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Your Health
ByHALLIE LEVINEJULY 24, 2015
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You can try to erase wrinkles with cosmetic procedures, or you can accept them as a
badge of aginga sign that you've lived your life long and well. You probably know that
some creases can indicate a quick smile and a genial nature; others, a lifetime of
lounging in the sun. What you may not realize is that your wrinkles can also reveal
potential health concerns. Take a look at the following 5:
1. You're at risk for osteoporosis.
Your skin may actually be a window to your bones, according to a 2011 Yale
study. Researchers looked at more than 100 women in their late 40s and
early 50s who were in the first three years of menopause and found that
those with the most and deepest wrinkles actually had the lowest bone
density. (None of the women were on hormone therapy.) "Both bone and
skin share common building blocks, a group of proteins known as collagens,
which decrease as we age," explains study author Lubna Pal, MD, director of
the Program for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome & Menopause at Yale
University School of Medicine. (Here are 12 simple ways to strengthen your
bones for life.)
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permanent forehead wrinkles. But you'll see them elsewhere on your face as well: When
you're constantly anxious, your body pumps out large amounts of the stress hormone
cortisol, which degrades collagen in your skin. (Are you just stressed, or is it an anxiety
disorder? Such disorders are more common than you think.)
5. You're eating too much sugar.
When you consume the sweet stuff, the sugar attaches to proteins in your
body to form AGEsa fitting acronym for advanced glycation end products.
AGEs break down collagen and elastin, and that can lead to even more fine
lines and wrinkles, says Holly Kanavy, MD, director of pharmacology at
Montefiore Health System and assistant professor of medicine at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine. If you've got a sweet tooth, try to quench it
with fruit: Research shows that most fruit (but especially pomegranates and
mangos) have antiglycating properties, which means they can reverse the
damage done to your skin. (Check out Sugar Smart Express for a 21-day
plan to break your sugar addiction, drop pounds, and save your skin.)