Also known as liver spots, age spots are discolorations of the skin that look like large freckles. These tend to appear as people age and/or are exposed to excessive sunlight.
Few people enjoy seeing their skin looking more and more like a leopard as they age, so a solution to these spots is a good thing.
Well-named as ‘age spots’, these discolorations are indeed associated with aging. As we age, cellular damage accumulates. This damage is caused by “free radicals” (chemicals created by toxins), by excess sunlight and even by normal metabolism. When the diet contains too many toxins and not enough natural cleansing agents and anti-oxidants, the body is unable to prevent or repair the damage. Cell damage to the collagen-producing cells in the skin leads to accumulations of a pigment in the skin called lipofuscin and the discoloration we know as age spots.
How To Handle Age Spots
Preventing and repairing cell damage is the key to dealing with age spots. This involves reducing current toxic exposure, cleansing the body of accumulated toxins, increasing nutrient intake especially of anti-oxidant foods and topical application of repairing substances.
Reducing toxic exposure means several things:
First, stop using toxic products ON the body. Conventional personal care products and cosmetics are loaded with toxic petrochemicals and other things. Donate these to your local dump (or give them to a sneaky politician). Replace toxic body care products with 100% safe, natural alternatives.
Next, reduce (better, eliminate!) processed foods from the diet. This means about 90% of what you see in the grocery store. Such foods contain tons of synthetic chemicals that are not there to help you in any way, but only to help manufacturers reduce costs and increase shelf life any way they can it’s all about profits with zero regard to your health. Trash these foods!
Improve The Diet
Reduce cooked foods in favor of raw foods in your diet. Cooking destroys valuable nutrients AND creates massive toxins in the process. The heat causes molecules in the food to become scrambled into unnatural forms that the body was not designed to handle. Very high-temperature cooking such as frying is particularly bad, as the oils and proteins in foods can be converted to extremely toxic forms at these temperatures. Raw foods are free of these toxins, of course, plus they feed the body essential nutrients.
Increasing intake of fresh (organic) raw vegetables, some fruits, healthy oils such as coconut oil, fish oil or other sources of the essential omega-3 fatty acids, etc., is vital.
Some particularly helpful anti-oxidants include include carotenes (present in most yellow vegetables), vitamins C and E (in fresh fruits and vegetables), selenium (in wheat germ), flavonoids (in blueberries, blackberries and cherries) and sulfur-containing amino acids (in legumes, eggs, garlic and onions). Again, these foods should be eaten raw wherever possible.
A great book on diet is “Total Health” by Dr. Joseph Mercola: (available at http://evansgarden.com/bookstore.html#th)
Dr. Mercola presents very workable, well-researched info on diet.
Here are just a few highlights from the book:
* The six essential steps to health and optimal weight that you should know
* Why the Food Pyramid is an unmitigated disaster designed to age you prematurely
* Fourteen major ways sugar can cause serious health problems in your life, and how to dramatically reduce the risk
* The high-sugar culprits disguised by food manufacturers as “healthy” that are actually contributors to obesity and a variety of diseases in children and adults
* How eating for your unique specific biochemistry, which this book teaches you, will help to eliminate those “hardcore” cravings for sugar and other foods that constantly sabotage your efforts to eat healthfully
* The seven ways these natural “miracle foods” can slow your aging process dramatically
Cleansing
A thorough cleansing program can help the body more efficiently remove toxins and often leads to clearer skin in the process. For more info on cleansing: http://evansgarden.com/cleansing.htm
Tackling Age Spots Directly
Plant-based, antioxidant-rich creams may be applied to affected areas of the skin for a more direct approach to improving the skin’s appearance. This is best used in combination with the above cleansing and dietary programs. Two such preparations are discussed here: http://evansgarden.com/antiaging.html
The path to good health and natural beauty is to look at life as an organic whole where the various parts mutually influence each other. It follows that an approach of improving each aspect or many aspects of life makes each change or improvement occur more effectively and easily. This is the workable way to effect change rather than try to find a single “magic bullet” or cure-all. Good diet, a clean environment, positive attitude and purposeful living all work together. We’d all love to look 20-something our whole lives. While this may not be a realistic goal, we CAN age gracefully and need not look ancient before our time. Healthful living is the answer.
Evan’s Garden
http://www.evansgarden.com/
(727) 449-0900
Copyright © 2004 by Organic Beauty, Inc.
Do not copy without author’s permission
Disclaimer: The above information is presented for educational purposes only. The reader should consult a licensed health practitioner for his or her health needs.
This article was used, with permission, from the Evan’s Garden E-Newsletter. This is a very interesting and informative newsletter that comes out regularly. To join their mailing list, please contact them at the link below.
