In case you don’t know, “inflammation is one of the biggest enemies of any tissue,” board-certified dermatologist Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, previously told mbg. . Those connective tissues fed by collagen are no exception.

Anti-inflammatory diets, which often include meal plans high in sugar, simple carbs and processed meats, activate the immune system and promote inflammation throughout the body, board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, shared with mbg. “This can interfere with healing, including the healing of environmentally damaged skin cells,” he says. sugar 1in particular, it can strongly affect collagen.

“High sugar levels can cause collagen to harden and fragment, weakening the skin’s foundation and contributing to premature skin aging,” adds Zeichner. So try to incorporate some anti-inflammatory principles into your diet when you can.