If you are dealing with age spots, or uneven skin tone, you are not alone. Like most people, you may think many of these dark spots are caused by the sun, when in reality, they could actually be signs of advanced aging.
According to a recent European study, age spots and uneven skin tone can make others think you’re up to 20 years older!
In today’s video, we’ll look at the root causes of age spots, and the top 3 nutrients that reduce this skin contrast.
Age spots are caused by TWO processes happening within your body at the same time, but most people only know about one of them. So, watch this video until the end, to learn how to effectively remove age spots from the inside out.
First, what are age spots?
Age spots, also called liver spots, solar lentigines, or sun spots, appear on areas of your body that are frequently exposed to the sun, like your face and the backs of your hands.
Sun spots can range in color from light tan to dark brown or black. And while small, their size can vary from as little as 0.2 centimeters, up to around 2 centimeters across.
From a medical standpoint, age spots are not dangerous at all. However, these “skin contrasts” can make you look older than your real age, and take away your true attractiveness MORE than wrinkles do. That’s why so many people are motivated to get rid of age spots!
Next, let’s look at what is happening in your body that causes these dark spots to form. Age spots actually result from the combination of two distinct processes that occur at the same time.
The first process is sun damage, also known as photodamage.
When the sun’s UV rays hit your skin, it causes your body to produce more melanin- the pigment that gives your skin its color. Making extra melanin is your body’s way of protecting your skin, and it happens in two ways.
First, melanin acts as a natural sunscreen to absorb and block the UV radiation so it can’t penetrate deep into the skin. Second, melanin acts like an antioxidant to neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by UV rays, that can cause oxidative stress and damage to cells.
As more melanin is produced, the darker or more tanned your skin becomes. This results in a suntan. However, getting too much sun exposure over many years causes damage from the UV rays to build up. This disrupts how melanin normally spreads in the skin.
Instead of spreading smoothly across the skin surface, melanin begins to cluster irregularly in concentrated areas. These areas of uneven, excessive melanin show up as age spots or dark blemishes.
For most people, developing age spots and hyperpigmentation are an inevitable side effect of growing older. It is NOT a “mistake” caused by spending too much time in the sun.
Next, let’s talk about the second process that contributes to the formation of age spots – glycation.
Glycation is the chemical process that occurs when sugar molecules like glucose or fructose bind to structural proteins such as collagen and elastin in the skin. This reaction is similar to what happens when you char a steak, and the edges become dark and crispy.
In the body, the “crispy, darkened bits” that form are called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). When AGEs accumulate over time, they lead to visible signs of premature aging in the skin.
Some level of glycation happens naturally, but the sun’s rays significantly accelerate this glycation process. The UV radiation and high temperatures provide the perfect conditions for excess sugars to rapidly react with the skin’s proteins, generating AGEs at a faster rate.
This buildup of AGEs from the surge in glycation show up as wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, dull skin, and loss of elasticity in the skin over time.
It should be mentioned that glycation can happen in tissues and cells throughout the body, not just in the skin. When glycation persists, AGEs promote inflammation, and damage your organs, joints, and arteries over time.
With that said, do you know the number one factor that increases the production of AGEs inside your body?
This may surprise you, but high blood sugar levels over time is the leading factor that dramatically increase AGEs in your body. This is why type 2 diabetics often look older than their real age.
So, the first thing you must do to prevent and reduce age spots, is to cut down the amount of sugar in your diet, especially added sugars, and refined carbohydrates.
This means foods and drinks such as soda and other sweetened beverages, ice cream, white bread, pasta, and pastries.
As the glycation process requires sugar to create harmful AGEs, the less sugar you consume, even from fruit, the fewer dark spots you may develop. Natural sugar from fruit can contribute to glycation in the skin, due to fructose in fruit, but to a lesser extent compared to added sugar.
Now that we’ve covered sun damage and glycation, let’s talk about three amazing nutrients that can help reduce age spots and give you a fresher, glowing complexion- from the inside out.
These three nutrients – a plant compound, a vitamin, and a mineral – all share the special ability to block tyrosinase, the key enzyme involved in producing melanin.
By blocking tyrosinase activity, these nutrients reduce existing age spots by lowering melanin levels in those areas. Also, they prevent new age spots from forming by controlling how much melanin is made. And their ability to inhibit tyrosinase protects your skin from further pigmentation damage caused by too much melanin.
So, the first tyrosinase inhibitor is “Polyphenols.”
Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants found in plants with brightly colored fruits. They play a crucial role in the survival of these plants by protecting the fruits and seeds from the damaging UV radiation of sunlight.
