A lot of the time when we think of food it is either to do with our health, or weight , but actually it could also be to do with how you are ageing.

Time to check out whether any of these are having an effect on you.

1. Spicy foods

This is a very personal response, as some people love a good chilli or a vindaloo, but others can’t take them at all.

Spicy food makes your blood vessels swell and even break, leading to purple marks on your face. If you have rosacea — common in women after menopause — the heat from spice can trigger a flare-up.

It also raises your body temperature, so you sweat to cool back down. When sweat mixes with the bacteria on your skin, it can cause breakouts and blotches.

2. Soft/ energy drinks

The more fizzy and energy drinks you consume, the quicker the cells in your tissues age.

In addition to the fizz, they have more calories and added sugar — 7 to 10 teaspoons in 12 ounces — than any other drink.

Combined with the bacteria in your mouth, that sugar also forms acid that wears down your tooth enamel and causes decay.

Other reasons to avoid them include weight gain and a higher risk of stroke and dementia.

3. Frozen dinners

There is no doubt they are highly convenient, but just one frozen dinner can pack in half the sodium of a healthy daily diet.

When you have too much salt, it causes you to drink more than normal and flood your kidneys.

Any extra water will move to places in your body that have less salt, like your face and hands. That’s what makes you look puffy.

3. Alcohol

That glass or two of wine, or spirit or beer, don’t look as good on your skin as they did in the glass.

If you’ve ever had that unpleasant ‘morning after’ mouth after a night of drinking, you know alcohol dehydrates you.

This makes a big impact on your skin, which is 63% water. Even if you drink a big glass of water, it will hydrate all your other organs before your skin.

When you don’t get enough, your skin looks and feels dry, and can’t defend itself against wrinkles.

4. Processed meats

Processed meats, like bacon, sausage, ham, and deli cuts, are smoked, cured, or salted so they’ll last longer without going bad. It’s what makes them both delicious and dangerous.

The sodium and chemical preservatives cause inflammation that can wear your body down inside and out. A little inflammation is good: It helps your cells heal. Too much can cause heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

if you are a good fan of these foods, then check the labels and always go for organic and with as few additives and salt as possible.

5. Fried foods

The difference between dough and a doughnut is a nice long bath in boiling oil. That bath promotes free radicals, or unstable molecules that damage other molecules in your cells and add years to your skin.

You can also find free radicals in other fried foods so make this an occasional treat in order to be kind to your skin.

6. Baked goods

Just because they’re not fried doesn’t mean they look good on you. Baked goods like biscuits and cakes are high in artery-clogging fat that put on the pounds.

They also don’t skimp on sugar, which can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, and tooth decay (among other things).

Inflammation is another reason to be cautious as the more inflammation you have, the higher your chances of arthritis, depression, Alzheimer’s, and some cancers.

7. Charred meats

How this for an acronym? Frying or grilling meat at high temps creates advanced glycation end products, or AGEs.

Low levels of AGEs are fine (your own body produces them), but high amounts from charred meats cause inflammation that “inflammages” your body and triggers heart disease and diabetes.

8. High-fructose corn syrup

Table sugar’s chemical cousin, high-fructose corn syrup, sweetens soft and fruit drinks.

Among many other health drawbacks, it interferes with your body’s ability to use copper, which helps you form the collagen and elastin that keeps your skin healthy.

It’s also full of calories and puts you at risk for diabetes and heart disease so always check the label of any goods from the supermarket to minimise the amount that you have.

9. Caffeine

Caffeine is a diuretic: It stimulates your brain and your need to urinate and this can cause dehydration.

When you don’t have enough water, your skin stops releasing toxins. The backup makes you more prone to dry skin, psoriasis, and wrinkles.

10. Hormone balance

One of the biggest factors that causes us to have poor ageing is stress and this is a major factor in hormone balance.

Stress affects every single organ of your body, your skin not with standing, and in particular how well you deal with the hormonal changes that women experience throughout life.