Health Effects of Hidden Sugars as you Age

By Britni Vincent, RD, LD
January 13, 2025

As you grow older, some advice sticks around for a reason. “Eat well to live well” may feel repetitive, but it’s truly timeless. Yet, one area that often gets overlooked is the hidden sugar in our diets, sneaking into everyday meals and accelerating signs of aging. Who doesn’t want to age gracefully? I certainly do!

The truth is, the impact of sugar on aging goes beyond just wrinkles. Let’s dig into how sugar affects the body as you age—and more importantly, how making a few changes can make a big difference.

How Does Sugar Affect Aging?

Sugar plays a significant role in accelerating the aging process, especially in the skin, joints, and overall energy levels. When you consume high-sugar foods, it initiates a process called glycation, where sugar molecules attach to proteins like collagen and elastin. These proteins are essential for keeping skin firm and resilient, but glycation stiffens and weakens them, leading to more noticeable signs of aging.

I will dig into this more, but it’s important to note that all carbohydrates break down to sugar in the body. So, it’s not just sugary foods to be mindful of but any high carbohydrate food (bread, pasta, crackers, baked goods, etc.) is going to affect the aging process.

Here are some key ways sugar and aging are negatively connected:

• Increases Wrinkles and Sagging Skin: Through glycation, sugar damages collagen and elastin, causing skin to lose elasticity, leading to wrinkles and sagging.
• Creates Systemic Inflammation: High-sugar diets increase inflammation in the body, contributing to joint pain, fatigue, and slower healing.
• Reduces Skin Brightness: Glycation dulls the skin’s natural glow, making it appear tired and less radiant.
• Promotes Insulin Resistance: Frequent sugar spikes lead to insulin resistance, which can result in weight gain, metabolic issues, and increased aging signs.
• Weakens Immune Function: Sugar can suppress immune response, making the body more susceptible to infections and slower to recover.
• Contributes to Cognitive Decline: High insulin levels over time can increase inflammation in the brain, impacting memory and cognitive function as we age. In a study on blood sugar and memory, participants aged 50-80 showed that those with higher fasting blood sugars performed worse on memory tests, despite having no diabetes or pre-diabetes. Dr. Flöel from Charite University Medicine in Berlin noted, “These findings are important because they indicate that even in healthy non-diabetic individuals, lifestyle choices that lower blood glucose should be recommended.” (1)

How Your Body Processes Sugar Intake

Let me explain what happens in the body when you consume sugar, or any carbohydrate. Your blood glucose rises in response to carbohydrates, signaling the pancreas to secrete insulin. Insulin grabs onto the glucose, acts like a key to unlock the insulin receptor and shuttles it into the cells to use as energy.

Having a diet higher in carbohydrates will eventually lead to the lock and key not working efficiently, which means the insulin is unable to bring the glucose into the cells. This leads to excess glucose in your blood stream causing fat storage and inflammation.

Your body will create more insulin to try to compensate, but since insulin is our primary fat storage hormone this only leads to more weight gain and more inflammation. Eventually, this results in insulin resistance and then diabetes or other health conditions. The good news is—it is reversible by reducing/eliminating sugar and eating a diet of real foods!

Can Quitting Sugar Reverse Aging?

Quitting sugar can’t turn back the clock entirely, but it can definitely slow down and, in some cases, even reverse some visible signs of aging. Cutting out sugar reduces inflammation in the body, which is one of the biggest contributors to aging symptoms, from wrinkles to joint pain. Here’s how it works:

• Reduces Wrinkles and Restores Skin Elasticity: When you quit sugar, this damage slows, and your body has a chance to repair these proteins, leading to firmer, more resilient skin.
• Boosts Skin Brightness: Many people notice their skin regains a healthy glow after cutting out sugar. Reducing blood sugar spikes decreases skin inflammation, which can help reduce puffiness, redness, and that tired look.
• Minimizes Joint Pain and Stiffness: Quitting sugar decreases inflammation which can reduce aches and pains, making you feel younger and more agile. After reducing sugar, many people note waking up without feeling stiff in the morning.
• Improves Energy and Reduces Fatigue: Sugar and processed carbohydrates lead to energy highs and lows, contributing to the sluggishness often associated with aging. A low-sugar diet supports steady energy levels, helping you feel more vibrant.
• Supports Brain Health: Reducing sugar intake can improve mental clarity and memory, enhancing brain health as you age.