Consuming a diet rich in polyphenols from plant-based sources, while limiting sugar intake, has proven benefits for reducing the appearance of age spots and uneven pigmentation in the skin.
This was reinforced by a 2020 Japanese study involving 244 healthy Japanese women aged 30-60 years. The researchers found that higher consumption of polyphenols, particularly from coffee and green tea, was associated with lower levels of facial pigmentation and fewer dark spots.
The foods richest in polyphenols, are herbs and spices like cloves, dried peppermint, star anise, oregano, celery seed, and dried sage; cocoa products like cocoa powder and dark chocolate; berries like blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries; nuts like hazelnuts and pecans; seeds like flaxseeds; as well as other fruits like plums, cherries, and pomegranates.
To minimize the glycation from fruit sugars, opt for low-sugar options like berries, citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges), and melons (cantaloupe, honeydew). And avoid or limit high-sugar fruits like mangoes, grapes, bananas, pineapples, as well as dried fruits like dates and raisins.
What if there is a natural solution to get polyphenols into your skin…WITHOUT any of the sugar from consuming large amounts of polyphenol-rich foods? Not only would this reduce age spots and uneven pigmentation, it would make your skin younger and healthier. Click the link below to learn about this natural solution.
Next, let’s talk about how 2 nutrient deficiencies, when combined with sun damage and glycation, can increase age spot formation, but replenishing them helps age spots fade away.
So, the second tyrosinase inhibitor, is “Vitamin C.”
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects your skin from sun damage, pollution, smoking, and other factors that increase oxidative stress and premature aging.
This essential nutrient is highly involved in the formation of collagen, a key structural component of the skin’s outer layer (epidermis). This protein is what keeps your skin smooth, firm, and elastic, and having enough can help prevent wrinkles, fine lines, and age spots.
As we age, vitamin C deficiency combined with the cumulative effects of sun damage and glycation can lead to age spots on the skin.
There are two main reasons why you may become deficient in vitamin C:
- Not eating enough vitamin C-rich foods like vegetables (collard greens, cabbage, bell peppers, chili peppers, parsley), and fresh fruits.
- Having insulin resistance, which is often caused by a diet high in carbohydrates, fructose, and eating frequent meals. Insulin resistance makes it harder for your body to absorb and use vitamin C, because it leads to high insulin levels that deplete vitamin C.
Since insulin resistance is the root cause of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, diabetics not only have to deal with high AGEs formation, but also not getting enough vitamin C.
Many polyphenol-rich foods are also abundant in vitamin C, such as berries, citrus fruits, bell peppers, broccoli, apples, and chilli peppers.
However, note that heating or pasteurizing foods can destroy and reduce their vitamin C content. So, you need to get enough of this water-soluble vitamin daily from foods, if you want to lighten age spots.
If you choose to supplement, take 500-1000 milligrams per day of a high-quality, natural vitamin C supplement, and not synthetic vitamin C made from ascorbic acid. The solution we recommend contains both natural polyphenols and vitamin C.
The third nutrient that inhibits tyrosinase, is “Zinc”.
Zinc is well-known for supporting the immune system, and for proper growth and development, but did you know a deficiency in zinc can lead to the formation of age spots?
This is because this essential mineral is needed to boost your skin’s antioxidant defenses, and for collagen production, just like vitamin C.
Since zinc is needed for collagen synthesis, a deficiency can lead to wrinkles, sagging skin, age spots from melanin clumping, and increase the risk of skin conditions such as eczema-like rashes and slow wound healing.
Unfortunately, zinc deficiency is fairly common, especially as we get older. Your body has no specialized storage system for zinc, so you need a regular dietary intake to meet your daily requirements.
Conditions like leaky gut syndrome that affect absorption can also lead to deficiency, even if you’re consuming enough zinc.
The best food sources of zinc are oysters, beef, and shellfish like crab and shrimp. Other lesser sources of zinc are legumes such as lentils and beans, seeds like hemp, pumpkin, and sesame seeds, as well as nuts like cashews and almonds.
When supplementing, choose a bioavailable form like zinc picolinate, and take 15–30 mg per day. If you’re taking higher doses of zinc, you may want to take a zinc and copper supplement together to prevent copper deficiency, since excess zinc can interfere with copper absorption.
By ensuring you’re getting enough zinc, you can support collagen production, boost your skin’s antioxidant defenses, and regulate melanin synthesis – all crucial factors in preventing and reducing age spots.