For the past few weeks I’ve been writing about ways to age-proof your body and rejuvenate your mind. This week is all about the vital importance of keeping your blood sugar levels in check.
That’s because having persistently high levels of sugar in the blood will age you, inside and out, faster than almost anything else.
Sugar in your blood sticks to proteins in the walls of your blood vessels, making them stiffer and less flexible.
High blood sugar levels also damage your nerves. That’s why diabetes – a disease characterised by high blood sugar – is a leading cause of blindness and more than doubles your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke, or of developing dementia. People with diabetes are also 20 times more likely to have a limb amputation. Read More