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You probably know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that goes way beyond fueling your body (though that is important). What you eat in the morning can also impact your appearance, and if you’re concerned about signs of aging, there are some breakfast treats you should probably avoid.
High-Sugar Breakfast Foods
Keeping sugar in moderation is a good rule in general, especially in the mornings. A breakfast of pastries, for example, can affect you negatively for the rest of the day.
"With such a huge amount of sugar in a small package, your body pumps out loads of insulin to try to accommodate. A huge blood sugar spike leads to an even bigger sugar crash," Kate Patton, MEd, RD, CSSD, LD, tells the Cleveland Clinic. "This extreme up-and-down leaves you hungry soon after your breakfast — and you’ll crave even more refined carbs. It’s a vicious cycle of unhealthy eating that starts with the first doughnut."
This type of diet can also show in your skin. Delish explains, "Sugar attaches to collagen in your body, making your skin look stiff and causing wrinkles, so think about that next time a candy bar is calling your name."
Andrew Weil, MD, explains, "Diets high in sugar can damage elastin and collagen molecules in the skin, increasing wrinkles and sagging. Research has shown that advanced glycation end products (AGEs), a class of compounds resulting from combinations of sugars and proteins, can accelerate the effects of aging. These form whenever blood sugar is high, mostly from overconsumption of quick-digesting carbohydrates, including sweeteners and refined starches (flour)."
So which breakfast foods should you start eliminating? It's a good idea to keep super sweet treats – like donuts and other pastries – in moderation. But other, less obvious breakfast foods can also up your sugar intake. For example, breakfast cereals and granola are often considered healthy, but they can pack in more than their fair share of sugar.
