Back to Blog
Glycation occurs when blood sugars react with proteins, fats, and even your DNA, forming harmful products called AGEs (advanced glycation end-products) that accelerate aging and disease. High-carb diets increase AGEs, stiffening tissues, slowing metabolism, disrupting hormones, and fueling inflammation. A low-carb diet reduces glycation, boosts metabolic health, lowers inflammation, and speeds weight loss.
When you're working towards weight loss, you're likely focused on calories, portion sizes, and maybe even exercise. That's great! But there's another crucial factor that often gets overlooked, and it has a profound impact on your body, your health, and your ability to shed those extra pounds: sugar and carbohydrates.
You might know about HbA1c, a common blood test that tells your doctor about your average blood sugar over the last few months. While it's super useful for tracking diabetes, HbA1c is actually a snapshot of a much bigger process happening throughout your entire body called glycation. Understanding glycation is key to realizing why a low-sugar and low-carb diet isn't just about weight loss, but about protecting your long-term health.
Think of glycation as a sticky situation inside your body. It happens when sugars (like glucose, which comes from the carbohydrates you eat) react with proteins, fats, and even DNA in your cells. It's not a controlled process like most of your body's functions; it's a spontaneous chemical reaction.
This reaction creates damaging compounds called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). While your body naturally produces some AGEs, especially as you age, a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates drastically speeds up their formation. It's like constantly pouring fuel on a fire.
Your HbA1c test specifically measures AGEs on your red blood cells. But here's the kicker: if your HbA1c is high, it's a flashing red light that glycation is happening everywhere else in your body, too!
Imagine your body as an incredibly complex machine made of countless parts. Glycation, and the AGEs it creates, can gum up the works in ways that directly impact your weight and overall well-being:
Stiffening Your Tissues: Collagen and elastin are proteins that give your skin elasticity, keep your arteries flexible, and support your joints. When sugars react with these proteins, they become stiff and rigid, like old rubber bands. This can contribute to arterial stiffness, raising your blood pressure, and making your skin lose its youthful bounce. It also impacts how well your tissues can repair themselves
Damaging Your "Good" Cholesterol (HDL): You know HDL is the "good" cholesterol, working to clear out plaque from your arteries. But when sugars attach to HDL, they can actually make it less effective or even harmful, turning your helpful cholesterol into something that contributes to arterial damage. This is a big deal for heart health, which is often a concern with excess weight.
Making "Bad" Cholesterol (LDL) Worse: Glycation can also make your LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind) more prone to oxidation. Oxidized LDL is particularly nasty, directly contributing to the buildup of plaque in your arteries, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Slowing Down Your Metabolism: The enzymes in your body are like tiny workers that carry out all sorts of essential tasks, including burning fat and converting food into energy. When these enzymes get glycated, they can become less efficient or even stop working properly. This can directly slow down your metabolism, making weight loss an uphill battle, even if you're counting calories.
Impacting Your Hormones: Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate almost everything in your body, including hunger, satiety, and fat storage. Glycation can interfere with how these hormones function and how your cells respond to them, potentially disrupting your body's natural signals for managing weight.
Fueling Inflammation: AGEs don't just sit there; they actively trigger inflammation throughout your body. Chronic inflammation is a silent enemy, linked to weight gain, insulin resistance (which makes it harder to lose weight), and a host of chronic diseases.
Now that you understand the widespread impact of glycation, the connection to a low-sugar and low-carb diet becomes clear. When you reduce your intake of sugars and refined carbohydrates (like white bread, pasta, sugary drinks, and desserts), you directly reduce the amount of glucose flooding your bloodstream.
This means:
Less Glycation: You'll slow down the formation of those damaging AGEs, protecting your proteins, fats, and DNA from becoming stiff and dysfunctional.
Better Metabolic Health: With lower glucose levels, your body becomes more efficient at burning fat for energy instead of relying on a constant supply of sugar. This can significantly improve insulin sensitivity, making it easier to lose weight and keep it off.
Reduced Inflammation: By reducing AGE formation, you also calm down the chronic inflammation that often accompanies a high-sugar diet and excess weight.
Enhanced Energy and Focus: Stable blood sugar levels, a hallmark of a low-sugar, low-carb approach, lead to more consistent energy throughout the day, avoiding those dreaded sugar crashes.
Think of it this way: your HbA1c is a report card for your internal "stickiness." By adopting a low-sugar and low-carb lifestyle, you're not just aiming for a better grade on that report card; you're actively cleaning up the sticky mess throughout your entire body. This strategy isn't just about the number on the scale; it's about optimizing your internal machinery, improving your overall health, and making your weight loss journey more sustainable and successful.
So, as you plan your meals, remember that every choice to limit sugar and refined carbs is a powerful step towards a healthier, less "glycated" you.