Eating habits that age your skin

 Eating habits that age your skin

After a busy day at work and an evening dedicated to household chores, well-deserved rest should naturally follow. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for Santa's cravings to appear before midnight before Santa Claus arrives.

Although you followed the principles of a healthy diet during the day and had dinner 3 hours before the scheduled time for sleep, the body does not seem to listen to you. And your stomach is sending you desperate signals. The question is: do you give in or not give in to the temptations of night food?

If he could talk, your skin would tell you, "Don't eat at night!"

According to a recent study, eating food in addition to the 3 meals and 2 standard snacks distributed throughout the day accelerates the deterioration of the appearance of the skin. Basically, as a result of the disorder installed in your nutritional program, the skin's ability to recover effectively diminishes. 

In the study, the researchers fed a test group of guinea pigs at one time of day as opposed to the one they usually ate. Irregular diet has affected the secretion of the enzyme known as 'xeroderma pigmentosum group A'. It plays a key role in the skin regeneration process. Thus, by the end of the study, a significant deterioration of the appearance of the skin was found, compared to the group fed according to previous habits. Undoubtedly, this correlation between unscheduled snacks and aging skin is also relevant in humans, concluded the researchers involved in the project.

How to withstand nocturnal food temptations

You already knew that late snacks stimulate the accumulation of excess pounds. Now we have given you new information, according to which not only your weight, but also the beauty and radiance of your skin are endangered. Is it worth eating another snack without any nutritional benefits and then reading the effects of this harmful habit on your face? Because it is not always easy to put into practice what sounds so logical in theory, I propose 3 strategies you can rely on to eliminate nocturnal cravings.

• Do not completely curb your cravings during the day!

By constantly refusing your little "guilty pleasures" you risk getting to the point where they really overwhelm you. Usually, the "moment of revenge" is inevitably in the evening. So enjoy a square of dark chocolate every day and it will be much easier for you to refrain from unplanned hypercaloric pampering. Be they at home in the middle of the night, at parties or on rest weekends.

• Imagine you are eating!

I think you will be somewhat surprised by this theory, but it has been shown that many times our brains do not have the ability to distinguish between what we imagine and what we do in reality. In both cases, it triggers similar reactions in the body. How many times have you just salivated at the thought of a slice of chocolate cake or a juicy steak (look, maybe it's happening to you right now!)? Or to feel the heartbeat accelerate if you have in mind the representation of a potential conflict at work or at home or another unpleasant situation?

All you have to do is take imaginary chocolates (or other goodies you crave) out of the box, one by one, and think about how you enjoy them, sip by sip. When you reach the age of thirty, chances are you have already satisfied your cravings… without putting any food in your mouth.

• Simply… relax!

Most often, the stress hormone, cortisol, is to blame for the craving for high-fat or high-sugar foods. Don't play them on the strings, hurrying to the fridge or the goodies drawer. Neutralize its effects by reserving 10 minutes of peace or total relaxation before bed. Try guided meditations or listen to your favorite music, imagining all the charming details of a natural landscape.