Combined together those with pre-diabetes and diabetes have been calculated to total about 80 million people in the US. Of those with diabetes it is estimated over 6 million don’t know that they have diabetes. These are mind bogglingly huge numbers.
These numbers mean that are millions people, with either untreated or poorly controlled diabetes that are speeding their aging.
Why is uncontrolled diabetes aging?
If you do not have diabetes after eating many foods the level of glucose is high in the blood for a while, then the level drops. When you have untreated or uncontrolled diabetes, there are long periods of time when there are high levels of glucose in the blood. It is the extended periods of high glucose in the blood that contributes the increased rate of aging.
Glucose can attach in a fairly random way to proteins and fats in the body. This is called glycation.
As we age the levels of glycated proteins and fats in our bodies slowly increases. However, if there are high levels of glucose in the blood, as occurs with undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes, the rate of glycation is increased and the overall levels of glycation in the body are much higher. Some of the glycated proteins and fats (advanced glycation end products – AGEs) are involved in aging processes.
An example is the glycation of collagen. The changing of collagen by glycation results in collagen not being so flexible. The reduction in flexibility can contribute to increasing the rate of development of heart disease, due to artery walls becoming stiffer. Loss of collagen flexibility in skin is part of the reason for formation of wrinkles in skin. So uncontrolled diabetes can be increasing the rate of development of wrinkles on the face and undoing the benefits of any anti-wrinkling creams.
Glycation can also play a role in a number of other diseases and problems associated with aging including Alzheimer’s, peripheral neuropathy (damage to the nerves in hands and feet which makes it harder to walk and do things with the hands), weaker muscles and deafness.
Think beyond skin creams and do what you can to stop internal aging of the skin and the rest of the body. An easy step is to get tested for diabetes and if you have diabetes make sure it is well treated. Don’t be an ostrich and put your head in the sand, and regret it later.
photo credit: Ellis Morley Photography
