Skin aging is a natural process, but certain lifestyle factors can speed it up—especially when it comes to what you eat. While sugar is a well-known culprit, some lesser-known foods can quietly contribute to premature aging and chronic inflammation in the skin. These foods may disrupt collagen production, impair skin barrier function, or trigger oxidative stress, leading to wrinkles, dullness, and loss of elasticity over time.
Dr. Eric Berg recently revealed that the one ingredient that can cause aging, wrinkles, and even sunspots is chronic low-grade inflammation from seed oils. Read on to learn more.
How Seed Oils Cause Premature Aging
He first says that many people think the sun, toxins, and sugar are the worst things for skin. While this may be true to an extent, he reveals that chronic low-grade inflammation from seed oils is the real culprit.
This can include soy, corn, cottonseed, and canola oil. These build up a lot of inflammation in your cells, which then turns into premature aging of the skin and wrinkles. “This food contains high levels of omega-6 fats. This is inflammatory and gets embedded into your membranes in your skin for a very long time, like 600 days!” The more you know!
“We know sugar is bad for the skin, but sugar doesn't accumulate like this,” he notes. “These highly inflammatory industrial oils no longer have the protective factors that the natural oils have.”
He suggests that you focus on choosing butter, coconut oil, olive oil, tallow, lard, and fish oils.”

The bottom line
Ultimately, when it comes to maintaining youthful, resilient skin, the choices you make in the kitchen can be just as impactful as the ones you make in your skincare routine. It’s not just about cutting out sugar or wearing SPF—it’s also about understanding the long-term effects of the fats and oils you consume daily. By becoming more aware of hidden inflammatory triggers like seed oils, you give your skin a better chance to thrive naturally, from the inside out.


