Glycation is a process in which sugar and protein molecules combine to form very harmful molecules.  The sugar-protein molecules are called Advanced Glycation End Products or AGEs.  I equate this to honey-like molecules that stick to everything, “gumming up the works.”

AGEs stick to: collagen, elastin, enzymes, immunoglobulins, hemoglobin, and virtually everything. It can be exogenous from eating too many sweets or cooking food at temperatures above 1 50°, or it can be endogenous in which your body makes AGEs, also from eating too many sweets and causing elevated blood sugar, even if it’s just for two hours following a meal.

Excess AGEs formation causes hardening of the arteries resulting in hypertension, kidney and heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s disease. Every organ needs a good blood supply including the skin, the body’s largest organ. Even cataracts are caused by glycation. Recently Carnosine, one of the most effective anti-glycation nutrients, is being used as eye drops to reduce cataracts with a success rate of 80% in severe cataracts. The fact that Carnosine reverses cataracts means that not only does it prevent or reduce the formation of AGEs, but it also breaks the AGEs sugar-protein bond. It is a bond-breaker!

AGEs are also a free radical factory and also causes inflammation. The reduction in blood supply from AGEs reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and diminishes the removal of waste products from the cells themselves. One can easily see how this could cause premature aging, sagging and even skin cancers.

When AGEs attach to elastin and collagen fibers, they can no longer contract, and this causes skin to become thin and saggy. This is why the anti-glycation nutrients. Carnosine and Kombucha, among others, are used in New Youth Skin products. In fact, anti-glycation nutrients have been used in our products for over 10 years. Our New Youth has one of the most effective products on the market, and that is a factor of the anti-glycation ingredients, which allow elastin fibers of the skin to contract.

Carnosine is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, both additionally beneficial to the skin.