When it comes to youthful, healthy-looking skin, what you drink can be just as important as what you put on your face. Neuroscientist Robert Love warns that certain beverages can speed up skin aging over time, thanks to their effects on inflammation, sleep quality, and even blood sugar levels. And while you might already suspect one or two of them, his third culprit might surprise you.
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1. Alcohol
Alcohol’s reputation is mixed—some say it’s good for your heart in moderation, but when it comes to your skin, the science tells a different story. Love explains that alcohol increases inflammation, which is one of the primary drivers of aging. It also disrupts your sleep, a crucial time when your skin repairs and regenerates. “When you impair your sleep, you make your skin look older,” he says. Over time, that nightly recovery gap can show up as dullness, fine lines, and a loss of skin firmness.
2. Sugary Coffee Drinks (Like Giant Frappuccinos)
Those towering, dessert-like coffee creations may taste indulgent, but they’re doing your skin no favors. Love points out that a typical large Frappuccino can pack around 81 grams of sugar—that’s more than 20 teaspoons in one sitting. “That sugar is highly inflammatory,” he explains. Without fiber to slow the absorption, your blood sugar and insulin spike, triggering inflammation that accelerates aging. Add in the high caffeine content, which can increase stress levels in the body, and you’ve got a recipe for faster skin aging from the inside out.
3. Soda (Regular and Diet)
According to Love, soda might be the worst of all. Like sugary coffee drinks, it delivers a huge dose of sugar without fiber, spiking blood sugar and fueling inflammation. But even diet soda isn’t off the hook—artificial sweeteners have been linked to a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes. “In a nine-year French study of 100,000 people, those who consumed artificial sweeteners had about a 69% increased risk,” he notes. And since blood sugar issues and inflammation both contribute to skin aging, these bubbly beverages can be a major beauty saboteur.
The bottom line
While enjoying these drinks occasionally won’t make you age overnight, regularly cutting back on alcohol, sugary coffee creations, and soda can help protect your skin’s youthful glow for years to come. Your complexion—and your overall health—will thank you.
