# Bonus: Sugar Sag with Commentary

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156/bonus-sugar-sag-with-commentary
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156/bonus-sugar-sag-with-commentary.md
Podcast: [Normal Curves: Sexy Science, Serious Statistics](https://stenobird.com/podcast/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156)
Published: 2026-01-12T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.normalcurves.com/bonus-sugar-sag-with-commentary
Audio file: https://op3.dev/e/media.transistor.fm/a8d19dc7/4d304554.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/normal-curves-sexy-science-serious-statistics-7212156/episodes/bonus-sugar-sag-with-commentary
Duration seconds: 4107

## Resource

While we’re on a short break between seasons, we’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from Season 1. This week, we’re re-releasing our exploration of how your diet can affect your skin – now with added commentary! Wrinkles and sagging skin—just normal aging, or can you blame your sweet tooth? We dive into “sugar sag,” exploring how sugar, processed foods, and even your crispy breakfast toast might be making you look older than if you’d said no to chocolate cake and yes to broccoli. Along the way, we encounter statistical adjustment, training and test data sets, what we call “references to nowhere,” plus some cadavers and collagen. Ever heard of an AGE reader? Find out how this tool might offer a sneak peek at your date’s age—and maybe even a clue about his… um… “performance.” Statistical topics Confounding Correlation vs causation Measurement error / proxy variables Overfitting Plagiarism Proper citing practices References to nowhere Statistical adjustment Training and test sets Methodologic morals “When you plagiarize, you steal the errors too.” “Overdone statistical adjustment is like overdone photo filters–at a certain point it’s just laughable.” Citations Collagen turnover: Verzijl N, DeGroot J, Thorpe SR, et al. Effect of Collagen Turnover on the Accumulation of Advanced Glycation End Products . JBC . 2000;275:39027-31. Cadaver study: Hamlin CR, Kohn RR, Luschin JH. Apparent Accelerated Aging of Human Collagen in Diabetes Mellitus . Diabetes . 1975; 24: 902–904. AGE Reader Studies of AGEs and diabetes and health: Monnier VM, Cerami A. Nonenzymatic browning in vivo: possible process for aging of long-lived proteins . Science . 1981;211:491-3. Brownlee M, Vlassara H, Cerami A. Nonenzymatic glycosylation and the pathogenesis of diabetic complications . Ann Int…

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## Transcript

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