“Discover the Astonishing Truth: How Sugar Severly Ages Your Skin and Diminishes Your Youthful Glow”

Can Sugar Cause Premature Aging?

This is a topic that really interests me because I’m obsessed with finding the “fountain of youth”. I don’t mind aging; I just want to age gracefully. So, whatever I can do that is in my control, I’m more than happy to give it a try. So my question, in the quest of aging gracefully, was, “Can Sugar Cause Premature Aging?” Well, the “American Academy of Dermatology emphasizes that a diet high in sugar can accelerate aging; although quitting sugar may not reverse signs of aging that have already manifested, it can slow their progression.”

So how much sugar is good for daily intake? According to Dr. Peter Glidden, the average adult should consume 32 grams of sugar per day. So, what does that look like? I wanted to take this a step further and look at some of the most common snacks that we eat daily, to see how they may contribute to our over-consumption of sugar.

Sugar Content in Common Snacks

Food	Amount of Sugar ( in grams)
Banana	14 grams
1 Watermelon Wedge	18 grams
12 oz Can of coke	39 grams
Medium Sized Apple	19 grams
1 12oz can of beer	0 grams
5oz Wine	1.2 grams
1 tablespoon honey	17 grams
12 oz can Pepsi	39 grams
12 oz can Mountain dew	46 grams
12 oz can Sprite	33 grams
8 oz can of Monster energy	27grams

As you can see, healthy or unhealthy, the amount of sugar we consume daily without being consciously aware of it, is frightening. 1 apple and 1 watermelon wedge will cause you to exceed your daily intake of sugar.

This brings me to another point because often, people think that they can eat as much fruit as they want as a substitute for “processed sugar”. But as you can see, the sugar content in fruit is quite high. As a result, I caution my clients to limit the amount of fruit they eat daily. To help you monitor your sugar intake with fruit, below is a listing of common fruit and their sugar content.

Fruit	Amount of Sugar ( in Grams)
Banana	14 grams
1 Watermelon Wedge	18 grams
Peach	13 grams
Medium Sized Apple	19grams
Orange	9grams
Mango	46 grams
Avocado	1.3 grams
Honeydew Melon (1 wedge)	13 grams
Strawberries (1pint)	17 grams
Grapes (1 cup)	15 grams
Pineapple ( 1 slice)	16 grams
Grapefruit ( 1 cup)	16 grams
Pear	17 grams
Kiwi (1 cup)	16 grams
Tangerine (1 large)	17 grams
Blueberries (1 cup)	15 grams
Plum	7 grams
Lime	1.1 grams

Can Sugar Cause Premature Aging: Effects of Sugar on Skin

The effects of excessive sugar on your skin are something I am intimately aware of. Excessive sugar in your blood can affect someone’s skin in various ways. So, you may not experience all of these, but here are the common skin issues related to excessive sugar:

Acne
Wrinkles
Sagging skin
Dry skin
Craters
Uneven skin
Dark spots

Over the years, I’ve gone to many dermatologists, but none of them explained why I had adult acne. In 2017, I decided to try a naturopathic doctor. During our consultation, I shared that I had been diagnosed with adult acne, and prescribed Accutane, but due to the price ($300 per month at that time), I couldn’t afford it.

My naturopathic physician, Dr. Peter Glidden, immediately asked me if I had high blood sugar. I replied, “I don’t know”. He suggested that I get my A-1C tested. At my next physical, I had my A-1C tested and it was elevated but I was not pre-diabetic. He explained that sugar affects people in different ways, and acne is one of them. Dr. Glidden recommended that I reduce my sugar intake and take supplements to help manage my blood sugar. He recommended I take 4 Sweet Eze per day. I would twist the capsule and empty of contents of the Sweet Eze into my vitamin smoothie.

To be honest, I didn’t notice a difference right away. I didn’t notice a difference until I paired the Sweet Eze with the 20- Day Gut Challenge. Why? I believe it’s because the 20-day Gut Challenge, completely restricts your sugar intake, and it contains collagen supplements. Collagen helps give you a youthful appearance by plumping the skin and improving your skin’s elasticity.

Can you reverse sugar damage to skin?

Sugar damage can be reversed but, in my experience, it does take quite a bit of time and dedication. How did I reverse my sugar-damaged skin? Well, let’s walk through my full recommendation from a licensed naturopathic doctor, Dr. Peter Glidden.

Recommendation #1: Complete the 20-day Gut Challenge

The 20- Day Gut Challenge is very important, because not only does it completely restrict your sugar intake, but it also promotes a healthy gut, which means you will absorb the nutrients in the food and supplements that you take.

