Does Your Skin Pay a Price for your Sweet Tooth, Partying, or Smoking?

Does Your Skin Pay a Price That Sweet Tooth, Partying, or Smoking?

Many of us are more likely to want to make a positive health choice based on vanity, i.e. how we look, rather than a clear health decision. Smokers already know that smoking can cause cancer and damages their heart and blood circulation. Clients attending Allen Carr’s Easyway to Quit Smoking Seminars often tell us that the outwardly signs of being a smoker are the most common triggers for wanting to quit. Of course worrying about those signs doesn’t actually make it easy to ditch smoking – but it might inspire an attempt.

How does smoking really affect your skin?

Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide, which displaces the oxygen in your skin, and nicotine, which reduces blood flow, leaving skin dry and discoloured. Cigarette smoking also depletes many nutrients, including vitamin C, which helps protect and repair skin damage. You can be the most dedicated gym goer and have the strictest diet, but smoking will negate all that. And sadly an expensive skincare regime won’t be able to get rid of the tell tale signs of smoking.

How does alcohol impact your skin?

Alcohol steals the good hydration from your skin and in return (very kindly) it will leave dryness, redness and bloating. Not a good look.

Skin is the largest organ in your body and drinking lots of alcohol leaves it dehydrated. When skin is dry it’s more likely to wrinkle, which obviously makes you look older. On top of this, alcohol also strips your body of Vitamin A, key for skin renewal, hence why you might look rather grey after a night on the tiles. Alcohol can also affect pre-existing skin conditions like rosacea or psoriasis, causing it to worsen or flare up more often.

Hydration is really important and drinking water is the only way to combat the drying effects of alcohol. When lacking what it needs, your body stores whatever it can. So if you are dehydrated, your skin and body will often swell as tissues retain water.

How does sugar impact your skin?

Sugar affects skin! Really?

Yep. Sugar is another culprit when it comes to damaging your skin. There is no point spending lots of money on expensive skin creams if you are eating a diet high in refined sugar and processed carbs. You can protect and moisturise your skin from the outside with creams, but you need to feed and stimulate the growth of good strong skin cells from inside too and ‘bad sugar’ will sabotage that.

Excess refined sugar or processed carbohydrates cause a rise in blood sugar levels that surge and plummet, leading to inflammation. Any sign of inflammation in the skin will cause breakouts, leading to spots.

Allen Carr’s Easyway isn’t just about quitting smoking

Allen Carr’s Easyway offers support for anyone dealing with problems or addictions relating to smoking, alcohol or sugar as well as other areas including e-cigarettes, weight, ‘other’ drugs, anxiety, debt, gambling and fear of flying.

Read more about ‘How to Quit Smoking’

Read more about ‘How to Quit Drinking’

Read more about ‘How to Quit Sugar’

#QuitSmoking #QuitSugar #QuitDrinking #BeAddictionFree