What causes brown spots on the face and body?
Is there something lacking, or is this caused by any type of disease? A. Brown spots, sometimes called age spots or liver spots, are caused by the accumulation of a yellow pigment called lipofuscin in the connective tissues of the body, due to aging of the collagen-producing cells. When lipofuscin accumulates in the connective tissue of the skin, brown spots are the result. When lipofuscin accumulates in the connective tissue of the retina of the eye, the result is age-related macular degeneration. The lipofuscin is probably the remnant of incompletely degraded molecules from damaged cells. Preventing damage to cells is the best approach to age spots and other problems from aging. Antioxidants are the key to preventing cellular damage from free radicals (highly reactive molecules that can destroy cellular compounds). Protective antioxidants include carotenes (present in most yellow vegetables), vitamins C and E (in fresh fruits and vegetables), selenium (in wheat germ), flavonoids (in