If you are new to my blog and are unfamiliar with the 20- day Gut Challenge, it’s a 20-day program, where you are given explicit instructions on what to remove from your diet for 20 days and it includes a supplement regime, all aimed at helping to promote a healthy gut.

You can learn more about the 20-Day Gut Challenge, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hungryfitfoodiegutchallenge/

Recommendation #2: 90 Essential Nutrients

According to Dr. Peter Glidden, there are 90 essential nutrients that your body needs for it to have the raw materials needed for you to be a “healthy” person. This is crucial because Dr. Glidden stated that he starts all his patients with the 90 essential nutrients because, in his practice, he has found that most people are nutritionally deficient. Consider the 90 essential nutrient regime as your maintenance program. Similar, to your face cleansing program. It’s something you will do every day, to gain and maintain good health from the inside out.

You can purchase the 90 essential nutrients (aka Healthy Body Start Pak) here: https://hungryfitfoodie.youngevity.com/us_en/healthy-body-start-pak-trade-2-5.html

Recommendation #3: Collagen

I can’t say enough good things about collagen. Collagen is so important to improve the quality of your skin. I wish I would have known this years ago. Dr. Glidden recommended that I take collagen, but not just any collagen. Whatever collagen you take should include all 5 types of collagens. Why? Because the five main collagen types help to boost the health of your hair, skin, nails, joints, and immune system. It’s a complete system, verses fragmented nutrition.

Looking for collagen with all 5 of the main collagen types: https://hungryfitfoodie.youngevity.com/us_en/collagen-peptides.html

Recommendation #4: Sweet Eze

Certified Wellness Coaches are lifestyle professionals who are devoted to helping their clients reach their highest potential for health. Like the great coach Phil Jackson who used mindfulness and other holistic techniques to lead his teams to championships, a certified wellness coach will assist their clients in defining what wellness means to them and working with what they already have to achieve it.

How long after quitting sugar will my skin improve?

Reversing skin damage is not for the faint at heart. Once I implemented the steps I mentioned previously, it still took 6 months for me to see a noticeable difference. The first area I noticed was around my eyes. The skin around my eyes felt as if someone one stretching it from the outer corner to my hairline.

The 2^nd area I noticed, was a massive crater that had formed from the inside corner of my eyes, that stretched diagonally to the middle of my cheeks. After about 6 months of consistently taking all my supplements daily, I was able to visibly see that the crater had plumped up. It was exciting to know that I no longer had to fill the crater in with my Smash Box BB Cream concealer.

Acne takes by far the longest to go away. Especially, if you are prone to hyperpigmentation. For my acne to go away it took about 8 months. Afterward, it took almost 1 year for the scarring to go away. It’s important to note that I did not put any creams on my skin during this time. I only focused on food and supplementation. I washed my face with regular facial bar soap, and because I have oily skin, to this day, I do not use any moisturizers.

So, there you have it, getting your skin under control is a process. But it’s well worth it once you know how to control it and it feels great knowing that the process didn’t cost me an arm and a leg.

The Truth About Gluten Intolerance: Symptoms and Proven Management Secrets

Gluten Intolerance

I get this question a lot, and quite honestly, I was very confused by what gluten is and why it can wreak havoc on your gut. So let’s start from the beginning. What is gluten?

What is gluten? According to Hopkins Medicine, gluten is a type of protein that’s in wheat and some grains.

So if it’s just a protein, why is it so bad? Gluten is destructive because it’s almost impossible for your stomach to digest, which leads to digestive issues and other issues. Check out this blog post for more on gluten, “ 5 Things You Need To Do To Achieve a Healthy Body Weight And Keep It Permanently”.

Well-known symptoms of gluten intolerance?

As a certified wellness coach, I get this question a lot. Mostly because people don’t realize that their symptom is connected to gluten intolerance. For instance, eczema is a symptom of gluten intolerance. The naturopathic doctors I partner with, suggest removing gluten ( as well as genetically modified organisms) from your diet to see the biggest change in your skin.

Other well-known symptoms of gluten intolerance include ( From Penn State Health & Healthline):

Bloating	Iron-Deficiency Anemia
Diarrhea	Anxiety
Constipation	Autoimmune Disorders
Abdominal Cramping	Joint & Muscle Pain
Lethargy	Brain Fog
Skin Problems ( Eczema, Seborrheic Dermatitis, Acne, Rosacea)	Leg & Arm Numbness
Depression	Headaches
Unwanted weight loss	Indigestion

What are lesser-known symptoms of gluten intolerance?