While quitting sugar can’t stop all aspects of aging, these changes support a more youthful appearance, greater energy, and better overall health. Many people feel a profound difference when they shift to a diet focused on whole foods and natural fats, as it nourishes the body from the inside out. Clinically, my clients notice some of these positive shifts within a few weeks of changing their diet.

Aging is not just about your outward appearance, it’s how you’re body is functioning internally as well. However, a lot of individuals equate aging to their appearance so lets dive into some frequent questions about how sugar affects your skin.

Does Quitting Sugar Improve Skin as We Age?

Yes, reducing sugar can help you age with healthier, more radiant skin! High sugar intake doesn’t just lead to breakouts; it also accelerates the aging process of the skin. Here’s how:

As I mentioned earlier, when you consume sugar, it triggers a process called glycation, where sugar molecules bind to proteins like collagen and elastin—two key proteins that keep skin firm and smooth. This binding forms advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which damage collagen and elastin, making skin more prone to wrinkles, sagging, and dullness over time.

Additionally, high-sugar diets promote inflammation throughout the body, even at the cellular level, which can lead to a rougher skin texture and slower cell turnover, causing older-looking skin. Quitting or reducing sugar helps protect collagen, prevents inflammation, and allows your skin to retain its elasticity and glow as you age.

Can I Reverse Sugar Damage to My Aging Skin?

Yes, you can help repair your skin from sugar damage! While some effects of excess sugar intake on the skin may take time to improve, there are ways to support your skin’s natural healing process and encourage repair.

Reducing or eliminating sugar is the first step. Cutting back on high-sugar, high carbohydrate foods helps reduce inflammation, which plays a major role in skin issues like wrinkles, acne, and loss of elasticity. When blood sugar is kept stable, your skin has a chance to recover as insulin levels stabilize, which can reduce inflammation and prevent further breakdown of collagen and elastin—the proteins that keep skin firm and smooth.

Focus on Protein, Vegetables (carbohydrates) and Fat for Better Aging

Beyond reducing sugar intake, focusing on protein, carbohydrates (think lots of vegetables) and healthy fats at each meal will help to stabilize your blood sugar, reduce inflammation and nourish your skin.

Here are some examples of each to incorporate:

• Protein: meat, fish, dairy if tolerated
• Carbohydrates: vegetables (they are the best source of carbohydrates and are rich in fiber), fruit, lentils, beans, wild rice, and quinoa
• Fat: olives, olive oil, avocado, avocado oil, butter, nuts and seeds (raw or dry roasted), and coconut oil

A low-sugar diet and combining fat and protein with your carbohydrates stabilizes blood sugar. The results of this are less systemic inflammation which improves the health of all areas of the body including your skin. Overtime, this will also revere insulin resistance. One study found that individuals who ate like this have a younger biological age at the cellular level. (2)

Diet changes may even show results faster than expected; for example, in studies, people who moved to low-glycemic, low-sugar diets saw up to an 87% reduction in skin issues, including acne. (3)

The challenge with sugar: it is literally addictive!

Sugar stimulates the same pleasure centers of the brain that respond to heroin and cocaine. It increases dopamine so you get a nice little mood boost, but it’s short lived and the after affects are you feel even worse. Your brain may continue to seek sugar out to get that dopamine boost. Another cause of sugar cravings is an imbalanced blood sugar throughout the day. Sugar cravings can also come from your gut – guess what the bad bacteria in your gut feeds on? You guessed it, sugar! As you can see there are a lot of reasons why your body craves sugar, it is not from lack of willpower!

Sugar is hidden in nearly all processed foods without many people even realizing it. Today, the average American consumes 77 pounds of added sugar annually; that's more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day.

Dr. Robert Lustig, a leading expert in childhood obesity, labels sugar as both a “toxin” and “poison” to your body. The notion that sweet cravings only come from emotions is simply not true! The more sugar we consume, the more your bodies crave it.

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Let’s look at a typical day of meals for an adult, exploring how hidden sugars impact your energy, memory, weight, and overall well-being. Each common meal is paired with a healthier swap to boost health benefits.

