 and put into the following three GI groups:

• Low GI – considered a score from 1-54
• Medium GI – from 55-70
• High GI – any score above 70

The higher the score, the more quickly the food will raise your blood sugars and consequently your insulin, the hormone needed to take the glucose or sugar from your blood into your cells. For example, puffed rice cereals have a high GI compared to rolled oats with a low GI. The amount of fibre in a food, how it was cooked, how refined the carbohydrate is, its ripeness, and the type of sugar it contains all affect the GI.

For people with diabetes, steady and sustained energy release is the goal, and this also assists in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and a healthy weight. Think about a roller coaster ride compared to a smooth train ride. The roller coaster ride is fun on occasion, but you don’t want to experience this sensation all the time.

The story does not end there, though. Your body is affected by not only the quality of the carbohydrates you eat (the GI) but also how much carbohydrate is in that food, called the glycemic load (GL). To work this out, the GI is multiplied by the amount of carbohydrate contained in the food as a percentage.

For example, an apple has a GI of 38 and 13g of carbohydrate. The GL is 38 ⨉ 13/100 = 5.

The GL has its own rankings:

• Low GL – 10 or less
• Medium GL – 11-19
• High GL – 20 or more

The final component is knowing how much a meal will affect your blood sugar. To do this, simply add the GL of each food together. Over a day, keep the total count under 100. This means that a meal may contain foods with a higher GI if most of the other parts of the meal are low GI, and not have a negative impact on your blood sugars.

Lifestyle Tips

To create a low GL lifestyle, aim to enjoy your “sometimes” foods and drinks in moderation. Also, use the healthy plate model, which will give you a meal with a good amount of protein and fibre while keeping carbs in check. These two components help to lower the GL of a meal.

An example of a balanced day of eating is:

Breakfast
Two pieces of whole grain bread (40g each slice) with 2 poached eggs, topped with 40g shredded low-fat cheddar cheese and a side of sautéed spinach, mushrooms and tomato.

Snack
One cup of carrot/celery/capsicum sticks with 30g of 100% peanut butter.

Lunch
35g wholegrain crackers topped with half an avocado and sauerkraut with minestrone soup.

Snack
200g no-fat Greek yoghurt.

Dinner
Half a cup of quinoa with 100g of steamed salmon and 1 cup of cooked Asian vegetables.

Pick Your Method of Cooking Wisely

In addition, be selective of your cooking choice. Cooking methods like toasting, grilling, frying or roasting increase the amount of glycation end products. In addition, ultra-processed foods have high levels of AGE products. Whenever possible, opt for lower-heat cooking methods such as sauteing, stir-frying, stewing or slow cooking.

Marination is also a great way to lower AGE products. Top choices are extra virgin olive oil, a heart-healthy monounsaturated oil. Add extra flavour from herbs and spices, garlic, vinegar, lemon and lime.

Take home message:

Sugar is not the devil. However, if added sugar becomes a regular part of your diet, it may not only add extra centimetres to your waistline, it may also increase your risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease and speed up the aging of your skin. Moderation is key.

References:

1. Cambridge Dictionary, Glycation, 27/03/2024
2. Glycemic Index Research and GI News FAQS, University of Syndey, 27/3/204
3. Does Sugar Age You? What You Need to Know About Glycation?