I like sugar. And, if you’re both honest and non-anorexic, let’s face it, you like sugar too. The good news is that a little sugar may keep you looking younger longer. According to a 2005 study by Beisswenger, patients on the low-sugar Atkins Diet tend to double their rates of advanced glycation endproduct (AGE) formation, so that twice as much glucosepane deposits on their collagen. Essentially this means that low-sugar diets cause your collagen to become hardened, not like the flexible and supple collagen of your youth.
Why does this occur? It is believed that the low-sugar state of the body, ketosis, doubles the presence of a compound called methylglyoxal in the body. Two times the methylglyoxal, in turn, react with Amadori products in the body, forming twice the AGE products than normal – hence, up to two times the aged collagen. (For more on advanced glycation endproducts, click here.)
Unfortunately, the other extreme – excess sugar – also ages you. Excess sugar enters the bloodstream, goes through the Maillard pathway, and contributes to the ultimate formation of hardened collagen as well. So while avoiding sugar to the point of ketosis ages you, you can’t binge and expect a youthful face, either.
With the recent finding that you tend to look younger past age 40 if you weigh more, the question arises: Are we literally dieting away our youth? Was Mom really right – do we really need everything in moderation? Let me know what you think! 
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thanks for this! i am a big believer in moderation, because i know that depriving myself makes me sad…and being sad makes me look old too. what’s the point of living forever if you can’t have at least a little fun?
another great topic! you rock, futurederm!
I love this news! But I also know too much sugar is a killer, causing cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Why is it so tough to combat the craving for sugar:??
Hi Robin,
I read once that humans evolved to crave fat and sugar, as increased insulin levels increase fat storage, which is useful as insulation during cold winter months. As such, I think that’s one feature we haven’t sorted through evolutionarily.
Who knows for sure though? =)
-Nicki
I just read the paper referenced from 2005. The study involved only 10 people, of which at least 3 did not comply with the dietary guidelines. The diet was strict Atkins which is a bit more than just cutting out sugar as implied. There have been commentaries as to whether the strict Atkins diet is safe for at least the last 10 years. This study with perhaps n=7 may give further evidence that a strict Atkins diet is not healthy. This ms is terrible “We then examined the relationship between MG and acetol with a linear regression analysis and found that it was highly significant (P = 0.0002, R = 0.79) (FIG. 6). ” Give me a break – P=0.0002 for n=7 is highly significant?. I guess there is no review process for publication in Annals NY Acad, Sci.
hey nicki,
could you avoid collagen glycation by eating enough carbs, even if you avoid sugar or is sugar specifically needed to prevent this? I think ketosis only happens when carbs are lacking (but not necessarily sugar, right?)
keep up the good work!!
Hi Judtih,
Please keep in mind that p-scores’ significance increases with lower numbers. For instance, for most studies, regardless of the number of subjects involved, any p-score LESS THAN 0.05 is considered to be significant. The fact that the referenced study has a p-score of 0.0002 makes it highly significant. I can see where this is counterintuitive and confusing, but it is true.
I agree with you, however, that the study should be repeated for a larger sample size. Regardless, this is a significant finding.
Thanks!
Best,
Nicki
Hi Sarah,
That’s an interesting theory. However, carbs turn into sugar once they are in the body, so it would be hard to eat enough carbs to avoid glycation through methylglyoxal (sugar deprivation pathway) AND through the regular Malliard pathway of sugar (excess sugar pathway). Keep in mind that it is difficult to have a low-carb diet that is high sugar, or a high-sugar diet that is low-carb.
Hope that this helps!
Sincerely,
Nicki
Hi Nicki,
I am from Bangladesh and our diet is highly carb based thats why I avoid extra sugar as much possible. I am not exactly on atkins diet but I try to minimize my curb intake as well. I have been thinking, how much sugar is in that case balanced sugar? Thanks for your reply in advance.
At the risk of being too picky in my critique, I think this post is a bit misleading.
Refined sugar in essentially all of its forms is simply bad for you, not only in terms of glycation, but also in terms of insulin resistance, how the body stores those immediately absorbed simple carbohydrates (empty calories if not immediately utilized to manufacture ATP), etc.
No, a candy corn or three a year isn’t going to kill you, but essentially you need to distinguish between “avoiding ketosis” and “avoiding sugar.”
To avoid ketosis, one should still skip the refined sugar and eat some fruits in the AM and moderately intake beans and whole grains.
problem solved, and, you still can’t indulge in Snickers bars. Sorry, folks.
Just saw your earlier comment:
“However, carbs turn into sugar once they are in the body, so it would be hard to eat enough carbs to avoid glycation through methylglyoxal (sugar deprivation pathway) AND through the regular Malliard pathway of sugar (excess sugar pathway).”
I’ve read this a few times and don’t understand it. Why would it be hard to eat enough carbs to avoid glycation via the mechanism described above?
1. A commenter mentioned it was an extreme Atkins diet
2. You mentioned that ketosis is the trigger
It is very easy to avoid ketosis by eating beans and whole grains, while never touching anything with simple sugar in it.
Hi Flit,
Sorry about that – I didn’t mean to sound misleading (hence why I was careful to put “SOME” sugar instead of “LOTS OF” or just “sugar”).
But yes, you are correct, one healthy way to avoid ketosis is to eat some fruits in the AM and refined grains throughout the day. Another way is to have a fun-size candy bar, haha, although you are right – refined sugar isn’t as good for you.
Hope this helps -
Nicki
Hi Flit,
In response to your second comment – I wasn’t clear. Glycation occurs two ways: through ketosis (at twice the rate of normal), and through excess sugar. It is hard to control carbohydrate intake to a degree where you get a happy medium and avoid the Malliard pathway/glycation altogether, at least from what I have read.
Hope that this helps -
-Nicki