Common Breakfast: 1-2 cups of cereal with skim milk and a glass of orange juice

This breakfast provides over 60 grams of carbohydrates (about 15 teaspoons of sugar).

Better Breakfast Option: 2 eggs, 1-2 turkey sausages, 1 cup of spinach, peppers, carrots, a bit of butter with a small piece of fruit on the side. Switching to this high-protein, low-sugar breakfast provides steady energy, reduces blood sugar spikes, and will decrease cravings throughout the day.

Common Lunch: Sandwich with ham and cheese and a bowl of chicken noodle soup

This lunch can pack in 40-50 grams of carbs (10-12.5 teaspoons of sugar).

Better Lunch Option: Salmon Salad Supreme on a bed of spinach with cucumbers. This option avoids unnecessary sugars and provides protein, fiber, and healthy fats to help prevent that mid-afternoon energy dip.

Common Snack: Flavored yogurt

Depending on the brand, a single serving container of yogurt can contain 15 - 20 grams of sugar (3.75 - 5 teaspoons of sugar)

Better Snack Option: ½ cup of full fat, plain Greek yogurt (Greek style has more protein, but you can do any style of yogurt) with ½ c. of berries and ¼ c. nuts, seeds or shredded coconut. This balanced snack will prevent feeling overly hungry by the time dinner rolls around.

Common Dinner: Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread

This high-carb meal can easily contain around 100 grams or more of carbs (25 teaspoons of sugar), about as many carbohydrates as most people need for the entire day.

Better Dinner Option: Wild Rice Meatballs with spaghetti sauce over 1 cup of spaghetti squash with butter. This balanced and satisfying dinner will help prevent blood sugar dips during the night, allowing for a better night’s sleep.

Common After-Dinner Snack: popcorn

Three cups of popcorn contains about 20 grams of carbohydrates (5 tsp of sugar)

Better Bedtime Snack Option: Sauté ½ apple, peach, or banana in butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.

For some individuals, a light snack before bed helps stabilize blood sugar overnight, reducing the risk of waking up due to low blood sugar. For many people, eating balanced throughout the day will prevent you from being hungry after dinner.

If you’re not hungry before bed and a bedtime snack doesn’t help you sleep – skip the snack and you could just enjoy a cup of herbal tea to wind down.

Small Changes in Sugar Consumption = Big Health Benefits

It can be difficult to reduce and eliminate sugar, like I mentioned there are so many biochemical reasons why your body may crave it. Think about yourself – what would work better for you – cutting sugar out cold turkey or baby steps? There is no right or wrong, we’re all different and for some cutting sugar out cold turkey may be too overwhelming.

Think about what feels realistic for you to modify starting tomorrow, or even today, to reduce your sugar intake.

Choosing Healthier Meals for Better Aging

Swapping out meals and snacks with hidden sugars helps prevent premature aging. By making these small changes, you’ll likely experience healthier skin, more energy, improved sleep, reduced inflammation, better memory, and lower risk for chronic health problems.

Don’t let hidden sugars rob you of feeling your best—small changes can have big impacts on your well-being!

More resources:

Changing your nutrition can be an overwhelming task, but you don't have to do it alone.

If you would like more education and support you can meet one-on-one with a nutrition counselor. The nutritionist you meet with will help you make the changes needed at a pace that's comfortable for you.

Read: Supplements For Sugar Cravings and 6 Strategies to Kick Your Sugar Habit

Take the Challenge: 28-Day Sugar Challenge.

REFERENCES:

1. Kerti, L., Witte, A. V., Winkler, A., Grittner, U., Rujescu, D., & Flöel, A. (2013). Higher glucose levels associated with lower memory and reduced hippocampal microstructure. Neurology, 81(20), 1746-1752. https://www.drperlmutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Neurology-2013-Kerti-1746-52.pdf

2. Chiu DT, Hamlat EJ, Zhang J, Epel ES, Laraia BA. Essential Nutrients, Added Sugar Intake, and Epigenetic Age in Midlife Black and White Women: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(7):e2422749. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22749

3. Berra B, Rizzo AM (2009) "Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load: New Evidence for a Link with Acne." J Am Coll Nutr August 2009 vol. 28 no. 4 Supplement 1 4505-4545