Based on the list above, and my experience from talking to people with these symptoms, is that most people do not associate headaches or numbness ( arms and/or legs) with a gluten intolerance. Now, both can be symptoms of other conditions, but you shouldn’t overlook gluten as a factor.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, you should see a doctor if they persist, and in addition I would highly recommend doing a gut cleanse. I also call it a “reset”, because gluten negatively affects your gut, by inadvertently causing an imbalance of gut bacteria.

In order to “reset” the gut bacteria to normal, we must eliminate foods that are causing the problem ( gluten is just one of many) and use various probiotics to help balance your gut bacteria.

As a result, I have my clients do a 20-day gut cleanse. During the cleanse, we eliminate known gut irritants and take a series of probiotics, and collagen to reset the bacteria to an 80/20 ratio ( 80% good bacteria, 20% bad bacteria).

Can gluten intolerance cause heart palpitations or increased heart rate?

I had a client ask me about this, and honestly, I hadn’t heard of gluten causing heart palpitations. So, I decided to do some research and found a study on this conducted by the National Library of Medicine.

According to the National Library of Medicine, there have been several studies conducted that suggest celiac disease may be associated with a variety of cardiac concerns. Atribal Fibrillation (AF) is the most common and deadly condition, but the studies conducted were unclear if celiac disease is associated with it.

The article went on to say that since celiac disease is an autoimmune condition, inflammation is present, which does predispose patients to develop AF. There were over 64K participants in 4 observational studies, in which the researchers concluded that there is a significant association between celiac disease and increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

In particular, the study went on to state that there is a 38% increased risk of atrial fibrillation if you have celiac disease.

Benefits of Sourdough Bread

So you are probably freaking out thinking, I can never have bread again because of gluten! Not true. There are options depending on how sensitive you are to gluten.

My favorite bread is sourdough. I have always loved sourdough bread. Why? Because it taste great, but more importantly, here are the health benefits of sourdough bread:

Easily digested.
Much lower glycemic index.
Great alternative for those with gluten-sensitivity. Like me!
Contains “good acid”.
Feeds your healthy bacteria.
Less yeast.
Less preservatives.

So, if you are not celiac, try making your own sourdough bread like I did and see how you feel afterwards. Remember, the more dense the bread, the better it is for you; which is why my sourdough bread looks dense. It has less gluten in it because I used gluten-free bread flour.

What symptoms can be mistaken for gluten intolerance?

Some people could confuse anxiety with mental health issues (aka mood disorders) with other conditions, but it could be tied to gluten intolerance. This was a shocker for me, because I always thought that mental health conditions had nothing to do with nutrition but were based on genetics.

There are over 300 million people suffering from depression worldwide. With so many people suffering from depression, I think it’s important that we have this conversation and discuss all options for people who are suffering from depression.

Based on the National Library of Medicine, their review supported several studies indicating that there is an association between mood disorders and gluten consumption to people who are gluten intolerant.

As a result, a gluten-free diet would be ideal for anyone with gluten intolerance and suffering from mood disorder ( anxiety and depression).

How can you identify gluten intolerance?

Have you ever wondered if you were gluten intolerant? The symptoms can represent symptoms of other conditions, so how do you know if you are gluten intolerant?

One way you will know that you have a gluten intolerance is if you get sick after eating anything containing gluten. Some of the side-effects include gas, bloating, constipation, nausea, and feeling tired.

The second way you will know that you have a gluten intolerance is if your skin begins to flake, especially around your hairline, scalp, eyebrows, and mouth. For me I experienced a flaky scalp, and red-raised bumps along my hairline. You may also experience a significant amount of uncontrollable itching.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, then I recommend our 20-Day Gut Cleanse. This cleanse is so powerful, that it only takes 20 days to start seeing and feeling a significant change.

At-home remedies?

I recommend my clients do our 20-day gut cleanse, to set their gut bacteria, and start seeing improvements to their skin. Some of the changes you can see are less flaking, scaling, and redness from the inflammation.

Our cleanse incorporates an elimination diet, and a series of supplements that improves the health of your gut. If you are interested in trying the cleanse you can access it here in our Facebook group:

New Discovery: Can Eliminating Wheat Help Manage Seborrheic Dermatitis?

Can Wheat Cause Seborrheic Dermatitis? Actual Picture of Seborrheic Dermatitis Seborrheic dermatitis is a common skin condition that affects many people and is associated with gluten-intolerance (foods containing wheat, barley, rye, oats). It is characterized by scaly, itchy, and red patches on the scalp, face, and other parts of the body. While the exact cause...