Liver spots / Age spots

What are liver spots?

Causes of liver spots

Prevention / remedies / treatment for liver spots

What are liver spots?

Liver spots (old age spots, senile freckles, sun freckles, solar lentigo, lentigo senilis) are patches or blemishes on the skin that look like large freckles, but which are usually a darker colour. They are a sign of aging skin.

Liver spots got that name because many years ago people incorrectly thought they were caused by liver problems.

Age spots are usually a single colour on the same person, ranging from light to dark brown, and sometimes grey, red or black. They vary in size, from looking like a small freckle, to 2 cm or an inch.

Age spots are flat, not elevated above the skin.

Liver spots are usually located in areas most exposed to the sun, particularly the back of the hands, arms, legs, face, neck, chest, shoulders, back and the scalp if bald.

Many people start to get their first liver spots after age 40, when the skin does not regenerate as well as it used to. However, the first spots can appear at younger or older ages.

Liver spots are usually an unsightly cosmetic problem, but they are not normally harmful and do not have to be treated.

Causes of liver spots

• Malnutrition from a poor diet and / or the inability to extract nutrients from what is eaten. Older people tend to have weak digestion, and do not absorb many minerals and other nutrients as well as they used to. People with weak digestion or other digestive problems can actually be suffering from malnutrition even whilst eating a healthy diet. Zinc and selenium are usually deficient in people prone to age spots.
• Accumulation of toxins in the skin. Older people tend to do less exercise, have less efficient circulation, and don't sleep as deeply as they used to. Sleep and exercise (and several other natural processes) are important for the body's detoxification.
• Sugar and sweet foods, especially when proteins are cooked with sugar. Sugar and proteins can combine to form advanced glycosylated end products (AGEs). AGEs are the main component in liver spots, but they also have a role in other aspects of cellular damage, eye diseases and ageing. Having a high level of glucose in the blood from being diabetic or insulin resistant also promotes AGEs.
• Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. It is important to note that we need a healthy level of natural sunlight on our skin, as it is a major source of vitamin D and other healthy properties. Skin damage and skin aging comes from getting burned by the sun, when the skin goes even the slightest bit red from sunburn, but especially if the skin peels. Skin damage also occurs when the sun's ultra-violet A rays are blocked off, and skin exposure is only to harmful ultra-violet B rays. This kind of skin damage occurs from sun exposure behind glass, such as when driving or sitting behind a window.
• Melanin is a substance that your body produces to provide hair, eye and skin pigmentation. In people prone to age spots, the regulation of melanin pigmentation gets out of control or is over-stimulated. A common cause of this lack of melanin regulation is excessive sunlight to the point of sunburn and skin damage, but all the other causes on this web page, and ageing in general also cause accumulations of melanin in the skin.

Prevention / remedies / treatment for liver spots

• Low sugar diet that lowers your blood glucose level. Avoid recipes that grill sugar with proteins, forming sweet browned toppings such as sweet pork crackling, browned baked custard, grilled cheese and sweet-crusted meats. Sugar plus protein cooked together is the source of AGES.
• Lemon juice to stimulate skin circulation and help remove toxins. Cut a segment off a lemon, then rub the segment on the age spots to keep them wet for a minute. Do not wash it off.
• Apple cider vinegar to stimulate skin circulation and help remove toxins. ACV is an alternative to fresh lemon juice, with lemon juice being my preference.
• Exercise. Aerobic exercise is important for skin health and detoxification.
• Zinc is the most common micronutrient deficiency that can cause age spots.
• Selenium works closely with zinc. The most convenient food source of selenium is one or two Brazil nuts per day. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, and one nut per day provides an optimal maintenance dose of selenium. Do not eat more than two Brazil nuts per day, because this may cause barium toxicity or an excess of selenium that is extremely toxic.
• Fasting for detoxification.
• Sufficient deep sleep.
• Sufficient hydration. Drink when you are thirsty, but not too much.
• Sweating for skin detox.
• Cayenne pepper stimulates blood circulation, thins the blood, and helps detox the skin.
• Iodine, applied directly to the spots on the skin.
• Castor oil.
• Water kefir to help restore a natural bacterial balance on the skin.
• Aloe vera.
• Bilberry.
• Doctors usually remove age spots with cryosurgery (freezing with liquid nitrogen, a two minute procedure), laser treatment, electrosurgery, chemical peel or pharmaceutical drugs such as Tretinoin and Mequinol (which have nasty side effects). They treat the symptoms but not the causes.
• See details of remedies recommended by Grow Youthful visitors, and their experience with them.