There are certain foods that are said to age you, we will discuss some of them today. You may be surprised as I was with some of them.

Spicy foods which I love make your blood vessels swell and even break, leading to purple marks on your face. The heat from spicy food raises your body temperature causing you to sweat. When the sweat mixes with the bacteria on your skin, it can cause breakouts and blotches.

Everything you eat affects your skin which is the largest organ in your body. Margarine has trans fats which raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good kind. It also creates inflammation throughout your body. Inflammation is linked to heart disease and stroke, two conditions that give you an aged appearance.

Sodas and energy drinks age the cells in your tissue. They have more calories and added sugar, 7 to 10 teaspoons in 12 ounces than any other beverage. The sugar combines with the bacteria in your mouth creating tooth decay. Other cons are weight gain, a high risk for stroke, and dementia.

The sodium in one frozen dinner has half the sodium of a healthy diet. Too much salt causes you to drink more than normal and flood your kidneys. The extra water moves to places in your body that have less salt, like your face and hands. That makes you look puffy.

Margaritas may taste good but after a night of drinking, alcohol dehydrates you. That makes a big impact on your skin, which is 63% water. Even drinking a large glass of water will hydrate your other organs before your skin. Without enough water your skin looks and feels dry, and is unable to defend against wrinkles.

Processed meats, like bacon, sausage, ham, and deli meats are cured and salted to last longer. That makes them taste good and dangerous. The sodium and chemical preservatives cause inflammation that can wear your body down inside and out. Too much inflammation can cause heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Fried foods like donuts, french fries, and mozzarella sticks take a nice hot bath in boiling oil. Free radicals, or unstable molecules, found in fried foods, damage the cells in your skin and add years to it.

Baked goods, like cakes and cookies are high in artery clogging fat that add pounds. As well they add sugar, which can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, and tooth decay. Inflammation increases your chances of arthritis, depression, Alzheimer’s, and some cancers.

My favorite thing to do in the summer is grill meat. Frying or grilling meat at high temperatures create advanced glycation end products or AGE’s. Low level of AGE’s are okay, your own body produces them. However high amounts from charred meats cause inflammation that triggers heart disease and diabetes.

The chemical cousin of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, is used to sweeten sodas and drinks. It interferes with your body’s ability to use copper. Copper helps you form the collagen and elastin that keep your skin healthy. It’s also full of calories and puts you at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

I enjoy drinking my coffee in the morning. Caffeine is a diuretic, it stimulates your brain and your need to urinate. Without enough water, your skin stops releasing toxins. The backup of toxins make you prone to dry skin, psoriasis, and wrinkles.

Agave is better for your body than artificial sweeteners. Agave is a type of sugar that is 90% fructose, a type of sugar that can only be broken down in the liver. When the liver is overworked it turns fructose to fat and makes more free radicals, compounds that damage your cells.

It’s not likely that you or I will stop eating many of these foods, however you may want to cut back on how much and how often you consume them.