Do you have liver spots (age spots)?
By naturopath Margaret Jasinska
Liver spots are also known as age spots, senile freckles, solar lentigo or lentigo senilis. They are basically brown patches on the skin that look like large freckles. They can be slightly lighter or darker than ordinary freckles. They are a sign of ageing skin.
Most people develop some liver spots by the age of 40, but some people develop them earlier in life and develop a lot more of them. They are commonly known as liver spots because they are associated with poor liver health or liver congestion. People with liver condition or sluggish liver function are more prone to developing these spots on their skin.
Your liver is an extremely hard-working organ that attempts to detoxify and purify your bloodstream of all the toxins you encounter during the day, along with the waste products of metabolism. If your liver is under functioning, an excess level of these toxins can accumulate throughout your body. These toxins can create wear and tear in your body, otherwise known as oxidative damage.
The skin is quite fragile and easily harmed by oxidative damage. It is also very easy to see evidence of the damage, through signs such as liver spots, skin rashes and sun-induced damage.
How to minimise liver spots
Collagen
Provide your body with the nutrients required for collagen production. Your cells are continually breaking down and being renewed. Collagen production significantly declines from your 30s. Many people do not get sufficient levels of nutrients required for healthy skin. All of these nutrients are found in Collagen Food powder.
Digestive system
Make sure your digestive system is working well. If you suffer from malabsorption, leaky gut syndrome or an overgrowth of harmful microbes in your digestive tract, you will not be absorbing nutrients from your food and supplements adequately. Deficiencies of vitamins and antioxidants makes your body more prone to harm caused by oxidative damage. Sipping a little apple cider vinegar in warm water before meals is an excellent way to improve digestion and absorption of nutrients. If you feel particularly bloated after meals, you would benefit from a digestive enzyme supplement, taken with each meal. Sometimes an overgrowth of harmful microbes in the intestines can interfere with nutrient absorption. The bad bugs can literally steal your nutrients. They also release harmful toxins that can make you feel tired, moody, and give you intense sugar cravings. There are herbal products that can help.
Liver health
Improve the health of your liver. You want your liver to be breaking down and eliminating toxins as efficiently as possible. If you have a fatty liver or just a poorly functioning liver, you may benefit from following the guidelines in Dr Cabot’s book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It.
Sun exposure
Avoid becoming sunburnt. This would accelerate the development of liver spots, uneven pigmentation and skin wrinkling. It is important to obtain some sunshine on your skin, in order to produce vitamin D. Please make sure the sun exposure is brief and your skin does not become burnt. If the area you live in does not receive much sunshine, a vitamin D supplement may be necessary.
Sleep and exercise
Try to obtain good quality sleep and exercise. You might have an excellent diet, but you will not be able to achieve excellent health if poor sleep and lack of exercise are issues. Meditation, yoga and morning exercise are usually effective for helping people wind down at night and achieve good quality sleep. If your mind races with thoughts and you find it hard to switch off, taking magnesium with your evening meal may help.
Raw juices
Raw vegetable juices help to keep you looking younger. This is because they are a concentrated source of powerful antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. The more vibrantly coloured the vegetables are, the greater their benefits. If you need inspiration for juice recipes, see the book Raw Juices Can Save Your Life.
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