No matter how many cleansers, serums, and moisturizers you stock up on, your skin isn’t going to look its best if your diet is filled with junk foods and is void of nutritious foods, including plenty of vegetables and plant-based proteins. When it comes to less healthy foods like snacks that contain an abundance of salt or sugar, many of these have the effect of breaking down collagen and robbing your skin of much-needed water content and hydration.
If your plan is to turn over a new leaf with your diet, start by considering cutting down on these six junk foods, which are among the worst because they can lead to premature aging and wrinkles.
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Salty Chips
Salty potato chips and other salty processed snacks are filled with sodium. This abundance of sodium actually robs your body and skin of water and hydration (it’s the reason you’re so much thirstier after eating chips). Your skin needs hydration to look plump and youthful, so the more salty chips and snacks you eat, the drier your skin can appear and the more the appearance of fine lines becomes evident.
Candy
Candy is often made of 100 percent sugar. Youthful-looking skin requires collagen and elastic to look taut and smooth, but sugar actually breaks down collagen faster. If you eliminate sugar from your diet — or as much sugar as possible, including candy — you can help your skin maintain collagen for longer.
Processed Meat
Processed meat like beef jerky and bacon contain nitrates, sodium, and sulfates. These have been shown to increase inflammation in the body, which can show up in the skin as acne, redness, and dryness. A strip of bacon on your hamburger once in a while is one thing; daily bacon with your eggs may be something you want to reconsider.
Crackers
Crackers and other treats made with white flour can also cause inflammation in the body and skin. These foods contain little nutritional value in return.
Soda
Blame sugar again for why soda could be wrecking your skin. Soda contains little more than sugar and carbonation — a one-two punch that can deplete collagen and elastin faster. This depletion of collagen and elastin can directly result in wrinkles, fine lines, parched skin, and sagging.
French Fries
French fries are processed, cooked in trans fat (often), and loaded with sodium. So what you’re getting when you enjoy this tasty treat is a food that saps you of skin moisture and breaks down collagen and elastin at a faster rate.
But French fries are also delicious and potatoes are a vegetable — we get the arguments for them. Investing in an air fryer and air baking your fries is a smart way to keep the taste and eliminate the bad stuff.
